EXPEDITION tales from Staveley-based adventurer Leo Houlding had children on the edges of their seats when the climbing aficionado stopped off for a visit.

Pupils at Castle Park School, Kendal, listened intently as Houlding described how he parachuted in to a remote part of Canada to climb Mt Asgard, a sheer cliff face twice the height of the Empire State Building.

Houlding also showed footage and photos from his trips, including his bleeding finger after a fall, an inquisitive polar bear mother and her cubs and the scary sleeping arrangements on a cliff.

Pupils were excited to see a selection of gear Houlding brought, including a huge kite that propelled him and Kendal's Bruce Corrie on skis across the Greenland icecap.

The visit was part of a themed week about the Arctic and Antarctic, which will also include a talk by explorer Ed Bacon.