Paddle boarders stand up to an Arctic expedition

Taylor Swift’s done it in a stripy bikini, and Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston are also fans. But now paddle boards — usually associated with sunny climes — have reached the Arctic Circle, after a London man used them to lead a pioneering expedition to Greenland.

Paul Hyman wanted to prove that paddle boarding could be done in places other than off golden beaches. He and a group of 15 boarders travelled 100km across the Sermilik Fjord towards the Helheim Glacier on a five-day trip dubbed the “Polar Bears and Paddle Boards Project”. The group, who returned home last week, wore heavy-duty dry suits as temperatures dipped to -5C.

Two inuit guides in a kayak carried their tents and supplies, and the trekkers slept on the banks of the fjord. Stand up paddle boarding, or SUP, has become increasingly popular in recent years. Mr Hyman said: “Greenland seemed to be the natural place to go.” Now Mr Hyman, who runs the Active350 adventure travel firm in Chiswick, plans to offer paddle boarding trips to Greenland and Iceland.