Cuffing season runs from 1 December – 15 January and is said to be the time when single people are more likely to want relationships. Psychology Today reported that pressures from romantic christmas films, family, social media and those festive parties where people ask about your dating life are contributing factors.
Some argue there is no solid scientific evidence to this behaviour but others believe you feel more lonely during winter months. But Christmas nights out can be a perfect time to met new people. Finding love is not always easy but it can happen unexpectedly. We want to hear stories from people who met their partners at Christmas.
Share your experiences
Did you meet your partner under the mistletoe? Was your first date on Christmas Day? What was special about finding love at Christmas?
We are looking for your sentimental, unusual and funny tales of finding Christmas love. You can share your stories in the encrypted form below. One of our journalists may be in touch to discuss your contribution.
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I am an energetic, capable, intelligent woman of 50. I earn a good salary, I am good at DIY and all other household chores. I am loving, caring and supportive with a good sense of humour. However, I have had a 20-year marriage and an eight-year relationship both end. Men (or at least the ones I choose) say they love independent women, but all they really seem to mean is they love women who will support them. How should I be in my next relationship? Should I pretend to be a pathetic helpless female who needs a man to save her? I am so disillusioned, I wonder what I am doing wrong.
There’s a Japanese folk story about a crane who tricks a man into marrying her by pretending to be a woman. She knows that her beloved won’t want her if he discovers she’s a bird, so at night she stays awake and tears out her feathers with her beak. CJ Hauser wrote a beautiful memoir recently that called on the story: “To keep becoming a woman is so much self-erasing work.”
It looks like a deal. If you do the self-erasure then in exchange you won’t be alone.
You shouldn’t take it. Partly just because it’s so horrifically sad. You say you’re caring, capable, intelligent, and you say these things with an energy that tells me you love them about yourself. Don’t pull them out at night.
But the other reason you shouldn’t take the deal is that it doesn’t do what it says it will. Even if you paid up by forfeiting your dignity you wouldn’t get what you thought you were buying. Love borne of pretence doesn’t make us any less alone.
Whatever love you’d trick someone into giving you would be love for an act, and it’s hard not to feel contempt for people you can trick like that. So you won’t really like them, and what they like won’t really be you. It’s a reverse Midas curse, turning what should be gold into dust. You’d get love in the same move that would make it worthless.
The thing is, I think you already know that. I love how you talk about yourself. You know you’re great. I bet you have a drawer with a bunch of string and tape measures in it and a particular way of banging flour off your hands. You know you don’t want to change.
The real problem is that when we realise the choice between modifying and being alone was always just a choice between two ways of being alone, we’re left with just being alone.
I could say all the usual things about how love comes when you give it to yourself, and how the thoughts that say “no one will ever want me” are liars that speak most loudly in the silence after a recent love has closed the door.
But the truth is you might not get the thing you really want. You might not find love with someone who values you as you are. It’s hard.
What I do know is that women like you keep me going; remind me of the joy and the strength it takes to spend decades refusing to capitulate to a world that wants you to be less.
There’s no way around the fact that it will hurt if being yourself means being unloved, but love has been wildly overstated as the key to a valuable life. It’s disappointing not to get it, but it’s worse to disappoint yourself. Keep your feathers.
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The historic city of Deventer, a 1hr 20min train ride from Amsterdam, holds a two-day Dickens Festival every December (weekend of 14-15 this year, free entry, though be prepared to queue). Nearly 1,000 costumed Dickens characters, from gentry to urchins, play their parts with real enthusiasm in the spruce-tree decked streets. You might bump into Bob Cratchit, say hello to Miss Havisham or share a stuffed potato or bag of roasted chestnuts with Scrooge. The picturesque Bergkwartier with its pretty shops twinkles with lights. Orchestras and choirs fill the churches with seasonal music, in addition to the outdoor carol singers. •dickensfestijn.nl roderic
Wine bar with a sauna, Copenhagen
A little-known gem amid Copenhagen’s many harbours and waterways is on the outskirts east of the Christiania free state. La Banchina is a cosy natural wine bar, with a small but tasty evening menu specialising in seafood. The cafe faces west, with superb sunset views over water. The pièce de résistance is the garden with crackling bonfires and a sauna, which for only 50 krone (£5.70) can be used throughout the day and into the evening. Bring shorts and brave the icy Danish water by diving off one of the jetties before retreating to the sanctuary of the sauna. Reinvigorated, grab a wine or coffee after in the cafe. •labanchina.dk Joe
Snowshoeing, Finland
We stayed in a little house in the woods in Äkäslompolo in Finnish Lapland, where there are lots of relatively cheap rental options with private saunas (cottages for two from about €400 for three nights at yllaslogcabins.com, for example). There were snowshoeing, winter biking and crosscountry skiing trails from our doorstep, with all equipment available to rent in the village (on a beautiful snow-covered lake) along with several restaurants. The trails led to magical cafes, often adorned with puppets, and there were trail-side fire pits where you could barbecue sausages and the like. We saw reindeer daily, and the northern lights. To get to Äkäslompolo, take the sleeper train to Ylläs from Helsinki, then a bus . Rachel
Snow holes in the Cairngorms
Deciding where to go for a winter trip with my son, I judged snow and reindeer were still the way forward, even though he’s way past Santa-loving age. So we headed up to Cairngorm for a three-day snow hole expedition led by Scot Mountain Holidays (£460 including all meals and transfers from Aviemore or Inverness) where we spent one of the nights in a communal snow hole we’d dug. Wrapped up in sleeping bags and taking a wee dram, we reflected on just how unbelievably cosy a room made of snow could be. While there, we were told that reindeers had been reintroduced to Scotland 60 years ago and now about 150 totter around nearby, so we took a 90-minute trip up into the dramatic hills run by Cairngorm Reindeer to see them: daily hill trips leave at 11am (£16/£10) but only once the herd has been found! Luke
Brilliant bar-restaurant, Bruges
Bruges may seem too obvious, but it’s small, easily walkable and its food and drink are perfect for cold weather – the obvious hot chips and waffles, but also delicious waterzooi – a creamy chicken (sometimes fish) stew. Most of the restaurants and a lot of the bars have roaring fires in the cold weather and there is nothing finer than spending an afternoon working your way through an impressive beer menu while you toast yourself. Our favourite bar is ‘t Zwart Huis, in a tall merchant’s house built in 1482 which has a beautiful interior with wood sculptures and wonderful medieval windows. It’s just so cosy and atmospheric you never want to leave – and there’s often top- quality live music, too. Ruth Govindarajah
Walking in Andalucía
