About the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT)
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust is a charity (no. 1160847) that connects people with the wonder of Antarctica to help promote a greater understanding of this phenomenal place at the role we all have in protecting it. We care for six designated Historic Sites and Monuments on the Antarctic Peninsula, including Port Lockroy where we welcome visitors throughout the Austral summer to explore the Museum, visit the most southerly public Post Office (“The Penguin Post Office”), observe the gentoo penguin colony and share the wonders of the white continent’s history. Our bases represent the birthplace of British science and climate discovery on the continent, and we work with Antarctic policy makers to help secure a sustainable future for this precious wilderness. Along with our ambitious arts, education and events programme, we bring together people to learn about Antarctica's past and future.
UKAHT is governed by a Board of Trustees and managed by Chief Executive Camilla Nichol with a passionate and experienced team of 10. The charity has strong supporter groups, with over 800 members and 25,000+ followers, and collaborates with a wide pool of national and international partners spanning science, travel, education, heritage, culture and outreach to increase impact and reach.
At the end of 2022 our vessels, MS Island Sky and MS Hebridean Sky returned to the Antarctic for the first time post COVID. UKAHT was selected as NCCT charity for the season fundraising.
During our 2022-2023 Antarctic season, on board the MS Island Sky’s two voyages we raised £3976.06 for the UKAHT.
During our 2023-2024 Antarctic season, we raised over £6000 for the UKAHT.
As part of the BIG Give Christmas Challenge, NCCT donated £2500 in 2022, £3750 in 2023 and £3750 in 2024.
In 2022 funds from the NCCT helped to support the conservation of Damoy base and the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust this season. Damoy is an important example of an early transit facility in Antarctica and was restored from turquoise to its original historic orange colour, orange!
10 000 miles away in Antarctica, on a rocky outcrop surrounded by a cacophony of penguins and calving glaciers is a small wooden hut known fondly by some as "the world's most southerly waiting room".
A special place listed as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, Damoy Hut is the only protected historic ski and airway, providing shelter and safe passage for early climate scientists en-route to making vital discoveries on the warming of our planet. Step inside and it is brimming with artefacts and human stories as a micro museum and time capsule of Antarctic life and transit in one of the remotest places on Earth.
Cared for by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (registered charity no.1160847), it is a magical place recognised internationally for its significance.
Damoy was a special historic gateway to Antarctica. This small hut operated during the Antarctic summer providing shelter for personnel when sea ice created dangerous conditions for ship travel.
Located beneath Tombstone Hill, named after its distinctive rock formations, Damoy was, for many scientists their first experience of Antarctica, offering refuge in a 12-bunk hut en-route to the Rothera science base. Imagine using the skiway to land a plane? Passing over miles of ice and spotting Damoy's tiny glacial airstrip in the middle of a breathtaking landscape...
In recent years relentless Antarctic wind, ice and salt air have damaged the existing paint work of the hut, and we now need your help not only to repair it but to peel back the layers and restore it to its original colour - orange - which it proudly displayed during its golden age of operation, to be visible for landing craft.
Conservation in Antarctica is like nowhere else on Earth. Extreme conditions and complex logistics makes this a challenging task for which we rely on the generosity of donors and supporters to make it all happen.
You can be part of Antarctica's story by joining the conservation efforts and pledging a donation today. Help us to protect and transform this unique site and share its stories with people at home, about why
Antarctica's past and future matters to us all.
Photo credit: UKAHT
How to Donate: If you would like to make a donation you can donate online here.
Alternatively if you would prefer to make a donation by cheque please make it payable to ‘NCCT’ and send it to NCCT, 2 Chester Close, London, SW1X 7BE. If you are eligible for gift aid you can increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you by using our Gift Aid Form.