Optimize your body and mind using cold exposure to practice breathing techniques and change your mind set!

The world famous Wim Hof (a.k.a. The Ice Man) Method is based on three pillars: cold therapy, breathing and commitment. Mastering these pillars and learning how to combine them, will result in a multitude of benefits, such as increased energy and focus, enhanced mental and physical performance, sleeping soundly, greater cold tolerance and a creative mind.

Spitsbergen, Svalbard: certainly one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights, better still, it's easily accessible from mainland Norway with daily commercial flights. Curious and intrepid visitors alike are able to view some of the most dazzling displays of Aurora Borealis that can be seen anywhere in the world.

During the Polar Night there is 24-hours darkness here, at only 650-miles south of the North Pole, the northern lights in Spitsbergen are...

We are so excited to annouce that after a long wait, we are now sending lucky Sandgrouse Travel & Expeditions clients to the Norwegian fjords, and we're dong it the best way possible! 

Clients sail the fjords in a converted Swedish Navy minesweeper, these days however the crew and clients are on the look out for the incredible Norwegian scenery rather than old World War Two ordinance.

Did you know that the Nordic countries hog the top ten world rankings for the most happy people? This amazing fact prompted us to wonder why? Beyond the superb infrastructures, great standards of living, pioneering social care systems and the secure and strong economies there is to us a much more obvious and ancient...

Has the winter all but gone with the family bonding time of snowball fights, snowman building and epic sledging wipe-outs failing to materialise? Hmmm, we thought so. Fear not, Sandgrouse Travel & Expeditions can help you out.

Here in Scotland and even across much of Europe, people have struggled to find the winter conditions of old. There is still a place however where the winter...

On booking your tailor-made holiday with Sandgrouse Travel & Expeditions you will receive a personal discount code to use in-store or online. We love the idea of giving you the chance to make sure you are properly kitted out with the best gear before your adventure.

At Nordic Outdoor you...

Every now and again in life an opportunity presents itself that should be grabbed with both hands. Our latest luxury adventure offering, which sees you on expedition in the high Arctic with some of the best guides in the world is one of those unique chances not to...

Below are a series of diary extracts, written by our Polar and Scandinavian travel expert, Jonny, whilst he was back at basecamp in Longyearbyen after what he descibes as "an unforgettable multi-day dog sledding expedition into the heart of the wild". 

We at Sandgrouse Travel & Expeditions find ourselves being called back to magical parts of the world in a reoccuring cycle. From here at home in Scotland and within the UK, to remote corners of world such as Scandinavia and Africa we go in search of our 'fix'. These callings lurk within us all and if neglected they become almost nagging desires. It is this same emotion that is essentially the driving force behind people booking a holiday (or two or three) each year.

People need...

Our excellent method for dressing in cold conditions is hardly rocket science, nor does it involve the use of some ground breaking new technology. It is in fact far more simple than those and yet can easily be overlooked or forgotten, especially by visitors new to cold, winter or Nordic environments. The 'multi-layer principle' can help you avoid being uncomfortable and enable you to take the most from your next winter holiday. 

For us to be able to enjoy spending time outdoors...