insulate with styrofoam, and cut an 8cm
hole in the roof to allow steam to escape.
Buildanearbyfiretoheatrocks,use
ashoveltotransportthemtoyour
construction, drizzle on water, et voilà!
Your very own steam palace!SALOON BOON
The Crown Inn, Churchill, Somerset, is
sounostentatious,peopleoftenwalkby
thinkingit’sjustafineoldcottage.
Conversation and crackling open fires are
theonlybackgroundnoise,whilefood
majorsonheartystewsservedwithhunks
ofbreadmoredoorthandoorstop.Staying
rural,thejewelofNorthWestHighlands
hostelries:frombesidealogfireat
Applecross Inn, you can sample award-
winningseafoodwhilelookingacrossthe
watertoSkye.There’ssurelynocosier
urbanpubthanBelfast’sCrownLiquor
Saloon,withVictorianwoodenbooths,gas
lighting and stained-glass windows. Hearty
commendation, too, for Durham’s none-
more-homely Victoria Inn, replete withthreeopenfires,snug,anddécoramixof
f loral wallpaper, sentimental pastoral
prints and the type of mantelpiece
ornaments favoured by your nan.
These prime slices of cosiness are, of
course,butthetipofarapidlymelting
iceberg–askDrGoogleforanopenfire
pub(almostcertainlyvery)nearyou,and
get thee to a snuggery.BESIDE THE SEASIDE
Ofcourse,whenitcomestoapricating
behind glass, many people prefer the
companyoffishandchipstoplants.We’re
talkingwindshelters,foundonanyprom
worthitsseasalt.’Tistheseason,afterall:
insummer,placeswiththehighestaverage
of sunshine duration are concentrated in
thesouth;inJanuary,it’sallaboutthe
seaside, with the UK’s sunniest areas
tracing a clockwise coast-hugging line
fromAberdeenallthewayroundto
Blackpool. And while Eastbourne pips
BognorRegis–byjusttwominutes–to
thetitleofUKPlaceWithMostAnnual
Sunshine,yourwarmestJanuary
destination is the 20-mile stretch of
NorthWalescoastlinebetweenBangor
andLlandudno.Thanktheföhneffect
for this, whereby mild south-westerly
windsdeposittheirmoistureonto
theCambrianmountainsandarethen
warmed by compression as they descend
on the other side.“Ask Dr Google for an
open-fire pub (almost
certainly) near you and
get thee to snuggery”
1 The warmest part of
Britain in January is the
rather scenic stretch of
coastline in North Wales
between Bangor and
Llandudno.(^2) A bit of ‘weather’ is the
ideal excuse to stay for
one more. With luck,
you’ll get snowed in
Cold comforts
OBattery heated socks From
draughty cathedral evensong
to sleeping baby cradling,
there are times when
stomping your way to foot
thaw just isn’t appropriate.
Step forward these
rechargeable tubes of
toastiness.
OBluetooth music beanie
hats off – and hurriedly back
on again – to the inventor of
this double-knitted delight, in
which built-in headphones
offer ear-warm earworms.
OTouchscreen gloves
Because what’s the point of
enjoying favourite tunes with
a warm head if you freeze
your fingers off finding them?
Pull on these silver-lined
beauties and your phone
is your oyster.
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2