Winter is brilliant for long walks between whitewashed Andalucían villages, hidden from the world, through fields of chestnut trees and across crystal-clear streams, surrounded by the mysterious hills of the Alto Genal. Parauta is a delightful small town in Málaga province. There might be a dusting of snow on the ground, more snow on the peaks of the nearby Sierra de las Nieves, maybe the sighting of a vulture above. Night skies are so clear you’ll wish you’d packed Prof Brian Cox in your case. Relax in front of an open log fire at Casas de Parauta, and in the morning have a coffee on your patio before doing it all again. •Two nights in cottage sleeping two from about €110, casasdeparauta.com Antony
Coastal strolls, Norfolk
We’ve spent several weekends in Brancaster Staithe, at the beautiful White Horse Inn right on the coastal path, so perfect for long walks with your pooch, who is allowed in the bar, and catered for in the garden rooms that overlook waterways wending their way out to sea. Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale, a short walk away, has lots of independent retailers, and runs special events throughout the year, as does the White Horse, specifically mussel and oyster festivals. A visit to nearby Holkham beach is a must, so wrap up warm, then grab a much-deserved hot chocolate afterwards. •Doubles from £120 B&B, whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk Clare
Brilliant cafe, Scottish Borders
The welcoming, high-end patisserie, Cocoa Black, serves great coffee and hot chocolate and is a huge reward for a winter walk in and around Peebles. It’s run by Ruth Hinks, who has made the top five of the World Chocolate Masters competition and who teaches chocolate and pastry skills at the site. The town is a well worth a visit at any time of year but the shorter days of winter encourage bracing, atmospheric walks by the mighty Tweed, which runs though the town and in the easily manageable surrounding hills (which offer plenty of bang for your buck in terms of views). •cocoablack.com Gavin Pearson
Traditional feast, Vilnius
The Lithuania capital is a magical winter destination. Last year our family enjoyed tobogganing with locals down the city’s Tauras Hill; walking through Bernardine Gardens; admiring bare trees dressed in frosty filigree, with views of Gediminas Castle and the surrounding hills; and sampling the hearty local cuisine. Ertlio Namas’s six-course taster menu from down the centuries was particularly memorable, including a 15th-century dish of duck with gingerbread, celery porridge and dried apple sauce, and 18th-century quince sweets with poppies and cranberries. The bright building and cosy dining rooms were lovely too. We followed this with a 30-minute train trip to the historic town of Trakai to explore its hauntingly beautiful island castle and skate on the lake. And, possibly our favourite, a hot-air balloon ride, looking down on Vilnius’s snow-covered roofs and spires. Sherry
Snow biking, Austria
We decided to try snow biking as an alternative to skiing after suffering a few aches and pains on previous ski trips. The shock absorption in the bike means you glide more easily over the bumps and it’s a lot less strenuous. The delightful Austrian village of Obertauern, in the Salzkammergut, was our base. I must admit being rather hesitant, but it proved to be an exhilarating experience and incredibly easy to master. We went on a couple of taster sessions and even a midnight guided tour. It’s a great alternative to skiing for those of us less agile and something our kids loved too. We learned with the SchiSchule Kokh whose taster two-hour sessions are €79pp. Lisa Anderson
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Scotland’s third-largest city is known as Granite City, and has a wealth of beautiful architecture: either on the Granite heritage trail or just by having a wander around and looking up. Styles and eras vary greatly, from the three Victorian domes of His Majesty’s Theatre, the Central Library and St Mark’s Church, to the neo-gothic Marischal College, and the brutalist tower blocks – which have inspired accessories by local design collective Look Inside. While you’re taking in the refurbished Aberdeen Art Gallery (among other events, a Martin Parr photography exhibition runs until 23 February 2020), check out the 28 different-coloured granite columns in the main hall – they came from quarries around the area.
Stroll the sandy shore
Aberdeen is also called “the silver city with the golden sands”, and has fantastic beaches. You can walk the coastal stretch from Footdee, a fishing village at the mouth of the large harbour, to the dunes at Balmedie in around three hours, then get the 54 bus back into town. Close to the harbour, Aberdeen Maritime Museum (free) offers a great way to learn about the city’s relationship with the sea – from the early days of clippers and shipbuilding to the North Sea oil and gas industry – and includes a 1:33 scale model of an oil rig.
Independent eating
For a vegan dinner Foodstory Cafe on central Thistle Street is a laid-back space, with live music, workshops and pop-up shops, such as plant sales. It serves wraps, soups, raw brownies and bowls filled with chilli, sushi or falafel – and it’s BYOB in the evening. Spin-off zero-waste cafe, Food Story Zero, is on the university campus in Old Aberdeen, an area that’s worth a wander. More centrally, Melt 2 calls itself the “home of grilled cheese” and does toasted sandwiches with gooey cheese, pickles, meats (including haggis) or veggie chilli (from £4). The Green is home to the monthly Inspired Nights street food market in warmer months (restarts April 2020); Cafe 52 serves tapas and modern British (mains £10) in an atmospheric old building; and try Contour for coffee and cake.
Walk the arty streets
There is a wealth of street art across Aberdeen, a lot of which was created as part of the Nuart street art festival, which takes place every April. It has been a big deal for Aberdeen since it started three years ago – with works created around the city by an array of international artists. Download a map of the art here and look out for (in particular) Jan Vormann’s Dispatchwork – several small Lego installations in the walls around The Green, the city centre marketplace – and the Glöbel Brothers’ mural on Willowbank Road gable end, in the style of a retro advertisement. Free walking toursalso run from January to September. Other festivals on Aberdeen’s calendar include the Spectra festival of light in February, Dance Live in October, and the Sound festival of new music in November.
Seasonal (and very local) ice-cream
For a taste of something truly Aberdonian, ice-cream maker Mackie’s has a cafe on Marischal Square, called Mackie’s 19.2 after the distance in miles to the family farm and factory in to the north-west. The company is always coming up with new seasonal flavours – for Burns Night this year it created a remarkable haggis and orange marmalade edition, and last Christmas it was minted brussels sprouts, gingerbread and Christmas pudding flavours. There was also a special rowie (a buttery roll, like a savoury croissant) and jam version, made for Aberdeen Performing Arts, which runs three local theatres. •mackies.co.uk
Discover indie designs
Lesser-known art spaces have been popping-up around the city in recent years. Among them is the Look Again Project Space on St Andrew Street, which was an empty shop that has been repurposed as an exhibition space. It showcases contemporary art and design by local artists through an initiative with Gray’s School of Art, part of the Robert Gordon University. Five minutes away on Queen Street, the Anatomy Rooms artists’ studios run public events, such as makers’ fairs and workshops, as well as classes and performances by in-house contemporary dance company City Moves. On Rosemount Place, the independent, artist-run Kekun Studio runs exhibitions and workshops.
Go to hospital
You wouldn’t normally think about going to see art in a hospital but Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has a fantastic changing collection on display on its corridor walls, as well as a dedicated in-house gallery, the Suttie Arts Space. It’s run in conjunction with the Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust and is open to the public as well as patients.
