Get packing
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
LET THERE BE LIGHTS
One of the best places to see (or try to catch) the Northern Lights is at sea in Norway.
Hurtigruten (020 8846 2666/ hurtigruten.co.uk) offers a 12-night voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, stopping off at fjords, glaciers and fishing villages on the way. You’ll be able to try your hand at dog sledging and explore by snowmobile. There are plenty of gatherings on deck to search the skies and a 24-hour watch team is on hand during the early hours.
PUP LOVE
Back in 2001, only 25 grey seal pups called Blakeney Point in Norfolk home, above right. Today there are more than 2,000 born annually, making this coastal nature reserve the largest seal colony in England. Winter is when most seals come ashore to give birth.
HIGHLAND HIGH LIFE
Have you ever dreamt of being your own Monarch of the Glen?
Wilderness Scotland (01479 420020/ wilderness scotland.com) will get you close during their Luxury Walking – North Highland Coast trip to the wild Sutherland region, which is largely unspoilt, with heather peatlands and dramatic coastline.
A highlight is a trip to the Cape Wrath lighthouse, Britain’s most northerly point, where you’ll see puffins, guillemots and razorbills.
WINE AND DINE
Foodies are for ever on the hunt for the newest culinary hotspot.
So this November why not give Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, a try? Slovenia produces an array of award-winning wines, so find out more during a Wine
USE YOUR HEAD
Cycling is becoming more popular in British cities and across the world. If you like to tour by bike but hate carrying around a bulky helmet, you’ll love this flat-folding model from Morpher. £115, right.
A GREAT HOLIDAY READ
If you’re like us at the Travel Desk and adore getting stuck into a the Eiger climb. I was with two experienced climbing guides who endangered themselves to help me up there. It was a nightmarish experience and far tougher than I expected.
BEST BOOK?
Arabian Sands written in 1959 by explorer and travel writer Wilfred Thesiger. It’s about his travels across the Arabian Peninsula and is a travel classic.
HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME ON HOLIDAY?
It’s been a long time since I really went on holiday, probably 12 years or so, but when we did Ginny and I always made time to hire local horses and go trekking along the beaches in Spain.
Or we used to go walking, take picnics and enjoy the local scenery and wildlife.
WHERE WOULD YOU REVISIT?
I spent the first 12 years of my life growing up near Cape Town so I would definitely like to revisit South Africa.
We lived 15 miles from the foothills of Table Mountain, between Tokai and Constantia. It’s the most beautiful country in the entire world.
I sometimes get to travel there for one of my lectures and I recently attended an old school centenary.
But I’ve never been back to where I lived with my mother and sisters and I remember the baboons in the garden that we used to go and talk to but weren’t allowed to feed.
WHERE NEXT?
Maybe Mongolia but I haven’t really got the first idea where next beyond expeditions that the team and I are organising.
And I definitely can’t talk about those – in case we alert the rivals.