You know summer's really over when the temperature drops to -5ºC, the walls are solid ice and you need thermals and gloves just to go down the pub.

Yet more extreme climate change? Kind of. Freak weather has hit the West End in the form of Absolut Icebar London - the latest in the franchise behind Lapland's Icehotel and the Icebars in Stockholm and Milan.

The bar is, essentially, 1000 square feet of ice-lined freezer. But this ice isn't just plain old London tap. It's been harvested from the pure waters of Sweden's River Torne, then lovingly carved to form the walls, the bar, the seating and even the glassware. If snow queens and ice palaces ever figured in your childhood fantasies, this is a taste of that fairytale magic.

12 quid gets you a 45-minute slot, the use of a silver fur-lined cape and gloves, and an Absolut cocktail. Don't bother asking for any other drinks - there isn't as much as a brandy-bearing St Bernard as alternative.

The cape is less Dr Zhivago, more turkey-in-BacoFoil, but it sure does keep you toasty. It only goes as far as the knees, though, so swap those sandals for sensible rubber soles.