Unique shopping
Curated Stories on Claremont Street, at the western end of main drag Union Street, does a range of Scandi-inspired gifts and clothing, plus antiques – and hosts pop-up shops from the likes of vintage homewares seller Hume. Back on The Green, independent clothing boutique Hanon sells limited-edition trainers and T-shirts printed for Nuart. There are also lots of unique items being sold in the new Aberdeen Art Gallery shop – prints from Martin Parr’s Think Of Scotland exhibition, as well as jewellery made from reclaimed granite from the old, pre-refurbished gallery space.
Beer and bicycles
With beers called Peloton, Velo and Bombini, it’s no surprise that the owner of Belgian-style microbrewerySix°North, Robert Lindsay, is a keen cyclist who also runs a cycle sportive as part of the Midsummer Beer Happening, which takes place a few miles south in Stonehaven each June. The brewery first opened south of the city in 2013, and five bars followed across Scotland, starting with the one on Aberdeen’s Littlejohn Street. The intimate bar serves bar snacks such as poutine and brisket wraps. This is a good area for a mini local-brew crawl, with two Brewdog joints nearby, as well as a bar run by Fierce Beer, which also does daily tours of its brewery close to Aberdeen airport.
Dolphin spotting
Last used for defence in the second world war, the historic Torry Battery site is now a popular spot for dolphin watching. A pod of bottlenoses live at the mouth of the harbour and can be spotted throughout the year. The view from here also takes in the promenade, where Aberdeen meets the North Sea. It really feels like the edge of Scotland – the next stop is Norway. There are also seabirds, seals, otters and whales to spot. A project called Greyhope Bay is planning to add a viewing platform, a cafe and outdoor exhibits to the battery, and hold special events.
Where to stay In a listed building off Union Street, the new Citi Hotel has en suite twins from £30. Citi Hostelnext door has dorm beds from £15.75. Rooms and dorms are modern without being corporate (breakfast £5 extra).
Best time to visit Summer months at this latitude mean long, light-filled days. But winter can be great for (sometimes snowy) walks, perhaps with a wee dram to keep warm. The east coast of Scotland is drier than the west.
Getting there Trains from York to Aberdeen take five hoursfrom £67.50 one-way; from London King’s Cross around 7½ hours, from £36.50. The Caledonian Sleeper from London takes 10 hours, from £100 return in a reclining seat, or £280 return in a cabin.
Margaret Sweetnam is the communications manager at Aberdeen Art Gallery
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The Backroom venue in the Greystones pub is such a small and intimate venue that the audience can converse with the musicians. Earlier this year we saw a Canadian folk duo Pharis and Romero who blew our socks off with their beautiful harmonies and banjo playing. We have also seen Wreckless Eric there and a singer-songwriter called Sarah Jarosz from Texas whose Americana and contemporary folk also blew us away. The added bonus is that Greystones is the flagship pub for a local brewery, Thornbridge, and so there is a wide range of delicious craft beers and ales to sup while enjoying the tunes. •mygreystones.co.uk Penny
Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
We were off to see the Bootleg Beatles. A number 50 bus from the city centre took us to the Hare and Hounds in trendy Kings Heath. On the wall is a plaque proclaiming that this was where UB40 played their first gig (9 February 1979). Downstairs a traditional, Victorian bar and a modern, minimalist bar serve craft beers and good choice of Purity IPAs. The atmosphere was friendly with an eclectic mix of punters, some there for the gig, others just to drink and chat. The music was in an upstairs room with another bar. The atmosphere was buzzing and the band superb. Gig tickets from about £7 – a small price to keep music live. •On Facebook Carole
The Grayston Unity, Halifax
This tiny venue with a superb atmosphere is where excellent local indie band the Orielles launched their debut album, Silver Dollar Moment, in 2018. My personal highlight was seeing post-punk Manchester band the Blue Orchids with the brilliant Martin Bramah (ex-the Fall). Most gigs are free and you can listen to the likes of blues rocker Tom Hingley, indie covers band Zenit and others a matter of inches away, while supping on a pint of Chinook or a gentleman jack cocktail. •thegraystonunity.co.uk Steve
Claghaig Inn, Glencoe, Highlands
This wonderful pub is my favourite for live music. There’s a large selection of real ales and over 400 whiskies. The bands usually play Scottish folk music and the audience joins in with the best-known songs. Surrounded by mountains – the west face of Aonach Dubh looms over the pub – the place is unsurprisingly popular with walkers and climbers. There is hotel and self-catering accommodation, a campsite and youth hostel nearby. It’s my favourite pub in Scotland – once discovered, never forgotten. •clachaig.com Seona Stevenson
Duke of Cumberland, Whitstable, Kent
When I moved to Whitstable I was so pleased to come across “Dukes”, which showcases original music in lovely surroundings. The Grade II-listed venue’s walls are covered in art by artist Chris How. The Sugar Hill Gang, Lee Scratch Perry, Roy Ayres and Sticky Fingers are just some of acts to have played here. Sunday afternoon gigs are always free, but the quality of the musicians never seems to drop. There is a lovely garden and restaurant, and the venue attracts some famous faces from the music world – I once bumped into Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason here. •dukeinwhitstable.co.uk Craig Avery
Blue Peter Inn, Polperro, Cornwall
Last summer we stayed in Polperro for a month, kept there partly by the energising atmosphere of the music nights at the 16th-century Blue Peter Inn. Local singers belting out Cornish sea shanties and folk music, with the participation of the customers – often involving some friendly coercing – created an irresistible, feelgood vibe. Gigs – some planned, some impromptu, sparked the cosy pub into life, even spilling outside in front of the quay. •thebluepeterinn.com Nick
Charters, Peterborough
Just beyond the spires of Peterborough Cathedral, there’s an idyllic spot by the river alongside a bar on a moored Dutch barge named Charters. This venue has live bands throughout the year (outdoors in summer, on the barge now), with families, couples and hipsters young and old enjoying the music. The free gigs include covers bands and local bands such as Austin Gold blasting out their own infectious rhythms and tunes. The food is pretty decent too, with classic Thai and Indonesian dishes. •charters-bar.com Annie Carter
The Junction, south London
In a relatively unknown part of London, between Brixton and Camberwell, the Junction offers a wonderful array of live jazz, acoustic, latin and blues music every night of the week. During the jazz jams the musicians, always excellent, will usually be sitting in the pub among the crowd, only getting up for their turn, making it feel very spontaneous and friendly. The owners’ brilliantly eclectic jazz band plays on a Friday or you can pop down on other days to see musicians from across London. There is a lovely atmosphere, great tapas, board games on offer and it is dog-friendly. The pub is two minutes’ walk from Loughborough Junction station and there is no entry free. thejunction.london Emily
Chums, Bristol
Chums is a tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it neighbourhood boozer bursting at the seams with character. The windows steam up, the locals stream in, and you can expect to have a thoroughly lovely evening. Couple this with Chums’ regular live folk, gypsy and bluegrass musicians and you’re onto a winner. Best of all is Ponchartrain – a gorgeously ramshackle seven-piece band playing Americana meets Hillbilly meets honky tonk meets blues. Chums, don’t ever change. •On Facebook Alice Howells
The Lismore, Glasgow
Every Monday at the Lismore, a folk band slowly assembles itself through the evening. You might start with a fiddle, an accordion and acoustic guitar – but by the end of the night a multitude of musicians will have assembled and be in full flow. It feels profoundly Scottish to be sipping a pint of Tennent’s lager at such a beautiful little local pub and listening to traditional music. The dark wood interior, many nooks and crannies and stained glass windows help create a traditional atmosphere but attract a really mixed crowd. As a bonus, each urinal is dedicated to one of the perpetrators of the Highland Clearances so the men, at least, can pee with pride. •On Facebook Thomas
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Royal Horticultural Society gardens’ winter sculpture walks, lights and fairs are very popular so book a long way ahead. From 7 Dec to 5 Jan, RHS Wisley, Surrey, has a new light trail with giant floral illuminations for its Glow event and an Enchanted Botanical Christmas in a glasshouse (£11/£7). Near Harrogate, RHS Harlow Carr (£10/£5, Thur-Sat until 28 Dec) has an illuminated walk and sculpture trail; at Essex’s RHS Hyde Hall (£12/£6, weekends until 15 Dec) children can make Christmas crafts and meet the bearded one (£14 extra). In Devon, Rosemoor’s Glow illuminations run through a winter garden (£10.62/£5.31, until 4 Jan) and Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden (from£17/£11, under 4s free, until 29 Dec) has a 70-metre “cathedral of light”.
