8 Mar 2011

Lapland Northern Lights – BBC Documentary

The BBC Northern Lights documentary ‘Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights’ has been nominated for a National Television Award, and for all of us who saw this magical feature, it’s easy to understand why! Available for viewing on BBC iplayer.

In the programme, Joanna pursues a life-long dream to track down what she describes as ‘the true wonder of the world’ – the stunningly beautiful Northern Lights. If you share a similar dream, then a visit to Saariselkä in December with Esprit Santa’s Lapland is the answer! Set amongst deep forests and snow-covered hills 200kms north of the Arctic Circle, this is an ideal location to turn your dream into reality.

Our ancient ancestors believed the Northern Lights were variously ancestral spirits, swans caught in airborne ice, or an omen of changing weather.

In reality, the displays are caused when solar particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere, emitting burning gases which create the differently coloured, dancing lights. The scientific term for the lights is the ‘Aurora Borealis’, named after the Roman goddess of the dawn.

Swirling shades of blue, green, and red are most common for Lapland’s Northern Lights, and December is an ideal time to see them – the icing on the cake of a memorable family short break!

Choose between two of our Esprit Santa’s Lapland trips and see if you can match Joanna’s dream sighting of the Northern Lights:

* Santa’s Magic – 3 day/2 night trips
* Santa’s Spectacular – 4 day/3 night trips