stay on a frozen lake in Sweden or take an ice trip in Estonia
Winter mountaineering
Cairngorms
The Scottish Highlands are home to Britain’s largest national park, a landscape of mountains, moors, rivers and forests, as well as red squirrels and birds of prey. An immersive, week-long rock climbing course will introduce visitors to much of this, while honing climbing skills under expert guidance. There are five days of hiking and climbing, with a day of rest to soothe tired limbs (as well as sauna visits in the evenings).
One week from 16 January is £ 799pp including tuition and B&B, as well as transfers, no-boundaries.co.uk
Coast and cocktails
Pembrokeshire
From the cozy boundaries of a lodge near Abermawr Beach, guests can warm up with a hearty Welsh breakfast and a forest walk before setting foot on the Pembrokeshire coast. There is surfing, coasteering and sea kayaking, depending on your cold water tolerance, and the opportunity to explore St Davids or RSPB Ramsey Island. Board games and a wood burner keep things rusty at the lodge.
Two nights £ 189 from 4 February (group bookings Dec-Jan), preseliventure.co.uk/events/adventure-weekends
Citizenship
Shropshire
The limestone cliff at Wenlock Edge stretches about 15 miles between Ironbridge and the Craven Arms and supports a diverse flora. A study of endangered hazelnuts is underway as part of a project that started in 2015. Every fall and winter, volunteers search for hazelnuts with tooth marks to determine the presence of these nocturnal, hard-to-reach mammals.
Winter hikers and volunteers should register their interest at [email protected]. The newly opened Old Hall B&B at Cressage has double rooms from £ 130 B&B, oldhallcressage.co.uk
Camp cook-out
Aberdeenshire
A trio of voguish chefs are heading into the woods on the Glen Dye estate, southwest of Aberdeen. Over the next three weekends, the americana-inspired forest camp with cabins, Airstream trailer and cabins will host Whyte Rushen (who likes to top the oysters with Monster Munch), Yotam Ottolenghi co-author Ixta Belfrage and food photographer Joe Woodhouse for food search (trout) from the river, perhaps), cooking in the fireplace and demonstrations, as well as hiking, star gazing and wild swimming.
From £ 45, glendyecabinsandcottages.com/winter-chef-residencies
Stargazing
Dumfries and Galloway
Galloway Forest Park has been named a Gold Level International Dark Sky Park for its exceptionally unspoilt sky; more than 7,000 stars and planets are visible to the naked eye. If you need guidance on explaining what you are looking at, there are several ways to find it, including a downloadable map and guide (forestryandland.gov.scot). The cozy Selkirk Arms Hotel in Kirkudbright organizes a three-day stargazing weekend in February to visit the city’s new Dark Space Planetarium. There will be astronomy lectures, dinners, talks and night walks.
February 25, £ 289pp half board, selkirkarmshotel.co.uk/stargazing-break
Winter wildlife
Norfolk
Gray seal pups – with their snow-white fur and large black eyes – begin to appear at Blakeney Point on the north coast of northern Norfolk, which is home to the country’s largest colony (£ 20, beansboattrips.co.uk). Singing and Bewicks habits also arrive from Iceland and Siberia and settle down for the winter in Welney (www.org.uk/wetland-centres/welney), south of King’s Lynn, while pink-footed geese congregate in Snettisham (rspb.org.uk) and snow sparrows can be seen on the beach at Titchwell (visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/norfolks-winter-wildlife-safari.aspx).
Gunton Arms near Cromer has elegant rooms, an acclaimed restaurant and views of red deer roaming the outdoor park area. Double from £ 95, theguntonarms.co.uk
Soak up seaweed
Ireland
Vitamin-rich seaweed that is said to promote circulation and soften the skin has been harvested on Ireland’s Atlantic coast for its health properties since the 12th century. There are still several simple bathhouses in the counties of Galway, Sligo, Clare and Mayo, where you can sink into a steamy, cloudy porcelain bathtub filled with silky threads. Voya’s elegant bathhouse in Strandhill, Co Sligo, lifts the tradition with spa treatments (30 €, voyaseaweedbaths.com). To see the source, Wild Irish Seaweeds in Co Clare takes you out to the beach to help with the harvest (€ 30, wildirishseaweeds.com).
