Sir Ranulph Fiennes was dubbed by The Guinness Book of Records ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’, for such feats as the 52,000 mile Transglobe Expedtion – the world’s first surface journey around the polar axis – and the North Polar Unsupported Expedition – furthest north unsupported record.

Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd baronet, can trace his family back a thousand years to Charlemagne. Though he never met his father – a commanding office of the Royal Scots Greys, killed at Monte Casino – he had hoped to follow in his footsteps and joined the same regiment. Becoming commander was never likely though, as he didn’t have the most distinguished academic history, and he was seconded into the SAS. He became the youngest captain in the British Army but was later expelled following an incident in which he used flares and plastic explosive to blow up part of the Dr Doolittle set – an ugly concrete dam had spoiled a trout stream in the Wiltshire village of Castle Combe.

After his expulsion he spent a short time in the army of the Sultan of Oman, and was decorated for bravery. It was around this time he was considered to replace Sean Connery as James Bond – but was turned down for having ‘a face like a farmer’ (Cubby Broccoli) – and was auditioned for the real-life secret service – by a lady handling her knitting on his doorstep. But nothing came of it, and inspired by Chris Bonnington he chose instead to make a living by finding someone to sponsor his expeditions and then talk and write about them afterwards. Only, Fiennes would conquer the horizontal rather than vertical.

And so Fiennes has, over the past 40 or so years, led a hovercraft expedition up the White Nile; explored Colombia’s Headless Valley; sailed and trekked 52,000 miles around the polar axis – thus becoming the first man to reach both poles by land; travelled the furthest distance north unsupported; discovered Ptolemy’s Atlantis of the Sands in Oman – his proudest achievement; completed the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica; run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents (with the help of WEXAS) soon after a heart bypass; climbed to within a thousand feet of reaching Mt Everest’s summit; and scaled the Eiger by the treacherous North Face.

In May 2009, at his third attempt Fiennes finally reached the summit of Everest, becoming the first man to reach both poles and the world’s highest peak. He said, "This is the closest you can get to the moon by walking".

Along the way he has raised several million pounds for various charities, penned several books, been awarded countless awards – including the Founder’s Medal by the Royal Geographical Society, the Polar Medal with Bar from the Queen and an OBE – and lost the tops of his finger’s and thumb to frostbite. Perhaps, for a man such as Fiennes, it’s to be expected that he did the amputations himself, with a Black & Decker from his village shop.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is the author of:

• Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
• Beyond the Limits: The Lessons Learned from a Lifetime’s Adventures
• Living Dangerously
• Where Soldiers Fear to Tread
• Atlantis of the Sands
• Mad Dogs and Englishmen: An Expedition Round My Family
• Captain Scott
• Ice Fall in Norway
• Shadows on the Wasteland: Crossing Antarctica with Ranulph Fiennes