after leading those allowed to be dockside in a spontaneous bit of karaoke, it was time to be reunited with his wifejudith, after their first christmas apart and 50 years of marriage. after living on freeze—dried food, especially macaroni cheese, for all these weeks, frank is now hoping for a fish salad and a proper bed. but any hardship, he says, has been worth it. he has already raised over £600,000 for alzheimer's research uk. mike bushell, bbc news. well done. he can sing a bit as well. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. we have a cold week ahead, particularly biting today, thanks to easterly winds, and we will also have those tomorrow. the threat for some today of heavy, disruptive snowfall. the met office have marked out an area across parts of east anglia and the south—east that could be at risk of up to 20

centimetres of snow falling. this is the tail end of storm darcy, bringing with it strong winds, so blizzard and drifting, an additional hazard. to the north, with a keen easterly wind, quite a few showers across northern england and into scotland as well. some areas will avoid them and see some decent sunshine, but even in the sunshine it will feel particularly raw. these are the temperatures you would read on the thermometer, but we have to factor in the chilling effect of that easterly wind and actually step outside and for many it will feel closer to somewhere between —3 and —5. the easterly wind particularly strong as we head into monday as well, and those showers streaming further westwards.

hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines... the 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine offers limited protection against mild disease caused by the south african variant of covid—19. but scientists say it will still help to beat the pandemic. we may not be reducing the total number of cases, but there is still protection in that case against deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease. the uk government has no plans to introduce �*vaccine passports�* — according to the vaccines minister — who says the focus should remain on the inoculation programme itself of course, you have the evidence that you have been vaccinated, held by your gp, and if other

countries will require you to show proof of that evidence then that is obviously up to those countries. doctors in england are to be paid an additional £10 for each house—bound patient they vaccinate against coronavirus. heavy snow could bring significant disruption to the south east of england in the coming hours with weather warnings issued by the met office for large parts of britain. now on bbc news... we relive some of the travel show�*s top winter adventures including ade adepitan�*s overnight stay at sweden's famous ice hotel. this week we look back at some of our coldest adventures. from frozen hotel rooms... ain't gonna lie about it, it's cold. ..to a ride across siberia.

people who live there, they say you will lose your face on your first day. and my solo bobsleigh ride. i could go again, right now, let's go. hello and welcome to the travel show, coming to you this week from...my living room, here in hertfordshire. 0rdinarily, at this time of year we would be well into the ski season in europe, and i would be braving sub—zero temperatures to get out there and bring you some of the best snowbound adventures from around the world.

laughter this is really very nice. i can't imagine it'll be warm when when we get out though. we might not be able to go anywhere just at the moment, but that doesn't stop us looking back at some of our favourite adventures, some of them at below freezing temperatures. like the time a couple of years ago that ade went to the famous swedish icehotel, not exactly the place you would want to get locked down for a couple of months i'd say. it's not what i was expecting. i was expecting an igloo or something like that. for more than 25 years we've been building igloos here. it's been a winter project, a seasonal project. but this is our permanent... it is new. it's the first season that we're running the icehotel 365, a permanent ice hotel. why have an ice hotel all year round? because people want to do it. seriously? simple answer. when you're this far north of the arctic circle,

there's daylight for 2h hours during the summer, and the icehotel has found a way to harness that energy, bizarrely, to keep temperatures inside below freezing. look at this! it's like a winter wonderland. there are 20 rooms in this new, permanent hotel, each uniquely sculpted by artists from all over the world. so it'sjust me, and my beautiful ice bed. who's in here? 0h, hello, ade. ijust made your room ready. oh, wow! what temperature is it in this place? minus five. it reminds me of my first

councilflat, when i couldn't afford heating. he laughs. you will become very nostalgic when you sleep here. because the room is literally freezing, you need special gear to survive the night, including a sleeping bag that can withstand temperatures of —25 centigrade. this is your bed. you have a normal mattress but the frame is ice. will this keep me warm enough in —5 degrees? yes. this sleeping bag is for winter purpose. i'm lucky enough to have a suite, which comes with a warm bathroom. if you panic and you can't stand it, you can hang out in here as well. oh, i geta warm room! yeah. of course, i won't be spending much time in the warm room, other than to just get in. my guide, stefan gives me some advice. what people usually do, they go with their whole head. breathing becomes moist

inside your sleeping bag and moist makes you colder, so the best way is to keep your face in the open. keep your face in the open? yeah, and breathe out in the air. enjoy your cold night. thanks, stefan i'll be just chilling here. look, there's pros and cons to this. the great thing about it is, it's beautiful in here. look around! and also, the silence is just incredible. so peaceful. but it's cold. i ain't hiding, i ain't going to lie about it. it's cold. ade there, sleeping

on a block of ice in kiruna. things are going to stay cold as we head to siberia where temperatures can reach —60 celsius, to meet a man who motorbiked 1000 kilometres to a place that has been declared the world's coldest village. between yakutsk and 0ymyakon is 1000km. so i travelled 200km per day. so remote. nothing around, just mountains, forest, tiger and cold. it is the permafrost land. when i started on the first day, yakutian, siberian people who live there said, "please don't do that." karolus, you will lose your face on the first day. the frostbite will eat you. even though i had a helmet and some protection, motorcycling in winter on the road doesn't promise to save your life. i was riding for hours along.

