It comes with a fridge-freezer, washing machine and bedroom furniture. A renovated one-bedroom bungalow with outhouses on a 1,400 square metre plot with river access, 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle, for �27,500. A three-bedroom house set between two lakes and with six acres of land is on sale at �37,500. The summers are short and the winters are long, with temperatures plunging to -30C. But that won't deter the small but growing number of Britons who are snapping up bargain homes in Swedish Lapland. Best known for its Father Christmas industry centred on the Finnish town of Rovaniemi, Lapland is Europe's last wilderness, comprising the northernmost parts of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. Daniel and Sophie Smith, from Bedfordshire, bought a spacious three-bedroom bungalow with outbuildings and a sauna for £45,000 a little over a year ago. For Daniel, 34, a builder by profession, price was initially he main draw. What started as a plan for a sort of family gap year away from the UK has turned into a permanent move."The Smiths' children, Oscar, 11, and Lauren, six, are settling into a local school, having picked up basic Swedish in three months. Daniel is the first to concede that Lapland is not the most obvious destination for foreign property seekers, but believes it is a good choice if you like the outdoor life, particularly hiking and canoeing in the warmer months and cross-country skiing in the winter. The first snow turns Swedish Lapland white in November and it only starts to melt in April. Jokkmokk is the capital of a district straddling the Arctic Circle with fewer than 7,000 permanent residents spread across an area larger than Northern Ireland. Locals delight in telling visitors that Malmo in the south of the country is as far from Jokkmokk as it is from Rome. And although one in five Swedish families owns a summer cottage, very few will consider buying in such a remote area given the unspoilt countryside on the doorstep of every southern Swedish city – one reason why Lapland's houses are so affordable. Daniel no longer works in the building trade and has set up an adventure sports company, The Lapland Experience, with a Swedish partner, offering snowmobile, husky sledding and fishing trips. They hope to capitalise on the increasing interest in winter adventure holidays in the area, due mainly to the success of the Ice Hotel two hours' drive north of Jokkmokk. Getting to Lapland is straightforward but not cheap. This is not budget-airline territory: the easiest access is to take a frequent domestic flight from Stockholm to the airport at Lulea on the coast in Sweden's far north (Stockholm is well connected with a range of UK airports). From there, Jokkmokk is 115 miles inland over excellent roads via the garrison town of Boden which – unlike Jokkmokk, but in common with other urban centres in Lapland – is rather bleak. Swedish Lapland is also connected to Sweden and the south of the country by train (see details overleaf). The nature and sense of emptiness are positively overwhelming. Brown bears, elk, wolverines, lynx and the more common reindeer are all found in Lapland. The flora are no less exotic: summer sees the arrival of giant mushrooms the size of frying pans, and miniature strawberries, which children traditionally collect on toothpicks as gifts for their parents. The couple paid £40,000 for their two-bedroom house in 2007 and – in Lapland terms at least – are neighbours of the Smiths (a half-hour drive separates them). Jane and Andrew have become converts of the northern Swedish lifestyle. You regularly see families out walking together – it's a very outdoor life in all weathers."Evidence of a communal spirit is everywhere. The sole guesthouse in Jane's Lapland village is a co-operative run by the local community. The neighbourhood ski slope is also community-run. Both couples bought properties through TraveLapland, a British-owned company which specialises in locating and renovating timber houses – many painted the traditional Swedish dark-red – and then selling them on to British and other foreign buyers. David and Kerstin Wells, originally from Essex, set up TraveLapland after moving to the region four years ago. They sell houses fully furnished if required, and offer an after-sales caretaking service, including paying utility bills, for second-home owners who stay in Lapland for only part of the year. They are selling a renovated one-bedroom bungalow with outhouses on a 1,400 square metre plot with river access, 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle, for £27,500. A three-bedroom house set between two lakes and with six acres of land is on sale at £37,500. Wooden houses survive for many decades in northern Sweden's dry climate. Although the values of homes in southern Swedish cities have been hit by the economic downturn, Wells says prices are stable in Lapland, as house prices did not rise dramatically in the past 10 years as they did in much of the rest of the country. You can go ice-fishing in the winter and drink water straight from the lakes. When I visit my local supermarket on a Saturday there aren't any queues, and the driving is considerate."Now, that really is a foreign country. TraveLapland: www.travelapland.co.uk ; 020 3286 4073. Telegraph Property ClubComprehensive advice, articles, offers and tips for buy-to-let landlords. Personal financeRecord year for JessicaJessica Gorst-Williams wins £1.3m in payouts for Telegraph readersDATINGKindred SpiritsFind friendship and romance with the Telegraph's online dating service. 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Possessions in Lapland: Arrival in out of the aloof
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