Sherry tasting, Yorkshire & London
Sherry, the most festive of British tipples, is now the preferred nectar of many a connoisseur. Get some practice in before the big day so you know exactly which to sip when The Snowman comes on by tasting a few in a specialist bar. Ambiente is a tapas restaurant with branches in York, Leeds and Hull, offering sherry flights, a sherry menu and staff trained to advise on sherry pairings. In London, Bar Pepito in Kings Cross has a great sherry menu and serves taster flights, or download the London Sherry Trail map and tour 47 bars specialising in the fortified wine all across the city.
Sustainable Christmas fairs
Stockings full of plastic tat, bins full of rubbish … Christmas can be shockingly wasteful, but new sustainable festive fairs make green-gifting easier. Those near Manchester today can make it to Christmas Shouldn’t Cost the Earth (11am-7pm) at Hatch on Oxford Road, featuring 25 zero-waste brands and makers. Brighton hosts its first Zero Waste Christmas Market on 15 Dec (entry from £5.98) at the Old Market in Hove; in Godalming, Surrey, the Vegan and Eco Living Christmas Fayre brings ethical gifts and sustainable Christmas food to Surrey on 8 Dec; and Warrington, Cheshire, hosts The Sustainable Living Christmas Market on 14 Dec.
East London’s Sustainable Christmas Fair (1 Dec, book workshops in advance) at Core Clapton has wreath-making, jumper upcycling, soap- and terrarium-making, plus conscious fashion, skin care and jewellery stalls. Also in the capital, the Zero Waste Christmas Market (7 Dec, entry from £7.49) is at the Boiler House on Brick Lane.
Messiah, Belfast
Classical favourite Handel’s Messiah oratorio is being performed at the city’s modern Waterfront Hall (14 Dec, tickets from £20) by the professional Ulster Orchestra and the 120-strong Belfast Philharmonic Choir, with four acclaimed soloists led by conductor Ruben Jais. While you’re in the city, make time to visit the Queen’s official residence in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle and Gardens (£11.40 adult, £5.70 child), 12 miles south of Belfast, where winter events include a natural wreath-making workshop (13 and 14 Dec, £45), and festive family weekends with storytelling, arts and crafts, dancing and drumming, historic characters and Father Christmas (14-15, 21-23 and 27 Dec-5 Jan).
Classic Christmas films, Buckinghamshire
Snuggling on the sofa to watch classics such as It’s A Wonderful Life, or Home Alone or the Muppet Christmas Carol is all well and good, but it’s more fun to make a proper night of it with a trip out to Neighbourhood Cinema’s seasonal set-up, The Ice Palace, in a new venue at St Michael’s Church in Beaconsfield. Guests can book a date night bundle, which includes a bottle of prosecco, popcorn, ice-cream and a blanket; or a family bundle, including two cocktails and two “elf” boxes with snacks for kids. •Screenings 16-21 Dec, adults from £19.50, date night bundle £69 for two, family bundle (2+2) £89, neighbourhoodcinema.co.uk
The Christmas House, Hastings
The Tudor House is a restored, 16th-century half-timbered home filled with antiques, taxidermy and not a single mod con. The creation of local photographer/design shop owner AG Hendy, it opens to visitors several times a year, and in December becomes The Christmas House, with old-time decorations and greenery accentuating its rustic, pared-back style. Sit by the fire in a wingback chair to read a specially written fairytale, The Elves and The Baker, or come on Christmas Eve for spiced wine. It’s a holiday let, too. • Open 14, 15, 21-23 Dec, £5 adult, £3 child, Christmas Eve £7/£3. From £1,200 for three nights, with champagne and breakfast
Carol-oke, Liverpool, London & Manchester
Think your Good King Wenceslas blows away your mate’s Ding Dong Merrily? Book a group into a private wooden “hutte” booth with a Carol-oke machine for a seasonal sing-song at one of three Bar Hutte venues, in Liverpool, London’s Hyde Park, or Manchester’s Spinningfields. Order a hot gin with gingerbread to soothe the vocal chords; get into the après ski vibe with a “shot ski” – a real ski loaded with shot glasses; or classic Alpine cocktail, such as a creamy custardy bombardino, hailing from the Italian Alps. •Huttes from £40 in Liverpool, £45 in Manchester and £80 in London, for 1¾hours for 6-10 people, barhutte.co.uk
Tea dance and Winterland, Kent
Embrace the kitsch of Christmas at Margate’s Dreamland theme park, which becomes Winterland Margate for December. After a mulled wine or three you’ll be ready for the vintage rides or Roller Disco. Makers from Kent’s branch of handcrafted and vintage website Etsy supply many of the Christmas fair stalls, and others are stacked with vegan homebakes. For another gift option, there’s a journal or album-making workshop on 15 Dec. Children can attend readings by local author Tim Johnston of his new book My Penguin Family. There’s also an afternoon Christmas tea dance on 10 Dec. •Admission to Winterland Margate is free, 7, 8, 14, 15, then daily 21-31 Dec, tea dance £4, dreamland.co.uk
Festive light trail, Wiltshire
Festooned with 100,000 pea-lights, a new Tunnel of Light at Stourhead National Trust gardens forms part of a one-mile light trail, with twinkling hedgerows, a laser garden, a scented fire garden and a “fibre- optic lawn”. Visitors can toast marshmallows at fire pits, take a spin on a Victorian fairground ride and drink spiced cider as they explore the exotic trees, temples and a vast tree-lined lake. •Runs until 30 Dec, £18/£12nationaltrust.org.uk
Twilight trainsin the Forest of Dean
Many steam railways run Christmassy events: Perrygrove Railway in the small town of Coleford, in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, has a series of twilight departures through illuminated woodlands (Fri and Sat between 6-21 Dec and on 22 and 23, from £10.50pp). Nearby, the spectacular Clearwell Caves(from £14), where iron ore has been mined for 4,500 years, will be decorated with Christmas lights from 29 Nov-24 Dec.
