Loving a cold climate: Ireland’s Nordic-inspired wilderness retreat

Can a cabin retreat in the wintry Irish wilderness of County Cavan match the authentic Finnish hot-tub experience?

A summer spent in Iceland convinced me that Ireland has much to learn from our Nordic neighbours. The mercury rarely rises above 15C in Iceland in July, but the locals compensate with frequent visits to outdoor geothermal pools that seem to feature in every town, village and crossroads. I spent many happy hours in poolside hot tubs and saunas, seeing how the locals have learned to embrace the outdoors and make the most of their subarctic climate.

Then, several years ago, my wife booked us a trip around Finland in late November. Darkness fell at about 3pm and multiple coats and hats just about kept the cold at bay. But things began to look up when we discovered that most towns and villages feature steaming, outdoor saunas. We were soon thawing with the locals in a different sauna every night. Conversation flowed and I learned how the Finns have also come to embrace their cold climate with frequent visits to outdoor saunas, followed by a brief dip in one of their 188,000 lakes.