NATURAL FINNISH

PETE GAVAN HEADS TO FINLAND'S ARCTIC LAKELAND AND FINDS A REMOTE, CALM AND HAPPY PLACE

- 

JUST what is the key to a happy life and why do the Finns have it? These were the two things at the forefront of my mind as we arrived in the glorious north of the country.

Finland has had the happiest people for the past eight years, according to the UNsponsored World Happiness Report. And it has 5.5 million people and 2.5 million saunas, so they know how to relax.

But we were heading to Finland's Arctic Lakeland, which sits 350 miles north of Helsinki. While not quite being in the Arctic Circle, it is just beneath it and has the name to distinguish it from the Lakeland area further south.

We flew into Helsinki from Heathrow on Finnair before transferring to a propeller plane that provided a taste of what was to come. Forest as far as the eye could see, punctuated by huge lakes.

The area - renowned for its wildlife - is the size of Belgium (population over 11 million), with just 70,000 people living there. It is known for its own Big Five: bears, wolves, wolverines, lynxes and elk.

And as we sat, silently, in our hide, it only took moments for the first of them to appear. A brown bear arrived to one side, homing in on meat treats left to lure him out.

He calmly sat, eating his fill, while ravens jealously looked on and skittish wolves came ever closer.

Later our guide from Wild Taiga, Janne, took us to the home of Kerttu and Michael-Angelo Tzoumas, a snug wooden cabin a few miles down a track in the woods. They told us how they lived a relatively simple existence.

Yes, they have wi-fi, but they also have a lake 50 yards away where they can swim, fish, boat and enjoy life. Over coffee in traditional Finnish cups and homemade cake, we heard how they'd made their life work in such a remote location.