Ice rinks
As well as the spectacular rinks at Hampton Court, Somerset House and the Natural History Museum, London has a new ice rink at the recently opened London City Island, a new development of homes and creative hubs close to Canning Town (12-22 Dec, £8 adult, £5.50 child, under-5s free). From 12-15 Dec, a Christmas market features craft workshops – from pom-pom baubles to Christmas crackers, plus festive wine tastings (starting at £20pp).Liverpool’s waterfront has a 30-metre ice slide and ice rink as part of its Ice Festival (£12 adult, 3-12s £10, slide £6 for three rides). The Belfast SSE Arena (21 Dec-3 Jan, from £4) has skating, including seats to see the Belfast Giants ice hockey team. The Eden Project will host Cornwall’s only indoor ice rink in one of its biomes (£7 adult, £6 child, until 23 Feb) and a festival (until 30 Dec, £26 adult, child £13.50, under-5s free) that includes a Christmas jumper swap, Luke Jerram’s Gaia Earth artwork, and 21 musicians playing three shows every night.
Gig, dance show and panto in one!
Currently touring the UK, The Lock In Christmas Carol combines music, dance and theatre with a tale about the regulars of The Olde Fighting Cocks pub planning a folk and hip-hop night, only to be scuppered by the Scrooge-like landlady’s plans to run a community-upsetting techno night instead. Remaining dates include Barnsley Civic (30 Nov), Norwich playhouse (7 Dec), Gateshead Sage (11), Bury Met (12), Cambridge Junction (18), Basingstoke Haymarket (19) and London Stanley Halls (20). •Seven years and over, tickets from £17, thedemonbarbers.co.uk
Robins’ nest box workshop, Carmarthenshire
At the Llanelli Wetland Centre, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is running workshops to teach nature lovers how to help our favourite Christmas bird species to survive through the predicted harsh winter. Participants build their own robins’ nest box, to accommodate springtime chicks, then can head off to wander the wooden walkways across 450 acres of lakes, ponds and reed beds. The centre is home to rare species such as the Hawaiian (or nene) goose, which visitors can fatten up by feeding by hand (though not for the Christmas dinner table). •15 and 22 Dec, £10 per box, admission £8.81/£5.54, wwt.org.uk
Christmas ghost tales, Portsmouth & Hull
Festive ghost stories were an essential part of dark winter nights for centuries, particularly in Victorian times, and this Christmas tradition has been revived for a spooky candlelit reading session by the fire at Wymering Manor (3 Dec, £15). It’s the oldest listed building in Portsmouth, and claims a number of resident ghosts. Similarly, at Burton Constable Hall (15 Dec, £20pp), an impressive Elizabethan country house near Hull, there’s a ghostly Christmas play, Festive Spirits, with time to explore the hall, plus mulled wine and mince pies. The show moves to Hull City Hall on 18 and 19 Dec (£7).
Carols in castles
With opulent rooms full of antiques and oil paintings, 800-year-old FyvieCastle, 25 miles north-east of Aberdeen, has hosted King William of Scotland, Robert the Bruce and Charles I. It’s a suitable setting for a carol concert by the St John Festival Choir, conducted by composer Paul Mealor (7 Dec, £12 entry). In the rather more ruined Corfe Castle near the Dorset coast, welly-wearing carollers will be on song in the grounds on 8 and 13 Dec (admission £10 adult); while at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, AKA Downton Abbey, a posh evening of champagne and song (18 Dec, £120pp) includes a tour of the firelit rooms before carols round the tree.
Celtic festival, County Armagh
The Celtic archaeological site of Emain Machan at Navan Fort, a pre-Christian archaeological site, is holding an evening dedicated to Celtic Yuletide traditions, covering the importance of mistletoe to druids, the symbolism of the moon and stars, plus music and seasonal snacks. Sadly the dawn winter solstice event is already sold out, but consider for next year. Meanwhile the city of Armagh has a Georgian Christmas Festival this weekend, with stalls, guided tours, workshops on silhouette cutting, “lofty letter writing” and wax sealing, twilight tours of the grand Milford House, and evensong in St Patrick’s Church. •6 Dec, £18 adult, £10 child, visitarmagh.com
Harbour lights, Cornwall
The winter festival in the cute harbour town of Mousehole, near Penzance, sees coloured lanterns and lights strung across alleyways, reaching up into the surrounding hillsides and adorning bobbing sailing boats in the harbour. Even St Clement’s Island, 500 metres off shore, is decorated with an illuminated Celtic cross. For the launch day on 14 Dec, local choirs will join the Pendeen Silver Band for a concert on the North Quay. •14 Dec to 4 Jan, mouseholelights.org.uk
Nut roast isn’t the only option. Unusual ideas for vegan feasts are on the table for a class at Birmingham’s Better Bites Cookery School (10 Dec, £65pp). Christmas tunes and fairy lights will lend fun, and there’ll be tips on plating up with style, and a sit-down meal at the end. Another meat-free option is the Natural Cookery School (7 Dec, £95pp) near Stroud, Gloucestershire, for A Very Vegan Christmas, learning dishes such as brussels sprout and shitake dumplings, and squash, mushroom, chestnut and kale filo wreath.
