The Sunday Times - Lapland Kent!
November 25 2007
Off to Kent - to visit Lapland
Why blow £2,500 on a trip to the Arctic Circle when you can do it here for £90?
This weekend sees the opening of a Christmas attraction that hopes to provide a cheaper, greener alternative closer to home. Lapland UK is a winter wonderland created in the 320-acre Bedgebury National Pinetum, Kent, with the endorsement of the Forestry Commission.
But can our good intentions to have a green Christmas ever win against our desire for the perfect white one?
Lapland UK is hidden deep in the forest, a brisk 10-minute walk from the car park. So when Roz, my brother-in-law Mark, the kids – Isaac, 9, Tabitha, 7, and Michael, 4 – and I round the corner and catch our first glimpse of the huge dome, the children shriek excitedly and run the rest of the way.
As we step from the transporter, the scene that greets us is extraordinary. Snow falls gently on a picturesque village square, bustling with colourfully outfitted Saami and elves resplendent in red-felt caps and curly-toed green boots. At the square's centre, a huge Christmas tree twinkles with white stars, overlooked by cosy log cabins with icicles hanging from their eaves.
The snow is deep and crisp and even (and eco – it's made out of seaweed). Blanketed paths disappear into the forest; pine trees droop under the weight of it, their silhouettes like giant carwash rollers in the chilly blue light.
Back in the square, the snow (the same stuff starred in the Harry Potter films) is still falling as we follow a forest path to the huskies. “Are we going on a husky ride?” Isaac asks excitedly.
The children are besotted with the huskies. The dogs are both beautiful and good-natured: Michael shrieks with delight as a little husky nuzzles him.
It's so convincing, it's like we're in Narnia: I half expect to see Mr Tumnus any minute. “It's actually like we're in Lapland,” Mark says, “but not as cold.
It strikes me that Mike has the right approach. “People were pushing me down an ultra-commercial route,” he tells me. “Fat Santas, fussy rides... But I wanted to keep it simple: that's far more charming.” Certainly, the Father Christmas the children finally reel their skateboard and Scooby-Doo lists off to is more Hans Christian Andersen than Hollywood.
None of this means that Kent's new Lapland will replace the real one – but it does at least provide a viable alternative.
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