Beyond Snowdon: the best alternative hikes in Wales

Beyond Snowdon: the best alternative hikes in Wales

Wales-bound hikers invariably make a beeline for Snowdon, Britain’s highest mountain outside of Scotland. But with annual visitor numbers cresting the 600,000 mark, and the Snowdonia Society raising concerns last year about the negative effects on the peak and its paths, it could be high time to turn elsewhere for a weekend of walking. In…

Existence at the extremities: a journey through Svalbard, Norway

Svalbard is as human as the Arctic gets – as far north as you can go without joining an expedition. Luke Waterson discovers what it takes to survive here.

Brave new world: the quirks of Finland’s saunas

To Finns, it is the most natural thing on the planet: disrobing, sweating it out naked in front of strangers in temperatures of 80°C, occasionally self-flagellating and, ideally, following up with a plunge into water only a fraction above freezing. To the rest of the world, Finland’s tradition of sauna frequenting – the cornerstone of…