Alice in Wonderland, Oxfordshire
A new Christmas light trail at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, features a mile-long glittering path with an aerial light show, illuminated waterfalls and trees, and vines embedded with colourful LEDs. Inside, things are just as spectacular, with the house’s lavish rooms transformed and decorated on an Alice in Wonderland theme. Back outside there’s a woodland laser garden, trails of glowing flowers and illuminated tunnels, while textiles, ceramics and handicrafts can be bagged in the Christmas market. Christmas celebrations run until 5 Jan. •Combined ticket for trail and palace £40.50/£25.50, blenheimpalace.com
Panto with a twist, Edinburgh
Family-friendly pantos – produced by theatre company for young people Strange Town – at the Scottish Storytelling Centre depart from the “oh yes it is!” norm. In the “Insta-inspired” tale of Sno Wite & the 7 Dickensians (13 and 14 Dec, 9pm) characters include a selfie-obsessed Prince Charming and biker-booted Sno Wite, while for Cindy (13 and 14 Dec, 7pm) the star plots her escape from a Poundland far far away via a TV talent show. There’s also a reworking of Jaq and the Beanstalk on 14 Dec, 3pm and 15 Dec 11.30am. •Tickets from £9, scottishstorytellingcentre.com
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There’s a pub on George’s Quay called Callanan’s. It’s one of my favourite places to take someone who’s from out of town to have a pint of Beamish and watch the old men playing rings in the back room. I’ve taken Steve Reich there, and Aidan Gillen and Camille O’Sullivan. We use it in the Sounds From a Safe Harbour festival for some of the acoustic shows on the music trail we run through the city. It’s real, unpretentious old Cork. The family who run it live upstairs, so when you go to the loo you feel like you’re going through their house. And it does the best Beamish in the city: the atmosphere adds to the taste. •24 George’s Quay, on Twitter
Cafe and culture
The Glucksman gallery is a stone’s throw from the southern arm of the River Lee, and it’s always nice to have brunch at the Bobo Café there and then go up and peruse the exhibitions. It’s part of University College Cork, where I studied, so I have a real connection with the place. They often make an academic context for their exhibitions and a dialogue between the artwork and the campus – a recent one was called Circadian Rhythms: Contemporary Art and Biological Time, and it brought together artists and designers such as Suki Chan and Maarten Baas with the university’s microbiome research centre. The brunch menu at Bobo has dishes like homemade granola with yoghurt and fruit (€6.50), shakshuka, and chilli tempeh with beans and patatas bravas (both €9).
A night at the opera
There are great venues all over Cork: the Opera House, the Everyman, Live at St Luke’s, the Kino … You’re never short of work to go and see. I was chief executive at the Opera House for five years. So many people said it was a poisoned chalice but I have zero regrets, and it’s how I ended up doing what I’m doing now. It’s 165 years old (rebuilt in 1963), the largest venue in the south of Ireland but still an incredibly intimate room, with 1,000 seats, and not a bad one in the house – wherever you are, you always feel close to the action. And acoustically it’s beautiful. I used to love standing in the room after a show, when the atmosphere was still hanging in the air.
Morning coffee
The Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival was created in the Soma and Filter coffee shops; I didn’t have an office when I started, so I used to settle myself in one of them each day, put my headphones in and work. Filter is the long-established coffee house in Cork and stocks coffee from roasters such as 3fe in Dublin and Square Mile in London. Soma roasts its own coffee: it also has a wine licence and serves lunch, brunch and evening tapas. •Filter, 19 George’s Quay, on Facebook. Soma, 23 Tuckey St, somacoffeecompany.ie
Michelin-star Japanese
Chef Takashi Miyazaki started with a tiny Japanese takeaway, Miyazaki, in 2015 before he opened the more upscale Ichigo Ichie, and within months he had won himself a Michelin star. He’s always there, cooking in front of everybody. Originally from Fukuoka in southern Japan, he trained in fusion teppanyaki cooking and moved to Ireland in 2008. The original takeaway is on a residential street and daily specials might include lemon ramen, hake hotpot and sweet and sour cod nanban don (from €13.50). Ichigo Ichie seats 25 and offers a set 12-course kaiseiki menu (€120 a head), where dishes might include pistachio tofu with beetroot miso, apple blossom and gold leaf; Bantry Bay sea urchin; and Asian pear with sanshō in rosé wine and nasturtium with “shiso fluff”. Miyazaki has also won a string of awards and participated in food festivals across Cork. I used to programme the Mitchelstown Cave concerts, about an hour outside of Cork, and he cooked at a pop-up there. •Miyazaki, 1A Evergreen St, on Facebook. Ichigo Ichie, 5 Fenns Quay, ichigoichie.ie
River and park walk
A beautiful walk follows the northern arm of the River Lee from town to Fitzgerald’s Park. It’s a special place for me – we used to live in a house right on the park, and there’s a massive big old tree there that my mother used to say was a fairy tree (she used to run ahead and put presents in it for us kids to find). There’s a stage in the park now that’s used throughout the summer. I did one event there where we used GPS to install Music for Wood and Strings, by Bryce Dessner, the American composer and guitarist with rock band the National – as you walked through the park the music would evolve.
Famous food market
The covered English Market in the city centre has been trading since 1788. It was given this name to distinguish it from the St Peter’s Market, which once stood nearby. We go here every single day – I pick the kids up from school and we go and get stuff for dinner. There’s a different stall for everything: red meat here, chicken there, fish from the other end. You can buy “duck” loaves (tapered at both ends), local raw milk and fresh oysters. I recommend the cured, spiced joints of beef from Tom Durcan – they are really good for slicing up at Christmas. •englishmarket.ie
Veggie paradise
Cafe Paradiso is one of Europe’s best vegetarian restaurants, founded by chef Denis Cotter. He used to be a banker, set up the restaurant in 1993, and is now the author of several cookbooks including Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me. Cafe Paradiso is known for using seasonal, local produce and cheeses, working closely with Gort-Na-Nain Farm, near the coast south of the city, and the current menu includes celeriac and crozier blue dauphinoise, and rosemary set custard with figs and damson port (three courses €46.50, starter and main €38.50). In 2017, the festival put on a secret gig: audiences had to follow signs written in chalk along the pavement to reach the venue, where there were performances by Lisa Hannigan and David Kitt, and dancers led by Jessica Dessner, followed by Denis Cotter serving you a plate of food. •16 Lancaster Quay, paradiso.restaurant
Happy hour … any time
Visit the River Lee Hotel for a pre-anything cocktail. Before breakfast even. This year they made us a Safe Harbour cocktail for the festival. I can’t remember exactly what went into it – things that shouldn’t go well together, like rum, Guinness and lime. It was a dirty brown colour. But I tried it on the Thursday night with Jon Hopkins and it tasted fantastic. •Western Road, doylecollection.com
Classic clothing
My wardrobe’s full of Miss Daisy Blue, an incredible vintage shop off one of the market arcades, curated by Breda Casey. It’s small, but has two floors – upstairs is more evening wear. We once did a fashion show in the market called Fable and all the clothes were from Miss Daisy Blue. Irene Buckley composed the music, there was poetry from Doireann Ni Ghriofa, and we brought dancers instead of models. They finished with a performance by the dancer Stephanie Dufresne around the market fountain. •Unit 12-14, Market Parade, on Facebook
When to go
Cork hosts festivals aplenty, and as it’s a relatively small place, the whole city buzzes when one hits town. Just three of the highlights are the Cork Harbour Festival (5-24 May 2020), a celebration of Ireland’s maritime heritage in the second largest natural harbour in the world; the Cork Jazz Festival (22-26 October 2020); and the Cork Film Festival in mid-November.
Where to stay The historic Metropole Hotel (doubles from €98 room-only), on trendy McCurtain Street, has had a tasty makeover. The city’s newest hotel is The Clayton (doubles from €98 room-only). The Vienna Woods Hotel (doubles from €98 room-only) on the outskirts of town has plenty of old-world charm and is in a lovely woodland setting.
