Dog-sledding in Swedish Lapland

Spending the weekend being dragged around by a load of dogs sounds like something Homer Simpson might do by mistake. But factor in a sledge, the wintry grandeur of Lapland, and the services of an expert, and you have the basis of a beguiling experience that comfortably merits trip-of-a-lifetime status.

There’s the contrast between the frigid silence of your epic surroundings and the desperate, panting relentlessness that’s towing you through it.

There’s the universal human pleasure that is travelling at speed across snow, particularly when animals are doing the work, you’re following someone who knows where he’s going, and the only skill required is stamping on a drag-brake when your sledge gets too close to his.

There’s the two-hour sunrise that merges into a two-hour sunset, striping the frozen lakes pink, pouring gold on the meringue-dipped forests.

And there’s knowing that somewhere in the heart of this un-peopled wonderland lies a wood-heated, candle-lit cabin that will be yours and yours alone. Except for two hours in which a chef buzzes out of the night on a snowmobile to prepare and serve an exquisite dinner of smoked reindeer fillet and arctic char, washed down with Gewurztraminer chilled in a bucket of snow.

Original Travel tailor-makes trips to Swedish Lapland, from £1,280 for adults and children over 12. Call 020 7978 7333 or visit www.originaltravel.co.uk