How can you Brits beat the heat? Let a Dane explain...

It's hot. So hot, in fact, that my shins are currently sweating – something I didn't know was possible.

- HELEN RUSSELL

Having relocated to the UK after 12 years in Denmark, I'm not prepared for this. Not because Scandinavia doesn't experience heatwaves – this summer, Finland has had three straight weeks of 30C heat, and the Arctic Circle has recorded a fortnight of record-busting temperatures - but because they are better equipped at dealing with it.

That might seem strange, because Scandinavian homes are designed to keep the heat in rather than keep it out, and there are no air-conditioning units in sight. But Vikings handle the heat by taking to the water.

In Denmark, you're never more than 50km from the sea. Sailing was the most important way to get around in Viking times - when land divided people and sea connected them.

Aside from Jutland's 42-mile boundary with Germany, Denmark is entirely surrounded by water and made up of 406 islands (more, even, than Greece). This means that many Danes have access to the ocean or a body of water.

Because Danes have a shorter working week (37 hours officially, though the average Dane puts in 33 hours, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), they can fit in a second shift of leisure activities after clocking off in summer. With office hours typically falling between 8am to 4pm, you can be on the beach with your picnic before the asphalt starts to crack.