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It’s not entirely a travelogue nor is it a memoir. Rather, it’s the point where the two intersect, and that for me is the essence of enlightening travel. How exactly does meeting new people and seeing new places affect you, change your attitudes and increase your self-knowledge? Sometimes it’s faraway and exotic travel (in New Zealand: “it fascinated me that people had Antarctica as a word in their ordinary, everyday lexicon.”) and sometimes it’s time spent for work in a city nearer home. Boland is an observant and thoughtful traveller, who is also grateful for and aware of what her own “home roots” have given her.
Over several years as an enthusiastic amateur traveller, I’ve tried to keep a journal of experiences and journeys. Boland’s determination to write diaries and notes, instead of taking hundreds of photographs, resonates with me. Do I ever look back at old holiday photos? Rarely. But I get pleasure from re-reading my own notebooks. I’d say to anyone who likes to travel, please read this book and start “noticing” your own journeys – even if you can’t be persuaded to put down your phone and write notes! Chosen byLinda Murray, owner, Books Paper Scissors, Belfast
Between Stone and Sky,by Whitney Brown
Constable, £9.99
This beautiful memoir really got under my skin. At 26, Brown is studying for an MA in the US and thinks her career path is mapped out – until chance brings drystone waller “Jack” from Wales to Washington DC. Fascinated by his craft, she accepts an invitation to visit his home in Wales. Mere months later, she is working alongside him. Delighting in the physicality of the job and the shifting beauty of the Welsh countryside, Brown discovers that she doesn’t need to be on native soil to feel a sense of homecoming. She deftly sketches the local topography by listing the gear changes required to navigate its valleys, revels in the local language and discovers the joy of elevenses. Her quest to build a life from her craft takes her to Italy, North Carolina, Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains, and back to rural Wales. Her evocation of place is pitch-perfect, from mist-shrouded hillsides to the “gorgeous throb” of the thick summer air of North Carolina. This is a tale of finding harmony between body and soul, between the heft of stone, the inspiration of good friends and the joy of travel. Jenny Tattersall, bookseller, Cogito Books, Hexham
Footnotes: A Journey Round Britain in the Company of Great Writers, by Peter Fiennes
Oneworld, £16.99
Jostling to the front of a rather crowded pack of recent nature writers, Fiennes’ 2017 Oak and Ash and Thorn was justly revered for its lyrical prose and literary bedrock. Honing his easy-going and often witty style in this new book, Fiennes takes us on journeys of writers from 12th-century cleric Giraldus Cambrensis to Beryl Bainbridge, by way of Enid Blyton and Charles Dickens.
Though literary travelogues aren’t a wholly novel genre, there’s an infectious enthusiasm and self-deprecating authority to Fiennes’s insights and he’s a most agreeable companion. Recounting a visit to a Welsh barber, he talks of “my scalp being kneaded and delicately teased by an early middle-aged, handsomely coiffed blond man from Neath”. Likewise, there’s a neat line about the invention of the footnote, in a footnote. There will be many nature titles vying for a place on Christmas lists this year, and no doubt a cornucopia of literary anthologies and travelogues to boot. This one should be towards the top. Tim Batcup, owner, Cover to Cover, Mumbles, Swansea
Travellers in the Third Reich: the Rise of Fascism through the Eyes of Everyday People, by Julia Boyd
Elliott & Thompson, £10.99
In the 1930s, Germany was the most popular tourist destination in Europe. Yet few travel books were written about it at the time. Julia Boyd has tracked down those accounts and, together with descriptions from private letters and diaries and from public archives, produced a fresh view of between- the-wars Germany. This is land of friendly people, beautiful countryside, vineyards, forests, medieval villages and impressive culture. A female journalist notes how a woman could do what she liked in Weimar Germany. A New Zealand Rhodes Scholar writes of “the emergence of a new type of person, sunburnt, wearing sensible clothes and of splendid physique”. Other accounts, especially those from journalists, politicians and diplomats, convey a sense of unease, of menace. Chilling stuff. This book will earn a permanent place on people’s bookshelves, rather than being shipped out to a charity shop to make room for next year’s batch. The hardback, already out of print, is becoming scarce with secondhand copies for sale on Amazon at almost twice the original price. Evelyn Westwood, co-owner, Westwood Books, Sedbergh, Cumbria
Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey, by Madeleine Bunting
Granta, £9.99
The first thing to say, and this is important in the book world, is that it has a terrific cover. The second is that old classic of it just being “a good read”. Bunting writes evocatively about the Hebrides and, for the most part, gets the details and description right. The best thing about it is that it made me want to revisit the islands I know, as well as visit the ones I haven’t been to yet. The book has a lovely balance of autobiography, literary references, history, politics, religion and culture. I opened the shop in September 2018 – this is my retirement project – and though we don’t carry many new books (we focus on secondhand), I’ve had to restock this a number of times because it’s so popular. Ruth Anderson, owner, Well-Read Books of Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway
This Tilting World, by Colette Fellous
Les Fugitives, £13
Translated from French by Sophie Lewis, this beautifully elusive book mixes biography, travel memoir, fiction, essay and journalism to weave a lyrical account of identity and its ambiguity. Fellous’ writing carries an innate intelligence that never feels contrived. With it she observes the rituals and language that fabricate an identity, focusing on what happens when these things dissolve or become fragmented. It is punctuated with photos taken on a phone and infused with poetic descriptions of Tunisia, Paris and Normandy, among other places that the author has passed through and allowed to pass through her. This piece of autofiction has a strange and perfectly balanced duality of softness and seriousness. The text is melancholic and nostalgic, but also urgent and of its time. Perhaps it is the value of living within such paradoxes that I took from this novel, memoir, text – whatever it is. Callum Churchill, store manager, Stanfords, Bristol
Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands, by Judith Schalansky
Waymaking: An Anthology of Women’s Adventure Writing, Poetry and Art, edited by Helen Mort, Claire Carter, Heather Dawe and Camilla Barnard
Vertebrate Publishing, £17.99
This is a collection of musings, poems and illustrations from a wide range of women worldwide, all of whom share a great passion for the outdoors, adventure and the wild. Their pieces will transport you on incredible journeys from the majesty of the Cairngorms through to the glacial domes of southern Chile, from capturing underwater photographs in Fiji to shivering through a blizzard in Canada’s Baffin Island. These amazing, intrepid women have captured the beauties of our world through their pens, brushes and lenses. The elegantly designed book includes both colour and black-and-white artwork to accompany the text. Enlightening and hugely inspirational, this is a book to treasure. Cate Simmons, bookseller, News from Nowhere, Liverpool
Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country, by Edward Parnell William Collins, £9.99
After a family tragedy, this author turned for comfort to British literature, particularly literature that involved ghost stories. This inspired him to travel to haunted places mentioned in stories and, in turn, be inspired by them. Ruins, fens, seaside, forests and waters all have mysteries and ghosts. Folklore and natural history come to life as Parnell travels the country in search of the mystery, loneliness and strangeness the British countryside has to offer – if you know where to look. This is a wonderfully evocative book, creating a sense of place and invoking the power of literature and nature. Adam, bookseller, Hewson Books at The Kew Bookshop, Kew
The World, by Michael Poliza
teNeues, £225
Michael Poliza’s new book is, for me, this year’s outstanding travel book. Four hundred pages of beautifully detailed photography are an eloquent answer to the notion that the coffee-table book has no place in an Instagram world. The book is physically huge, and the photography – of landscapes, people and animals – is so good that the effect is truly immersive. The sense is always of a traveller making personal discoveries – a beach where swimmers share the pristine water with sharks, or a stunning azure ice cave. Manmade vistas and patterns attract Poliza too – in his hands a car park becomes a beautiful pattern, and a ring of Vietnamese fishing boats exquisite. Poliza, who made his name photographing Africa, has created a dazzling testament to a disappearing world. At £225 for a limited edition, £265 signed, The World is not cheap – but it is very special indeed. Brett Wolstencroft, manager, Daunt Books, London
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Next week’s Guardian Travel section will be dedicated to hidden UK gems – and we want to include some of your recommendations in our roundup. It could be a community-run pub or cinema, a gallery or railway run by volunteers, an out of the way or eccentric attraction that’s worth the trip … anywhere or anything you think is worth shouting about.
