ST NICK OF TIME POLE POSITION NORTHERN SOUL

You have to hand it to the Nordic winter. Norway, Sweden, Finland et al spend much of the summer cooing at the midnight sun, and making all their visitors say “oooooh”. But then the coldest season comes along, slaps down the trump card that is the Northern Lights, and everyone goes “oooooh” a little louder. Where to go to see said celestial majesty? Transun (transun.co.uk) dispenses a one-week “Aurora Hunter” break in Swedish Lapland that involves huskies and snowmobiles. From rom £1,099pp, with flights. It does seem a trifle unfair. An old man, an, who has been labouring at his largely y seasonal job for several centuries, hits ts his busiest window in December – just st as your kids insist they have to pay him im a visit. He should tell everyone to come me back in July. But he doesn’t. “Santa’s Secret Grotto” day trips to Rovaniemi, i, in Finland, cost from £415 a head, including flights through tui.co.uk. The aurora borealis are remarkable. But hanging out in a Scandi forest in December can be like shoving your hands into an ice-box. How to admire the glow in the firmament while still being able to feel your thumbs? Perhaps via a stay at Kakslauttanen (kakslauttanen.fi), a cluster of transparent heated glass igloos in Finland. Four-night breaks with flights cost from £1,365pp with Best Served Scandinavia; best-served.co.uk.

Now, you could go to the North Pole proper in winter. But it’s so dark that even the polar bears have gone to bed. Better to try frosted wandering in Antarctica – where, yes, technically it’s summer, but there’s still snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures. Aurora Expeditions has a 12-day “Across the Antarctic Circle” trip set to leave Ushuaia on

Feb 19. From $9,100pp (£7,128). Flights are extra; auroraexpeditions.com.au. in her Instagram post. For our experts’ pick of the best places for winter sun, see telegraph. co.uk/tt-bestwinter-sun