Lapland: An action-packed Finnish adventure that is not just for Christmas

The wind whips my face and my fingers are numb with cold, yet it’s exhilarating.

I’m spending the afternoon snowmobiling through the forests and fields of Lapland, northern Finland.

While Britons may associate this part of the world with Santa, sleighs and sacks full of presents, a trip over the winter months is the best time to revel in an area packed with activities and potentially a Northern Lights sighting or two.

And with new direct flights from London to nearby Kittilä with Finnair, it is even easier to visit.

My two-hour snowmobiling session takes me over snow-covered lakes, through dark, dense patches of pine and along isolated paths, without a car or building in sight.

It’s 3pm yet the light has already faded, the sky is filled with snow and there’s a magical Narnia-esque eeriness in the peaceful, late-afternoon darkness.

Thanks to my location in deepest northern Europe, it’s pitch-black when I get up, too.

My base is the Northern Lights Ranch, a clutch of plush cabins which dot the remote, snow and forest-filled fields 30 minutes outside of Levi, one of Finland’s most popular ski resorts.

My cosy and compact room comes with floor-to-ceiling glass walls on two sides, with a glass ceiling for prime Northern Lights viewing.

Each night I lie in bed – it even has a remote to manoeuvre me into a comfortable seated position – gazing up at the stars, urging the famous green swirls to emerge. It could be a long wait.

The Northern Lights don’t come out on demand, far from it. In fact the notoriously elusive phenomenon is the result of charged solar particles colliding with gases in our Earth’s upper atmosphere, meaning that no matter how much you really want to see them, it’s really down to good luck.

In the meantime there’s plenty more to keep me entertained, and it starts with reindeer. Thousands of them.

There are more reindeer than people in Lapland and at Northern Lights Ranch you can get close enough for a cuddle with young ones.

At this age, barely a few months old, they look like stocky, rugged sheep.

And when they aren’t nudging you for a handful of hay they’re burying their chunky bodies in the snow for warmth.

It’s not a bad idea. Here in Finnish Lapland the locals don’t shy away from the cold, in fact they embrace it, and there’s nothing that’ll get the circulation going like a sauna and snow session.

It starts with 15 minutes in the ranch’s sauna, where the heat gently seeps into my cold-shocked limbs.

Then it’s on to the tough part: a drop of the robe and a quick dive into the thigh-deep snow, which surrounds my near-naked body with icy particles that make me shriek and swear.

Relief comes when I submerge myself in the steaming outdoor Jacuzzi, where I sit in the pitch black and relax in the very welcome silence.

The next day calls for something similarly challenging.

One of the best ways to explore this part of the world is by foot, or rather by snowshoe.

Imagine long tennis rackets strapped to your boots, which increase surface area and allow you to pad through the snow more easily.

“Move your right arm with your left leg,” my guide Oli tells me, as I divert all concentration to my steps, “and if you fall over just do a snow angel!”

Once the technique is mastered – admittedly it takes me a while – I realise it’s the best way to experience “kaamos”, that small window of hours when glints of daylight turn the sky a dusty orange.

It’s a magical sight to witness and for someone exposed to traffic and technology 24/7 it feels like a rare moment of inner peace.

But a trip here doesn’t have to revolve around peace and tranquility.

In nearby Levi floodlit ski slopes are the playground for fearless professionals and even more fearless toddlers.

They hurtle down the slopes on skis and sleds, before taking the lift up to more of the 43 pistes dotted around the town.

There are 142 miles of cross-country skiing tracks to make the most of, meaning if downhill skiing isn’t all that appealing, you can navigate your skis along gently-sloping tracks through fields and forests, combining your sightseeing with your cardio session.

It’s the perfect warm-up for my evening activities.

No, not exploring Levi’s bars, clubs and karaoke rooms – of which there are many – but soaking myself in the Hotel Levi Panorama spa.

At first, the thought of stripping out of my thermals and snowsuit feels like a fast track to a cold.

But as I swap between the maze of saunas, steam rooms and bubbling pools of hot water, I soon realise it’s the perfect antidote to my trip’s chilly activities.

That night I peer out from under my duvet waiting for the Northern Lights. They never arrive but I don’t mind.

Drifting off to sleep while gazing up at a star-filled sky isn’t a bad way to round off my trip to Finnish Lapland.