Send tips by filling in the form below, with as much detail as you can in around 100 words. We’re sorry, but for legal reasons you must be a UK resident to enter this competition.
Photographs are welcome if they are high-quality and you are happy to share but it is the text that our judges will consider. If you do send photographs please ensure you are the copyright holder.
The best tips will appear on the Guardian Travel website and may also appear in print in Guardian Travel. The winner, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet, will receive a £200 hotel voucher from UK.hotels.com.
Competition closes Tuesday 10 December 2019, 10am GMT
If you’re having trouble using the form, click here.
I’m ushered into what looks like an upright glass coffin, told to fold my hands across my chest in the classic corpse position – and then push a green button. I’m wondering exactly what I’ve got myself into when the trapdoor falls open and I plummet into a tube of fast-flowing water. It’s up my nose, in my mouth; I can’t see and can hardly breathe for a few tumultuous seconds before the gradient of the water slide reduces from vertical to merely steep and I’m propelled around more bends and spat out at the bottom. I feel like I’ve been flushed down a toilet.
The Vildfål is one of the more extreme experiences at the new Rulantica indoor water park, which opened on 28 November. Half an hour’s drive north of Freiburg im Breisgau in south-west Germany, it’s next to Europa-Park, the country’s largest theme park. Both are owned by the Mack family, a dynasty of entrepreneurs who have been enticing visitors to this corner of the Black Forest since 1975. In building the €180m Rulantica, the family has made its biggest single investment to date.
The idea for a water park came from Europa-Park customers, according to Thomas Mack, co-managing director. In making the suggestion a reality, the family hopes the theme park’s 5.6 million annual visitors (95% are German, French or Swiss) will want to sample Rulantica, too, and will stay a little longer in one of the resort’s hotels. There are now six of these, the Krønasår having opened next to Rulantica earlier this year. Ticketed separately, the water park also gives customers a reason to visit year-round – while Europa-Park closes for a couple of months in winter, Rulantica will remain open all year (online prices: adults €38.50, 4-11 €35.50, under-4s free).
Twenty years in the planning, construction took 26 months and was completed on time by project manager Charles R Botta. The result is a 32,600 sq m shell-shaped indoor space styled as a mythical island, with different activity areas grouped around a central wave pool, and an additional area outdoors. Instead of the usual water park decor of palm trees and pirate ships, Rulantica is inspired by Scandinavia. Waterfalls trickle over rocks, trolls populate a playground for small children, and a lazy river drifts under stalactites through a cave, where mermaids and fish hang out with Snorri – the park’s octopus mascot – in a projected animation.
It’s an appropriate theme for a park that prides itself on its eco-credentials. Rulantica’s green measures include 3,000 solar modules on the covered car park and a filter system enabling 80% of the wastewater from its pools to be recycled. Steps were taken during construction to protect animal and plant habitats around the park, including creating a bat corridor and a bee pavilion – the resulting honey is available in the Krønasår hotel.
I forget to pick up a map but it’s fun to explore without. I climb a stairway and discover a door to some outdoor rapids. A beached steamship turns out to contain a set of family-friendly slides and a swim-up bar in the Skog Lagune (lagoon) is a pleasant spot to sip a cocktail in a whirlpool bed, despite one couple treating it as snog lagoon.
There are 17 water slides, from entry-level thrills for tots to the full toilet-flush experience. I try out the Isbrekker, two short slides ending with a 1.5-metre drop into a pool, and the Stormvind, where I sit on a raft on which I’m sucked down a tube into a giant whirlpool. My favourite – and many others’, judging by the queue – is the Vinter Rytt, where up to four people cling to an inflatable as it plunges down a vertiginous tunnel before sliding up a sheer wall and back down again, bringing a moment of weightlessness.
The park is designed for relaxation as much as adrenaline. There are deckchairs and loungers, private booths and sofas available at extra cost, and several snack bars and cafes, where purchases are registered on your wristband and paid for on exiting the park. However, the menu of burgers, pizza, pasta and salads is uninspiring and there are no free drinking water fountains. Instead, you can buy a Rulantica-themed keep-cup (€17.50; €16.50 if bought online in advance) and then fill up on free soft drinks from the dispensers. Since the park’s temperature is 32C and accessing the slides involves climbing plenty of steps, hydration is essential.
With its menu of Scandinavian and German dishes (pork schnitzel with potato salad €16.50, Swedish meatballs €15.50, roasted salmon €22), eating in the Bubba Svens restaurant in the neighbouring Krønasår hotel is a classier affair. In keeping with the Nordic theme, the hotel is a collection of brightly coloured wooden buildings set on a fjord. Inside it’s styled to resemble a natural history museum. A giant skeleton of a mythical sea serpent dominates the foyer and display cabinets feature Nordic outfits and accoutrements from bygone days. It’s all intended to evoke the “story” of Rulantica, a fictional narrative about a lost island, which has even spawned a children’s novel (only available in German).
It’s a pleasing construct with plenty of family appeal but it’s not the story that sticks in my mind afterwards: it’s the thrill of the unknown at the top of a slide, the adrenaline rush of being flushed feet-first down a tube, and the relief of surviving to tell the tale.
•Train travel, Rulantica park entry and accommodation, at the Krønasår (doubles from €225), were provided by Europa-Park. As an alternative to driving, take the train (frequent direct services from Paris, Basel, Freiburg and Strasbourg) to Ringsheim station, 3.5km from the park, and then the 7231 bus
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