After the ‘lake above the sea’ in the Faroes and Studagil Canyon in Iceland, the other Insta post that had helped shape our itinerary was one of the Lofoten Islands.
The Lofotens are an archipelago in the the Norwegian county of Nordland and are known for their distinctive scenery – dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays and beaches. In short, a mecca for photographers from around the world both amateur (me) and professional.
They are a LONG way north, the main town of Svolvaer sitting 169 kms north of the Arctic Circle and only 2,400 kms from the North Pole. In the interest of time we had decided to fly there rather than drive and so we boarded the little Wideroe plane in Oslo for the 2.5 hr flight to Svolvaer.
The skies were pretty clear and we flew over some amazing scenery en route but our first glimpse of the Lofotens was breathtaking. Photo below is a photo on the wall inside Svolvaer Airport to give you an appreciation of the airport’s location…
Suffice to say we pulled up pretty quickly on landing 😉
It didn’t take long for Russell to retrieve our luggage whilst I got the rental sorted and we were soon on our way to our accommodation in nearby Svolvaer.
It was like a postcard coming to life in front of my eyes, stunning whichever way you looked and within 15 minutes we were driving over the bridge which led to the little island of Svinoya where our rorbuer was situated.
“A rorbu (plural rorbuer) is a traditional Norwegian fishermen’s cabin, originally built for seasonal housing for visiting fishermen during the cod fishing season, especially in the Lofoten Islands.”
Basically most of the island village was part of a huge accommodation complex consisting of numerous rorbuers as well as other historic buildings, (all part of the original fisherman’s village) we were situated in the two storey Telegraph building with two apartments on each floor, looking back over the bridge to the Svolvaer town. It was spacious and well appointed but not directly on the waterside as I had anticipated. Nevertheless we were surrounded by mountains and sea and after a quick unpack we headed off on foot to explore.
The island was very quiet with beautiful views out to sea and after a loop around there we walked over the bridge and into Svolvaer proper which was busy with Sunday afternoon festivities in the sunshine. The large Hurtigruten ferry which travels up and down this coastline was docked virtually in the middle of town.
Over the next couple of days we endeavoured to to cover as much of the northern part of the Lofotens as we could, the weather gods were still being kind and we enjoyed beautiful blue skies and sunshine for nearly 22 hours, it never really got dark. Thank goodness for eye masks 🤣
Our first stop was just off the E10 or main ‘highway,’ at stunning Rørvikstranda Beach. It was about 23 C and there were a handful of people in the water, I so wanted to go in but we had too many other things to see so reluctantly left after a short paddle. The photos don’t do the clear turquoise waters justice, one of the many times when a drone would have fit the bill.
We continued as far as the bridge to Gimsoy which literally disappeared into the clouds.
Having a cup of tea in the picnic area, we watched the mist eventually disperse and then continued over the bridge towards Hoven.
I had researched a hike up Mt. Hoven that was one of the few in Lofoten hiking guides described as ‘easy’ – more on that later – but as we continued along the coastline the mist descended again with a vengeance. By the time we got to Hoven the mountain was nowhere to be seen, indeed visibility was down to less than 50 metres so we decided today wasn’t the day and headed back.
Back at the bridge again the mist had completely disappeared so we decided to make for the little fishing village of Henningsvaer, very popular on the tourist trail and indeed just the road to get there, narrow and cliff hugging in places, was spectacular. The village itself was interesting but extremely busy and it took quite a while just to get a park. One of the most photographed features here (usually illegally by drone) is the soccer field – surely one of the most picturesque anywhere.
Determined to get some shots from ‘on high,’ we headed back to Mt. Hoven the next day and indeed there wasn’t a cloud in sight when we arrived into the golf club car park from where the trail starts.
Full of enthusiasm, backpacks containing snacks and water we headed off on this ‘easy’ hike, suitable to “… take the baby and the dog on a Sunday afternoon …”
THEY LIED.
It started off ok, winding its way past the golf course, through a bit of a boggy low lying area and then up a fairly gentle gradient, the views getting better by the step. The path, however, did not get better. Well not at least before it got a lot worse. Calling the steep, rocky, boulder strewn route a path is a lot too generous.
It was challenging and steep, did I mention steep?? We laboured away, got through the first rocky section and were then faced with a hillside section so steep I was on hands and knees in part and very envious of Russell with his hiking poles. Another rocky section followed and finally the summit was within sight but I feared not within my reach 🏔
I was really gassed at this point so I sat down to eat my muesli bar whilst I caught my breath. Russell was slightly ahead of me and after a short time I started following him again, albeit very slowly and with lots of stops. OMG it was hard – definitely not ‘easy’ – but the 360 degree views at the top were worth it. A family were just coming down when we got to the summit and the mum very kindly took some photos to prove we made it, at this stage we had no idea how we were going to get down 🤣
Feeling well pleased with ourselves we took some time to enjoy the solitude and contemplate the descent.
I decided if I made it down I was heading straight for that beautful beach we could see and jumping straight in!
Make it down we did, all bones intact and drove the short distance to Hovsvika Beach where we ordered fish and chips which did a good job at re energising us. My face was still beetroot red (under the dirt) and I decided that this was the day I was going to swim in the Arctic Circle!
Rather than being cold, it was actually gorgeous and I would have spent longer in if I’d had some company 😉
The next morning both of us could hardly get out of bed 🤣 but eventually the car was loaded (three trips up and down the stairs) and we were on our way south, our eventual destination tonight Reine.