Pen Hadow had to pull a sledge laden with food and supplies

Mr Hadow, 41, from Devon, reached the South Pole with companion Simon Murray last week.

The pair had to endure extreme temperatures, blistered feet and ulcers during their 58-day trek.

But Mr Hadow said he was determined to carry on with his adventures, though he refused to reveal what he had in mind.

"I think I will be off again at some point - probably in a couple of years time," he said.

Mr Hadow, who lives in Hexworthy on Dartmoor, became the first person to reach the geographic North Pole unsupported from Canada last May.

Pen Hadow reached the South Pole with companion Simon Murray

For the South Pole attempt he was joined by 63-year-old Hong Kong-based entrepreneur Mr Murray, who was the oldest person ever to tackle the trek.

The pair raised �250,000 towards a Royal Geographical Society project to help restore, display in environmentally controlled conditions, and digitally catalogue the RGS archive in transformed buildings in London.

They set off on 2 December on the 680-mile (1,094-kilometre) journey from Hercules Inlet, on the edge of the Antarctic continent, pulling sledges laden with 275lb (124.7 kilograms) of food and supplies.

Mr Hadow said the North and South Poles had been very different places to visit.

"In a strange sort of way there are no similarities, apart from the fact they are essentially cold and covered in snow.

"It is far more technically and mentally demanding to do the North Pole. It is a considerably harder challenge.

Making judgements

"Essentially, the North Pole lies in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. It is an ocean but has a skin of ice plates jostling around on the top of it.

"It is a dynamic, moving surface, so sometimes you are moving backwards on a conveyor belt taking you away from the Pole while you are trying to go towards it.

"You also have every thickness of ice, from that which can support your weight to a few centimetres thick or open water, which you might have to swim across, so you are making judgements all the time."

Mr Hadow has been away from his wife Mary, son Wilf, five, and daughter Freya, who is almost two, for a large part of the past eight months.

The trek to the South Pole took 58 days to complete

But Mr Hadow said: "It is in my blood. I love being at the Poles.

"I did the North Pole solo, but I have been alone for many, many months over the years in the Arctic and I have never felt lonely.

"You are completely absorbed in surviving and moving towards your goal and that is all that your life is about.

"It is a very fortunate position to be in because life in the real world is so complex, so many forces are at work - your work colleagues, your family, the weather.