Arriving on New Island's sandy beach, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were off the coast of Scotland. Yet a short walk over the crest of a hill reveals a colony of rockhopper penguins and black-browed albatross perched on a cliff. A small hut, originally built by stranded sailors, is now a museum dedicated to the history of the island.

West Point Island is located in the northwest of the Falklands archipelago, and is also known as Albatross Island thanks to the many black-browed albatross that nest on the spectacular cliffs. The island is also a working sheep farm, and is home to a large colony of rockhopper penguins.

Saunders Island is graced with some of the most dramatic scenery in the Falklands, including the sandy isthmus known as The Neck. The island also supports an incredible bird population, with species including black-browed albatross, black-necked swans and four different types of penguin.

The rugged and windswept Falkland Islands make for a fascinating stop on the way to or from Antarctica. Over 80% of the population lives in the capital, Stanley, though humans are far outnumbered by other creatures, including penguins, sea lions and albatrosses.

Grytviken is a former whaling station and home of the fascinating South Georgia Museum. The great Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton is buried here, and this was also where Argentinian soldiers disguised as scrap metal merchants seized control of South Georgia during the opening stages of the Falklands War.

Coming ashore at St Andrews Bay is surely one of the most overwhelming and unforgettable wildlife experiences on the planet. A seething, smelly, noisy mass of some 300,000 king penguins stretches along the beach, the biggest colony in South Georgia. It’s also a key site for elephant seals, with up to 6,000 females on the beach at the height of the breeding season.

Named after the elephant seals that live along the coast, Elephant Island is synonymous with the early days of Antarctic exploration. It was here that Ernest Shackleton and his men were stranded for four months, and a monument to their bravery now stands on the island, often surrounded by Gentoo penguins.

Part of the South Shetland archipelago, Deception Island is a flooded volcanic caldera that forms one of the largest natural harbours in the world. The island was once a whaling station, and it’s also an active volcano - the British Antarctic Survey base here was abandoned in 1969 following an eruption.

The rocky slopes of Cuverville Island provide a home for some 6,500 pairs of gentoo penguins, the largest colony on the Antarctic Peninsula. Other bird species nesting on the island include skuas, southern giant petrels and Antarctic shags.

Neko Harbour, situated on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, is a spectacular bay surrounded by glaciers that regularly calve into the icy waters. Gentoo penguins and Weddell seals are a common sight here, and the only sign of human activity is a small unmanned refuge hut belonging to Argentina.

Port Lockroy was the site of the first permanent British base in the Antarctic, established in 1944 as part of a wartime mission known as Operation Tabarin. Today the former ‘Base A’ houses a museum and souvenir shop, as well as the world’s most southerly post office, which means you can send a postcard home from Antarctica!

Located at the southern end of the Lemaire Channel, Pléneau Island is the site of some spectacular iceberg scenery, and is also home to species including Gentoo penguins, Antarctic terns, south polar skuas and southern elephant seals.

Petermann Island lies at the southern end of the Lemaire Channel, and is home to the world’s southernmost colony of gentoo penguins. Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags also nest on the island, and there are signs of past human activity too, including a memorial to three British Antarctic Survey workers who died here in 1982.