what is happening inside my head, i call it sometimes active meditation. riding in such hard conditions, so cold, i have to be only now in here because if i give a chance to myself to think 0k, where will be warmer, i am hungry, i will get food and so on, then it becomes so cold that it is impossible to ride. i have to accept all of this cold, and completely relax, otherwise it doesn't work. 0n the third day of my ride i really had a feeling of oh, i'm home. there is no hotel at that night, i received a little tent with a small stove inside. that night was 48 degrees below and inside the tent we measured —13. (bleep) cold, inside the tent you want to relax. but then i said ok guys,

let's go out and see into the night. most of us was like, i have never seen sky like this. actually feeling like we are in space somewhere. the last 30 kilometres was so mentally tough for me. in one moment i opened the throttle more, you know, 100, 120 kilometres an hour, steering started to freeze so i could see i could not move it. i started to look for the straight lines, not to use it too much. and then i arrive and i saw the sign, 0ymyakon. no thought, emptiness, ok, i'm here. when it is —55, the town looks pretty empty. and then maybe one hour later, it is done.

the last thing left is to have a swim in the river. and you will be pleased to know that karolus survived that freezing dip in the river, and has been continuing his journeys around the globe. we caught up with him recently for an update. hello, hello, thank you for having me here. what happened since the coldest ride? a couple of seasons went through, and i had some interesting rides. one of them was around the world in a0 days on a motorcycle, it's around 1,000 kilometres every

single day, and a few flights over the oceans. i went around the south of india on a motorcycle, 3,000 kilometres in nine days. the traffic actually was mad, mad traffic in india. ok, so what's next, within this pandemic? still, the situation around the region is all these bubbles of the countries where we can fly and drive and visit, probably it will be probably close north, i hope it will be finland, hopefully very very soon i will be on the north, in the cold again. not only riding, but having a cold swim. cheers, good luck. amazing. now stick with us, because still to come: we enter an endangered glacier. i can't believe how beautiful it is.

and i try a bobsleigh run headfirst. wish me luck. so don't go away. we are heading now to the swiss alps, home of course to some of the world's most spectacular mountain scenery. but it is also where global warming has had a shocking impact on a centuries—old tourist attraction. a few years agojo went to discover what is happening. this is the tiny village of gletsch in the swiss alps, and it owes its existence and name to the rhone glacier that sits above the valley. the word "gletscher" means glacier in swiss german.

this mass of ice is one of the largest in switzerland, and also the source of the river rhone. in the mid—19th century people started to come here from all over europe to see the glacier. at that point, even in summertime, it stretched all the way down to the village. now the view is very different. and you can see on this signpost just how far it used to reach. in 1856, i would have been literally standing on the glacier. it is strange to think that now i can't really see very much, just a tiny bit of ice at the top of the mountain. the scale of the ice melt is extreme. between 1856 and 2010, the glacier receded by more than 11100 metres.

as the ice has retreated, a new glacial lake has formed. we walked down to a spot where you can see right underneath the glacier. wow, unbelievable. you can see it. so blue. it is all loose, the ice. i can't believe how quickly the water is pouring down from underneath the glacier. every few seconds, whole chunks of ice are tumbling down from the top of it. it is quite heartbreaking, really. if it keeps melting back, it will affect tourism in the region. most who visit come to visit the carving done annually.

the blue ice is reaching. you can touch it. it is beautiful. this tunnel through the ice is 100m long. i can't quite believe how beautiful it is. you can see the very clear ice, the bubbles there. it's 200 years old, the ice here. it's so blue. so blue, exactly. here we are in the heart of the rhone glacier, this space here. it is so peaceful here. it feels like a church of ice. four years, uv resistant

blankets have been used. this technique has been repeated across europe, and recently in china. but since we visited, the swiss government has warned that unless carbon emissions can be reduced, 90% of the remaining glaciers will have melted by the end of the century. next, we are heading north of the arctic circle, to finnish lapland, and christmas may have come and gone, but there are still plenty of reindeer to be found there, as ade discovered. this is a popular winter wonderland. this is a proper winter wonderland. it is so beautiful out here. everywhere you look is just a postcard. there are more reindeer in lapland than people. there are around 200,000 of these animals, and most of them roam free. but some of them, like these ones, are tamed and specially trained

for the reindeer safaris. just a little blanket. finally, it's my turn to have a go. if you want to go, you just say "go." so i just say "go?" as simple as that? go, go, reindeer, go! he's not listening to me! go reindeer! go! i can't say i didn't try, but this reindeer is just not interested. maybe we take the next one. 0k, we take the next one. before i set off, eric gives me some last few tips. just pull it. he will stop in an emergency. then he will stop. that's my handbrake. yeah, baby! we are going!

