WITH a name like Shackleton you'd expect this extraordinary man to have the soul of an explorer.

And you'd be right, for that spirit of adventure that drove the great Ernest Shackleton back to the Antarctic time and again also burn's bright in his namesake, Barnoldswick's Andy Shackleton.

The difference is that Ernest was dead at 48 - round about the age that Andy started his life of adventure and exploration.

The former head of technology at Skipton's Aireville School is just back from his latest escapade, a four-week 1,250 mile solo cycle trip around the coast of Iceland, topped off with a couple of weeks cycling in the Faroe Islands.

Andy, of Higher Park, hadn't been abroad on plane till he was 40, had his first "adventure" holiday at 46 and took up running at 50. Now, at 55, he feels fitter than ever.

"I don't rate age at all," said Andy. "I feel 21 inside and fitter than I've ever been. It's all in here," he said, pointing to his head.

"If you really believe you can do something then there's nothing to stop you. There were times in Iceland when it was just sheer determination that made me carry on. I met people doing similar things from all walks of life, but they all had that in common - that determination in the head."

He caught the biking bug in 1995 on a long-distance ride through Sweden with his son, Chris.

"I got to thinking 'I bet Iceland is like this', and there the seed was sewn."

For his latest trip, Andy set out from Barnoldswick with only what he could carry on his trusty mountain bike - his tent, cooking stove and pan, a change of clothes and two days' basic rations.

He caught the train at Skipton, travelling by rail to Aberdeen then ferry to Shetland and then to Iceland. His adventure had begun.

"I like to think of myself as a traveller, not a tourist, and I always try to plan round trips. As soon as you go out and back the same way, then you're a tourist."

On arrival in Iceland, Andy soon realised it was going to be a rough trip, with even the main roads being little better than gravel tracks.

Wasting no time, he set off on his clockwise route around the country, spending his first night in a mountain respite hut.

In places Andy was riding with 30 feet of cleared snow piled at either side of the road, yet still his brakes became so hot on the gravel roads that puncture patches started blowing off his inner tubes.

"You start to question why you do these things but it's the challenge and it gets into you. I came across a sign that said 'bad road for 43km', and when they say bad road they mean it. It was just like riding on a river bed, like the bottom of the river Wharfe!

"It was completely barren and I was completely alone. It was so cold that I had all my clothes on - everything I'd brought - and polythene bags over my gloves.

"I met one trucker and he said to me in a strong accent 'You might as well go to the moon!' He was right, there was no shelter at all, it was just like being on the moon."

But Andy enjoys getting back to basics, stripping away the complexities of modern life to get to the bare essentials.

"Life's reduced to a very different level. You sit cross-legged on the ground to cook on your little stove and wash your clothes in the river then hang them off the bike to dry. It's great!"

Occasionally he would seek the comfort of a filling station caf and luxuriate in the joy of a mug of hot coffee.

"It's all about highs and lows on these trips. One minute you're freewheeling down a hill and feeling great and the next you're battling along a river bed road. Sometimes I was riding till midnight or 1am, but it's always light there. I rode into a harbour in the early hours and the sun was a huge golden ball over the sea. I still don't know if it was rising or setting.

"I rode through mountains, barren landscapes, fjords and glaciers. It was all a wonderful mix, just a complete wealth of experiences.

"It's like a geography lesson happening in front of your eyes."

Along the way, Andy also met other adventurers, strangers thrown together in adversity, and fast becoming firm friends.

He was sad to leave Iceland but still had two weeks' island hopping in the Faroes, where the roads are better but "hugely steep". Again, he devised a circular route, Shackleton the explorer always covering fresh ground.

Every day of the trip, Andy kept an electronic diary on a palm computer and plans to convert his notes into a travel book.

Now back home, he is already planning his next trip - a circular tour of Ireland - hopefully next summer if finances allow.