Voya baths are available at the Twelve Hotel in Galway, which has double rooms from € 150. thetwelvehotel.ie
Ice driving
Estonia
In addition to many motorways, Estonia has seven official ice roads that are only available in January and February when conditions allow safe passage across the Baltic Sea. The roads, which primarily connect the mainland and the western islands, vary in length – the longest ice road, Hiiumaa stretches over 25 km – and transports thousands of cars every year. As part of a city break in the winter to explore the capital Tallinn, visitors can experience a car ride on one of the ice roads to visit the city of Haapsalu, Keila-Joa Waterfall and the Noarootsi Peninsula, with its wooden churches and Swedish cultural heritage.
Regent Holidays offers a three-night break from £ 525pp with flights, B&B, transfers, a full day of ice skating and city passes. Ice skating, cross-country skiing and ice fishing are also possible, regent-holidays.co.uk
Snowshoes
Albania
You will often have the snow-capped alpine landscape to yourself in northern Albania’s Valbona National Park, near the country’s borders with Montenegro and Kosovo. A snowshoe hike in small groups shows the calm splendor of the park, hiking in glacier valleys for two to five hours a day past waterfalls and coniferous forests, and living in small, cozy guest houses. There is also a visit across the border to Prizren on the river in Kosovo – with its mosque churches – and a night in Radomire, at the foot of Korab, Albania’s highest peak.
Eight days from € 520pp excluding flights, Responsibletravel.com
Take the night train
Norway
The Nordlandsbanan stretches more than 450 km from Trondheim to Bodö, as far north as you can travel by train in Norway, and crosses the Arctic Circle. The journey starts from Trondheim’s magnificent fjords and wooden houses and then passes forests and Saltfjellet on its 10-hour overnight journey to the Arctic coast. In winter, passengers also have a chance to witness the northern lights.
Tickets cost from Nkr199 (£ 18), sj.nr
Overnight at frozen lake
Finland
Lake Inari is the largest lake in Finland’s Sápmi cultural region, and when it freezes in winter, it is possible to walk, skate or snowmobile to its many islands. An exciting way to experience the Lapland landscape is by sleeping in an Eskos Cottage – a heated pod on skis with bed and toilet, which can be transported across the ice by snowmobile. Sauna visits, ice fishing, husky sledding and sleigh rides can also be arranged.
From £ 331 per night for two, canopyandstars.co.uk
Moonbikes and yetis
France
The French Alps will be full of skiers again this winter, but there is much more to enjoy besides skiing and boarding. New for this winter in Val d’Isère are moonbikes: electric snowmobiles that transport passengers along snowy paths and through the forest towards the village of Le Laisinant. Kids will love the new Mountain Yeti course, which teaches them to respect nature through snowshoeing in the Boisses forest, igloo building and fishing activities, rounded off with marshmallow roasting.
Moonbiking € 70pp for an hour, mountain Yeti from € 55pp, evolution2.com
Ice climbing and tobogganing
Switzerland
The frozen waterfalls in and around the glittering Swiss resort of Verbier form a picturesque playground for climbers in winter. Mountain guides lead you to the best cascades in the Val de Bagnes, armed with ice hooks, ropes and crampons and offer beginner instruction or guidance to help experienced climbers. Those who have energy left to spend can try
the 7 km long toboggan run La Tzoumaz from Savoleyre’s gondola top station, which falls 711m via its exciting hairpin bends.
Ice climbing from SFr180pp (£ 150), verbier4vallees.ch
Adventures across borders
Lapland
Most visitors to the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia focus on one country, but it is possible to jump from Norway over to Finland on a short trip that includes lots of adventure. Starting in the Norwegian coastal town of Tromsö, it starts with a husky sledge in search of the northern lights, and then moves to Kilpisjarvi in Finland, where a glass-roofed cabin provides spectacular accommodation. A day trip on fatbikes takes guests to the border between Norway, Finland and Sweden before heading to another lodge with a glass roof in Rovaniemi and a reindeer meeting with Sami shepherds.
Five nights from £ 1,795pp excluding flights, offthemap.travel/stars-of-scandinavia/
Slept in a wooden skyscraper
Sweden
Skellefteå in Swedish Lapland is known for its mining industry, but also for a 20-storey wooden house that opened last month. Within it is the Sara Cultural Center, which will host exhibitions and concerts, while throughout the building is the Wood Hotel, crowned with a spa on the roof. Nearby activities include snowshoeing with husky (SEK 1,000 / £ 85, openlappland.com) and skiing in Vitbergsbacken (visitskelleftea.se).
Double from SEK 1,500 (£ 130) B&B, elite.se