Ali Mclean

There’s a bit of a myth perpetuated that it is pitch black north of the Arctic Circle for about six months every year. The truth is that, while the Sun does drop below the horizon for a while (how long depends on how far north you are), there is still residual light.

Here at The Aurora Zone, we’re extremely fond of the Finnish people and especially the Sámi community, who are the indigenous people of Northern Scandinavia. So, imagine our excitement when we heard that BBC Two are doing a one-off boxing day show all about the lifestyle of the Sámi people and their reindeer herding heritage.

Blue Planet II has been an amazing show, and if you're anything like us you’ll have sat in your favourite chair and watched it in wonder.

Here are three holidays to get you in the mood for some Blue Planet-style discovering, and of course, if you don’t spot some incredible marine life, you might just be in luck and see the Northern Lights instead!

Our expert Aurora guide and CEO of the new Northern Lights Village in Saariselkä, Markku Inkilä is a self-proclaimed Aurora nut. He lives and breathes the Northern Lights and is rarely happier than when he is capturing them on camera. His photos have been published in the Sunday Times, the Telegraph, and on hundreds of websites around the world.

I caught up with our Marketing Assistant Laura who had the most amazing first Northern Lights experience in Iceland. Here is what she had to say:

'"After suffering serious wanderlust from seeing so many breathtaking photos of Iceland I knew I had to head out there and explore it for myself. So, in December 2016 I flew over for a week of Arctic adventure. I experienced waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, boiling mud pools, stunning scenery - you name it - but one night stands out for me - the night I ticked two experiences off my travel bucket list.

How often have you returned to work in the New Year regretfully thinking,

“Why on earth didn’t I do something useful over the holiday period?”

That period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, Betwixmas if you like, must be the most neglected of the year. It’s a dead zone during which you know you should be doing something useful but simply can’t be bothered.

Here at The Aurora Zone we’ve seen something of a change in recent weeks. Naturally, as holiday providers and Northern Lights enthusiasts, we spend a lot of time travelling to the likes of Finland, Sweden and Norway in search of dark skies illuminated by dancing celestial light.

(Taken 1st March 2017 in the Lyngen Alps by Francisco Damm)

If I had a pound for every time I have been asked this question I would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice. If I had an exact answer, I would be rich beyond the dreams of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet combined.

The problem with the Aurora is that it is a natural phenomenon and regardless of whether it is September, December or March, its appearance can rarely be predicted much more than a few hours in advance.

Have you noticed that there has been far less mentioned in the media recently about Auroral displays over the UK and yet pictures of the Northern Lights taken further north continue to flood onto social media sites?

This is exactly what we said would happen in our blog back in November and given that we are dealing with something as unpredictable as Mother Nature, we are prepared to give ourselves a hearty pat on the back.

The light pollution created by more than 8 million people would render even the most vibrant of Auroral displays above the UK’s capital pretty much redundant but, for six weeks only, the Northern Lights will be visible in SW3.