British Royal Expeditionary Society

British Royal Expeditionary Society

Boldly determined to explore, discover, and live life to the fullest. Promoting exploration and strength of character for over 350 years.

To be brave is to seek out adventure. To explore is to learn. To learn is to strengthen character.

Fortitudo - Adventum - Virtus

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Welcome to the home of the British Royal Expeditionary Society. Here we present the fundamental information regarding the Society in general. Our expeditions and adventures are highlighted at the local Chapters where our local members contribute to the Society and manage their own pages.

Who we Are

The Royal Expeditionary Society is an old and honored society dedicated to exploring the world, seeking out new discoveries and bringing fun and adventure to people around the world.

Our philosophy is that to build a strong character one has to find adventure and learn from discoveries. In order to seek adventure and be open to learning new things one has to have courage. Therefore our core attributes are Courage, Adventure and Character; which is emblazoned in our Society motto.

Our core membership is made up of Fellows who are admitted by being voted in by the Fellowship. A new member must be sponsored by an existing Fellow and their acceptance into the Society must be approved by a majority vote.

What we do

We plan and execute expeditions worldwide with an emphasis on locations that have never been visited before by humans or at least where very few (less than 0.00001% of global population) people have ever been.

We promote exploration and learning in an effort to better ourselves, and when we explore we follow the code of “take only pictures, leave only footprints” as part of our global stewardship responsibilities.

We also educate the general public on exploration and outdoor adventure through a variety of opportunities such as survival courses, expedition courses, leadership training, and offering placement on our renowned expeditions.

We have implemented a number of outreach programs through our worldwide chapters in an effort to bring adventure and exploration to others. Through these chapters and their local programs potential members are offered opportunities to join our expeditions, in some cases at no cost, and participate in making history.

If interested or to learn more about these opportunities please reach out to one of our local chapters and our Fellows will be happy to provide additional information.

Where we go

We conduct expeditions all over the world. We specialize in going places that are not easy to get to; places that few, if any, have ever ventured.

We go to places that demand that we as humans push ourselves to the limits in order to reach our destinations and make our discoveries.

We have been, and continue to go, to the arctic, the antarctic and everywhere in between; deserts, jungles, uncharted islands and mountain peaks.

We go where the challenges are; we go where others have tried and failed; we go where unknown remains.

Why we do it

We are often asked why we do what we do when it can be so dangerous. There is no easy or simple answer. Every one of our members has their own personal reasons; their own drivers and motivations.

Some like the idea of the ultimate human challenges; reaching places that no one has ever been, not because no one wanted to go, but because getting there was extremely difficult.

Some embrace the philosophy that exploration brings experience that you just can’t get living a mundane, ordinary life.

Still others seek the thrill of discovery and seeing things that most people will never see in their life.

Whatever the reason, it brings us all together in a way that few things can. It creates bonds and friendships that are not easily broken. It opens our eyes and minds to the world around us and gives us a deeper understanding of what it means to truly live.

 

When we do it

We have expeditions every year; usually 2-4 per chapter. These are planned well in advance taking into consideration the season, the best time of year to attempt the expedition, the current local political climate, current weather related and natural events which could impact our expedition as well as a host of other variables in order to ensure the best opportunity and possible outcome of the expedition.

We also have several various other exploratory events that we conduct that are more forgiving in terms of risk, logistical planning, and travel considerations. These are also coordinated at the local chapter level and vary by chapter.

Lastly we host and conduct several classes, workshops and trainings throughout the year and in various locations. See your local chapter for upcoming events.


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