The temperature’s dropping and the jumpers are piling on; winter’s definitely here. The best way to keep warm? Snuggling up with a hot toyboy or cougar. But how can you ensure your date goes with a bang rather than a damp squib? Here are our top tips for cold-weather adventures
1. Get your skates on
Outdoor ice skating rinks pop up everywhere by mid November, and there’s nothing better than a slippery surface to ensure your date holds onto you.
Keep it classy with treats from Fortnum & Mason at Skate at Somerset House, get historic at the Tower of London Ice Rink, or skate beneath the skyscrapers at Ice Rink Canary Wharf. In no time at all you’ll be flushed from making loveable fools of yourself, plus the adrenaline from those near-falls makes people fall in love faster, don’t ya know.
2. Sweeten them up
It’s the perfect weather to sod the diet and indulge in a damn fine cup of hot chocolate. But a wishy-washy cup of something saccharine from a vending machine will NOT do, people.
Your average high-street-chain coffee shop isn’t much better, either; while it’s a great option if you’re tight on time, it doesn’t elevate you from the pack. So check out The Londonist’s excellent guide to amazing hot chocolates from around the capital and sniff out some top-notch insider knowledge. Or, if you’re feeling really flush, head straight to the daddy of them all; Cafe Godiva at Harrods. You know chocolate’s good for your health, right?
3. Take them to (viking) heaven
Maybe it’s the Game of Thrones effect, or the current craze for all things Scandi. Either way, if you want to channel your inner Vikings, the Queen of Hoxton has got you covered. Or, to be accurate, uncovered; they’ve turned their rooftop into Skye Halla. Their Winter Wigwam’s transformed into a Nordic Viking stronghold; think long boat, feasting hall, fire pits, driftwood sculptures and drinking horns. Complete with a comprehensive events and workshop menu, you can either be utterly debauched with some decadent feasting, or get creative and make your own etchings. Which you can then invite your date up to see later *cough*.
4. Go walking in a Winter Wonderland
What features a circus, stunning acrobatics, an arctic adventure, ballet on ice, a 60m-high observation wheel, a Bavarian village, churros, mulled wine and the largest outdoor ice-rink in the UK? Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, of course. If you want to feel like you’ve shared 6 dates in one day, or want to guarantee finding something you’ll BOTH like, this seasonal Christmas-market-come-theme-park has everything you need and more. Now in its tenth year, the Winter Wonderland even suggests the perfect itinerary for a romantic date. How simple is that?
5. Get hot and steamy
Not everyone likes the cold, but jetting off for sunnier climes isn’t an option for an afternoon. So head to your local botanical garden and make a bee-line for the heated glass houses. Whether you’re in Birmingham or Oxford, Sheffield or Edinburgh or London, step into another world and feel your temperatures rise.
