If you’re anything like me, and you’d prefer a crispy cold winter day over a wet, milder one any minute, the winter in London will most likely give you a hard time. The climate in the UK is generally quite moderate and after a particularly snowy and cold winter in Canada, I’m not finding temperatures going up to 13 degrees Celsius in January very inspiring. Fortunately, there are many nice things to do in London in winter, especially around Christmas time. But hurry – the Christmas cheer in London usually doesn’t last beyond the first couple of weeks in January!
Christmas lights in London
The festive lights go up mid to late November in literally every corner of London, but the best Christmas lights can usually be found in and around in Soho, around Piccadilly Circus (Regent Street) and Oxford Street. The Christmas lights displays vary from area to area and it’s just lovely to wander through the city and enjoy the sight of the different motives everywhere. Most of the Christmas lights are taken down at the end of the first week of January.
Cheese fondue and ice-skating at Skylight London
Skylight London is a rooftop destination at London’s Tobacco Dock, East London. During the winter season, ending mid-January, it features an ice-rink with a view and the restaurant offers cheese and chocolate fondues. Several bars serve mulled wine and other drinks, most of the chairs and sofas are covered by sheepskin rugs which make them super- cosy. My friend Dominika and I warm up in one of the bars before setting out to do a few sophisticated loops on the ice-rinks, since I have practiced that much during the last winter in Canada. But I’m wearing the thinnest socks I could find in my cupboard for some reason and have to give up pretty soon because the ice skates are killing my feet, while Dominika is doing a much better job at ice-skating than I would anyway.
The cheese fondue is served in the downstairs restaurant, again featuring comfortable seats with sheepskin covers in a rustique yet quirky setting. I have never had a proper cheese fondue before and I’m surprised that it “only” comes with bread for dipping into the cheese, which is sprinkled with onions and dried cranberries – but it tastes lovely and rich with a bottle of the fruit-driven ‘Rare Vineyards’ Carignan Vieilles Vignes red wine.
