Couple who drove from North Pole to South Pole to visit Donegal on adventure

A Scottish couple who drove their Nissan Ariya electric vehicle over 29,000 kilometres from the 1823 North Pole to the South Pole are set to visit County Donegal this week.

Chris and Julie Ramsey are aiming to promote electromobility, to showcase their history-making car, and to debunk many of the myths surrounding EVs.

The couple set two new Guinness World Records when they completed their ‘Pole to Pole EV Expedition’ in 2023 after crossing 14 countries and 3 continents and their Donegal adventure is set to be another big tick off their bucket list.

“As EV Adventurers, we were hugely inspired by Antarctic explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was born in County Kildare. We followed in his footsteps, and we’re excited to learn more about him and other famous Irish explorers as part of our 1,000-kilometre EV trip around Ireland,” said Chris.

“Our Irish adventure takes in most parts of County Donegal, including Donegal town, Letterkenny with a visit to iMotors Letterkenny, and the Inishowen Peninsula. We’re looking forward to promoting EV mobility along the way and to debunking many of the myths surrounding electric driving, having proven through our own expeditions that EVs are reliable, resilient, and suitable for every type of weather and terrain imaginable”.

Chris and Julie’s life as EV Adventurers began soon after discovering a Nissan LEAF electric vehicle in 2013. They made history in 2017 when they entered the 30kWh electric car into the famous ‘Mongol Rally’, taking 56 days to cover the gruelling 16,000 kilometres from London to Ulan-Ude in Southern Siberia. 

They spent the next six years planning every detail of their epic ‘Pole to Pole EV Expedition’, which aimed to showcase the capabilities of electric vehicles in extreme conditions and to promote the global shift towards clean, renewable energy. 

“By this stage, we’d upgraded to the Nissan Ariya EV and the remarkable thing about our epic journey is that we completed it in the standard model that anyone can find in any Nissan showroom. The only difference is that we fitted it with 39-inch tyres, hitch points and a protection plate on the underside of the car to help it navigate snow and ice. Everything else about the car is the same,” said Julie.

Starting in 1823 Magnetic North Pole the couple faced daunting challenges as they made their way across frozen terrains, navigating icy roads and unpredictable weather conditions. Their journey took them through some of the world’s most remote and harsh environments, including the vast expanses of the Arctic Ocean in Canada and the Patagonian deserts of South America.

"Polar season dependent, it took us 10 months to complete our mission using regular charging points and the greatest power of all, the power of kindness from complete strangers along the way. We drove our Nissan Ariya in the most extreme conditions on earth, from -39 degrees extreme cold to +49 degrees extreme heat, on dirt tracks and on highways and it never once let us down. It passed every test conceivable," Julie explained.

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Chris and Julie are the first to complete the Pole-to-Pole distance in a car, let alone an electric vehicle. They were duly awarded Guinness World Record Certificates for completing the ‘First expedition by an electric car from Magnetic North Pole to South Pole’ and for ‘The longest journey by an electric car in Antarctica’.

They will visit iMotors in Letterkenny on Thursday, November 13.