look at this, controlling this powerful beast. my gosh, he is picking up speed! go, go! this is so spectacular. my first—ever sleigh ride. i don't know how much this sleigh weighs — it is probably around half a ton, maybe a little less — but that reindeer is pulling it, as well as myself, so easily. such a powerful beast. let's go, son, let's go! it still might not be the fastest ride, but seems to be the smoothest and most magical way to enjoy this landscape. to finish up this week, no doubt one of the most intense

experiences i have had on the travel show. a couple of years ago, i went to latvia, to visit a bobsleigh run used by winter 0lympians and the odd tourist who is brave enough to give it a go. for some reason, the producer decided that included me. welcome to sigulda's bobsleigh track, one of the very few in the world where tourists can get the same adrenaline rush as professional racers. built under the soviet union in 1986, the track has played host to international competitions in luge, skeleton, and bobsleigh rides, with some obvious success. the track is now used as a training venue for several latvian champions, but there are no competitions on today, which is lucky for me, because it means i can try it out.

but having a look, i don't feel so lucky. ok, let's go. get the team together... we're about to set off 100km down a very icy hill, but, luckily, i have an expert pilot. fingers crossed everything goes very smoothly. apart from the pilot steering the bobsleigh from the front, a team also includes pushers and a brakeman. but tourists get it easy — theyjust need to duck and hold very tight. this track is almost 1500 metres long and you need a pretty strong stomach to manage its 16 curves. oh, man!

she laughs oh, man! whoo! i think that is one of the most intense experiences of my entire life. that was like being in a very, very active, very cold tumble dryer for a minute and a half. i don't even know how long it was. that was completely insane. another winter sport that can take your breath away is this, the skeleton. imagine a luge with no brakes or steering aid that you ride headfirst. martin and tomass are brothers, and they are both world and olympic champions in this sport. it is our home track and we did many runs here. for learning, it is great. i agree, because if you learn and you can survive here, then you can survive anywhere. you must love the sport to devote

so much of your life to it. what do you love about it? i don't like trainings and this stuff, but i love competition. so that is the best part for me. i don't think i'm ready to try one of the full—blown skeletons, but there is a tourist version available but is a little more my speed. wish me luck! it's called a frog, and for this one, there is no crew to make me feel safe. it's called a frog, and for this one, there is no crew to make me feel safe. 0h! oh my goodness! oh my god!

a very cool experience in latvia, but fair warning — it is not for the week of stomach. that is it for the week's programme, but coming up next week, we look at dubai's enormous world expo, postponed in 2020, but set to go ahead this year, with 11 million visitors expected. we find out how plans at this huge event space are taking shape. and we find out if south korea's popular fortune tellers can guide us through the months ahead. after this year, it is a golden time for you. a golden time for me? sounds good.

in the meantime, keep up with us on the bbc travel accounts. from me, christa larwood, here at home, and from the rest of the team in theirs, it's goodbye. hello. the cold air has arrived. it took its time. across suffolk it was wet snow and sleet but given a couple of hours and this with the snow starting to accumulate now. there are two reasons for this cold

weather, it's cold air coming out of scandinavia, across that cold north sea that will dominate for the next few days. at the moment we still have the remnants of storm darcy which is causing disruption with blizzard —like conditions in northern europe and the tail end of that weather front enhances the risk of snow across east anglia and down through essex and kent. this is the story for the next few hours. there is a weather warning in force and that will stay until monday. we could see 25 centimetres plus of snow. blizzard —like weather conditions here making it feel bitingly cold but it will be a cold story right across the country with windy conditions driving further snow showers in eastern england and scotland stop sheltered western area should escape the worst of those keeps sunny spells but temperatures likely to peak at only four doses. if you add in the strength and

direction of the wind it's more like -4. not direction of the wind it's more like “4. not that much in the way a significant change on monday, still a keen easterly wind and plenty of isobars driving in some snow showers. what may happen as we go through monday as we see some fumbling of snow showers and organised bands of snow showers and accumulations will develop. the further west you go you will see the best of the sunshine with a little more shelter but again it is not going to be a very warm day by any means and still when you add in the wind it will feel bitterly cold. that is a story on monday. into tuesday, hopefully the isobars will open up a little in england and wales under snow showers drift north and east. we need to keep an eye on this weather front in the south—west which might bring some snow into the channel isles and the isles of scilly for some time. as we go further into the week hopefully things get a little quieter and a little less cold.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine offers limited protection against mild disease caused by the south african variant of covid—19. but scientists say it will still help to beat the pandemic. we may not be reducing the total number of cases, but there is still protection in that case against deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease. the uk government has no plans to introduce "vaccine passports", according to the vaccines minister, who says the focus should remain on the inoculation programme itself. of course, you have the evidence that you — of course, you have the evidence that you have been vaccinated held by your— that you have been vaccinated held by your gp — that you have been vaccinated held by your gp. if other countries require — by your gp. if other countries require you to show proof of that evidence, — require you to show proof of that evidence, then that is obviously up to those _ evidence, then that is obviously up to those countries.

doctors in england are to be paid an additional £10