FIVE OTHER FABULOUS FESTIVE BREAKS…
SNOW TRAIN
Enjoy Christmas-card scenes from the comfort of a train. On an eight-day journey, you’ll experience the Goldenpass Line through the Valais region to Visp; the Glacier Express, climbing up the Rhône Valley and over the Oberalp Pass; and the Bernina Express to the Engadine Valley before climbing over 7,000ft to the Bernina Pass. From £1,595pp, Planet Rail (planetrail.co.uk).
HOUSE PARTY
The Wow House Company features 73 UK properties, including many large enough for a grand family gathering (depending on social distance restrictions). Clarence House is a 5,000-acre private estate in Suffolk with hot tubs, games rooms, cinema, gym, tennis court and lake with rowing boats. From £9,738 for four nights (thewowhouse company.com).
RIVER RUN
Sail along the Danube, from Vienna to Nuremberg, with its popular traditional festive market. On the one-week cruise, you’ll also visit the 11th-century abbey at Melk, Austria’s pretty Wachau Valley with its vineyards, Regensburg with more than 1,000 listed buildings and Passau for another thriving Christmas market. From £1,301pp, Avalon (avalon waterways.co.uk).
HIGHLAND FLING
Join a tour between Glasgow and Edinburgh that sweeps through the Scottish Highlands. Among the highlights: the Victorian mountain resort of Pitlochry, Culloden Moor, the Trossachs National Park, Inverness, Loch Ness, Glen Coe and Ben Nevis (not the summit but a whisky distillery in its shadow). Five nights from £499pp B&B, Cosmos (cosmos.co.uk).
DOG DAYS
Sled dog racing is the world’s fastest-growing winter sport. In Scotland, there are more than 150 competitive teams, comprising Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Eskimo Dogs and Eurohounds. The sport takes place on forest tracks (kinder on the dogs’ feet) and the largest sled dog race in Europe takes place each January in Aviemore. For details, see sled-dogs.co.uk.