The bucket list is a funny thing. It’s a concept that feels like it’s been around forever, despite being ostensibly coined by a screenwriter at the turn of the Millennium. It’s also a hilariously morbid concept for a traditionally quite anxious nation – yet here we are, openly talking about the Northern Lights being a bucket-list winner for a large majority of us.
Really, seeing the world before you croak isn’t a controversial desire – which is probably why so many of us are comfortable getting down with our mortality in search of the places we really want to go. If you’re drafting your own bucket list right now, you might be struggling to figure out what really matters to you. Using the Northern Lights as our guide and in acknowledgement of the encroaching winter, let the following seasonal suggestions inspire you to find your own mortality-reckoning, life-affirming adventures!
Winter in the Arctic: Aurora, Ice Hotels and Dog Sledding
It’s hard not to start with the contents of our introduction, so let’s get straight to it: the Northern Lights really ought to be on your bucket list. Sure, we can sometimes spy them from the northerly reaches of the UK, but it’s not the same as seeing them in their full majesty from within the Arctic Circle. That far north, whether you’re hunting for the Northern Lights in Canada, Lapland or Iceland, you’ll find some magical ancillary experiences that build up to your aurora borealis moment – including but not limited to icy sleeps in igloo hotels and plains-spanning reindeer sleigh rides.
Alpine Charm and Festive Mountain Villages
If the Arctic Circle is a little cold and lava-lamp-y for your own unique tastes, you might instead opt for a more conventional spanning of the Alps – a journey that puts you in touch with some of the most picturesque sights this Earth has to offer us. Take the famous Glacier Express through tunnels and over edificial bridges; indulge in ski holidays that barrel you down steep slopes and into convivial chalets; hike yourself into the local villages to discover the true meaning of the word ‘hospitality’.
Thermal Escapes and Winter Hot Springs
There’s something ineffably beautiful about contrasts in winter. The white of the snow against the black of night, the cold of the air and land against the warmth of a hearth – or indeed, the warmth of natural springs that grace some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes. Iceland is famous for its geysers and adjoining geothermal spas, while Japan’s natural-spring onsen are cultural experiences that simply must be experienced in person (and all the better if you can see Mount Fuji!).
UK Winter Magic: Castles, Light Trails and Woodland Walks
Last but not least, there is plenty of magic on home soil – magic to which we’re often inadvertently blind. When was the last time you visited an English Heritage castle site in the depths of winter, envisaging the battles and sieges it must have seen in the centuries gone by? What about sites of folkloric interest, deep in the forests of the Yorkshire Moors? There’s so much more to the UK than one could ever see in a life; maybe now’s the best time to find it.
