Just next door to South America and Antarctica, the Falklands are curiously British through and through, with peat fires burning in every hearth and jolly tea times to set your clock by. With only a scattering of inhabitants (most are military personnel), it’s hardly Touristville. The remote islands briefl rocketed to international importance during the 1980s, when Britain took them back after an invasion by Argentina and everyone learnt their alternative name: the lalas Malvinas.

October to April-but not in April 1982 during Argentina’s grab

Admiring ramshackle Stanley, a that appears to have been pieced together from flotsam, local stone and a whole lot of bright paint Wildlife-watching on the aptly named Sea lsland Paying court to breeding pairs of king penguins at Volunteer Beach Snacking on the South Sandwich lslands and seeing more than five million pairs of breeding chinstrap penguins

Read The Battle for the Falklands, a cool assessment of the politics and strategy of the 1982 war by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins

Listen to the Fighting Pig Band

Watch Falklands-Taskforce South, a gritty account of the British defence of the islands aboard a British naval vessel

Eat hydroponically grown vegetables in Stanley, but pack your own lunch anywhere eles (British explorer Shackleton didn’t and almost starved to death)

Drink a cup of tea during a regular smoko (traditional mid-morning tea break)

Cuppa (usually a cup of tea, the most warming thing on a freezing-cold day)

British-Argentine battlefield; penguin mating grounds; snow-covered islands; near-dark winters; snow, snow and even more snow

The Falklands War, for which the island is still best known, lasted only 72 days, but saw casualties of almost a thousand servicemen. Anywhere outside of Stanley is known as ‘camp’, from the Spanish world campo, countryside.

As in Japan, houses are shoe-free territory. lt can be muddy outsid so outdoor shoes are always removed at the front door. ln places where unknowing outsiders may be regular visitors you may encounter warning signs, but whether it’s signposted or not always take them off.