A descendant of Ernest Shackleton spent a week composing music on a violin made from the Antarctic explorer's floorboards.<br /><br />Georgia Shackleton, 35, is a professional musician who performs with folk group the Shackleton Trio.<br /><br />She is a distant relative of Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who led three British expeditions and died in 1922.<br /><br />In 2018 she got in contact with a craftsman who had made a violin from floorboards in the famed explorer's old home in Edinburgh where he lived from 1904 to 1910.<br /><br />Georgia has spent a week in Crail, Fife, living in a remote cottage and composing music inspired by the sea.<br /><br />The violin has the names of 28 crew members on board the Endurance expedition, as well as a poem about the sea.<br /><br />Driftwood from beaches in East Lothian was also used to create the instrument made by luthier Steve Burnett.<br /><br />Georgia, who lives in Norwich, Norfolk, said: "Shacklewood is a distant cousin on the family tree.<br /><br />"Playing this violin is a really amazing feeling, there's no real way to describe it.<br /><br />"Being so connected to somebody so special anyway, but also someone who you are connected to through the family tree.<br /><br />"It's been really amazing to play the instrument for the past week.<br /><br />"I picked it up on Friday morning, I got in touch with Steve a few years ago asking if I could come and play it one day.<br /><br />"He kindly agreed to lend it to me for a week to make music on it.<br /><br />"It's been fantastic.<br /><br />"We met up before when I was playing in the area.<br /><br />"He's done a really special job."<br /><br />Georgia also visited the RRS Discovery ship in Dundee, which her ancestor used in 1901 to reach Antarctica, and got to sit in the cabin.<br /><br />Her project is funded by the Arts Council.<br /><br />Georgia said: "Staying in Fife to compose music is the perfect place to be to make music inspired by the coast.<br /><br />"The music I'm writing is music from the sea.<br /><br />"I'm overlooking the sea from the window in the cottage.<br /><br />"I'm here by myself but there are lots of lovely dogs walking past.<br /><br />"The instrument Steve has made is from floorboards in Shackleton's Edinburgh home and driftwood from beaches.<br /><br />"Inside it's got the names of all 28 crew members from Shackleton's Endurance expedition.<br /><br />"It's like a time capsule.<br /><br />"It was 20 year ago the driftwood was found, and Steve built another instrument from the driftwood.<br /><br />"The Discovery was the first ship Shackleton went out on a voyage for, and I got to sit in the cabin.<br /><br />"It was great to play it on the Discovery."
