You can have Scandi wellness experiences and Nordic food during a more planet-friendly staycation.
Scandinavia is renowned as a wellness tourism destination where travellers seek health-boosting experiences like steaming in a sauna or jumping into icy water.
But if a trip to the northern European region is out of budget or you prefer a staycation to be more sustainable, the UK and Ireland are not short of Nordic-style breaks.
In Scotland, you can start your mornings with wild swimming in a loch while on the coast of Northern Ireland, you can warm up after a dip in the icy sea with a sauna.
Here are some of the top Scandi experiences to try in the UK this autumn.
From sea to sauna in Northern Ireland
Hastings Hotels’ Ballygally Castle, located on the Antrim Coast, is inviting guests to embrace the chill of the Irish shore with its Sauna by the Sea overnight package.
It involves an icy dip right outside the 17th-century four-star hotel immediately followed by a warming pop-up sauna session on the beachfront courtesy of local company Scenic Sauna.
As part of the experience, hotel guests are provided with dry robes, slippers and a thermos flask filled with a warm drink – which can be taken to the fireside when returning to the hotel.
Go wild swimming in a Scottish loch
In September, the Loch Rannoch Hotel on the eponymous waterbody is hosting a writing and wild swimming retreat with British actress, comedian and writer Doon Mackichan.
The five-day programme involves a daily morning dip in the chilly freshwater loch followed by journalling workshops. In the evening, guests are invited to unwind in the hotel’s fireside lounge with a glass of whisky.
Participants of the retreat are encouraged to ditch their phones and reconnect with the wild nature of the Perth and Kinross countryside.
Experience Scandi cooking in London
For those in search of a culinary Scandi experience, Ekstedt at The Yard brings Nordic cooking techniques to London.
Run by the Michelin-starred chef Niklas Ekstedt, the restaurant is located in the Great Scotland Yard hotel in Westminster.
Ekstedt replicates cooking methods in his homeland, Sweden, using a fire pit, a wood-fired oven and a wood stove.
Ingredients are locally sourced but recall Nordic flavours like a mushroom souffle with blueberries or pine-infused ice cream.
Stay in a Scandi cabin in England
The Fold’s Scandi Cabins are located in woodlands in the West Midlands region of Herefordshire.
Inspired by forest huts in Sweden and Norway, each building is encircled by trees providing privacy while in the sauna or outdoor hot tub.
Inside, the cabins feature an open-plan, Nordic interior with a rainfall shower in the bathroom and a wood burner in the lounge.
In the morning, guests are woken by the rising sun filtering in through the skylight.
Stock up on Scandi ingredients in London
You can bring the Scandi food experience home with ingredients from the ScandiKitchen grocery store in London.
It stocks products from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland like brunost – a popular Norwegian brown cheese – fresh rye bread, pickled cucumber relish and lingonberry jam so you can prepare your own smorgasbord.
Alternatively, you can stop in the cafè for Swedish meatballs, pickled herring or porridge with lingonberries.
