Posts: A 2,500 mile drive to the Land of the Midnight Sun

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  • Day 1: Flogging around the M25 South from Bracknell to Harwich…..
    Not the most exciting day’s driving….130 miles around London on the M25, through the Dartford Tunnel to Harwich!!! Usual mix of 80 mph cruising and painful Qs dogging along at 40…. At least the weather was sunny and warm, so driving along without my Flying Jacket on!!! Think i’m going to need it tho’, up… Read more: Day 1: Flogging around the M25 South from Bracknell to Harwich…..
  • Day 2: Hook of Holland to Hamburg
    Sorry, folks, another not very exciting day of driving: just over 300 miles from the Ferry at Hook of Holland to Frommans Land Hotel just south of Hamburg!!! Much vaunted German autobahns proved a major disappointment with two 30 minutes+ delays for road works and such. Not a lot of point having no speed limit… Read more: Day 2: Hook of Holland to Hamburg
  • Day 3: Hamburg to Hirtshals for the ferry to Stavanger
    Another busy day of 300 miles+ driving, rather less tedious than yesterday, but what it really brought home was the total lunacy of having no speed limit on German Autobahns!!! That’s in the same league of political weakness and expediency as flights to Rwanda and US Gun Laws…. It’s especially dangerous in a right hand… Read more: Day 3: Hamburg to Hirtshals for the ferry to Stavanger
  • Day 4: Ferry to Stavanger and onward to Flam
    I’ve been in Norway for all of 12 hours and already i’m in love with the place!!! The mountain and fjord scenery is not only dramatically spectacular but never ending: each bend in the road seems to deliver yet another awesome vista… I only wish my pics could do it all justice, but i hope… Read more: Day 4: Ferry to Stavanger and onward to Flam
  • Day 5.1: The Flam Railway
    You all get a bonus post today: one for the Flam Railway and a second for the journey from Flam to Geiranger: as you will see both are very dramatic!!! This is the engine that drags the Flam Railway train up a largely 5.5% track from Flam at sea level up to Myrdal at 2,844… Read more: Day 5.1: The Flam Railway
  • Day 5.2 Flam to Geiranger
    Most stunning scenery yet – how does it just keep getting better??? I didn’t actually have to drive over snow but certainly drove through it on the mountain road, so i’ll start you off with a naughty video to give you some idea….. The first three pics in the gallery below show you yet another… Read more: Day 5.2 Flam to Geiranger
  • Day 6: In and around Geiranger
    The folks who put this trip together knew what they were doing when they gave us two nights at the splendid Union Hotel here in Geiranger. It’s not so much the driving, although yesterday was swarming with a few dozen hairpins which are easily the most physically tough type of road feature to cope with,… Read more: Day 6: In and around Geiranger
  • Day 7: Geiranger to Molde
    Well, that was fun!!! Difficult to imagine a more challenging and enjoyable drive: mostly done in the dry or at worst a gentle drizzle in mild temperatures. It only really started to rain when i was 20 miles from Molde and as i sit here in the hotel it has brighted up considerably….. The two… Read more: Day 7: Geiranger to Molde
  • Day 8: Molde to Trondheim
    A very different day’s driving today, but fascinating nonetheless. Very little snow and no hairpins!!! A day of two halves really, first along the Atlantic Road with its magnificent bridges, but a dark and brooding landscape overlooking the equally dark and brooding North Atlantic Ocean. Mood not helped by the weather i guess, also appropriately… Read more: Day 8: Molde to Trondheim
  • Day 9: In and around Trondheim
    Thought i’d treat you to a view from my hotel room in Trondheim – we have two nights here which gives us a day of rest from driving. Probably needed given we are off to Mo i Rana tomorrow, 300+ miles and the final stop before we reach the Arctic Circle! This is starting to… Read more: Day 9: In and around Trondheim
  • Day 10: Trondheim to Mo i Rana
    I thought i would give you the full map again today, so you can see how we are getting along. Mo i Rana is just outside the Arctic Circle, so we are not very far away now!!! The day dawned stunningly beautiful this morning in Trondheim and that persuaded me to take the scenic route… Read more: Day 10: Trondheim to Mo i Rana
  • Day 11: Mo i Rana to Bodo and Ferry to Reine
    Today was mainly about crossing into the Arctic Circle – i’ve never been that far north before and as you will see from the pics our Norwegian friends make a pretty big deal of the event! After we left Mo i Rana the road climbed steadily and we could see the snow line and the… Read more: Day 11: Mo i Rana to Bodo and Ferry to Reine
  • Day 12: In and around Reine
    Yesterday evening was interesting….. First dinner: John, Alison and i were treated to a first class meal – quite a surprise up here in the usually frozen north. Moose carpaccio to start, Norwegian Lamb for main and Apple Pie for desert, all washed down with a rather lovely IPA brewed here in the Lofoten Islands:… Read more: Day 12: In and around Reine
  • Day 13: Reine to Narvik
    Another great day’s drive today – about 250 miles – stunning weather and a clear blue sky meant all the fjords and lakes were blue and very still, so lots of reflections of the mountains and the forests. This is the view just before i left Reine this morning: you can see Reinebryggen the peak… Read more: Day 13: Reine to Narvik
  • Day 14: Narvik to Alta
    Another day of wall to wall sunshine and tropical temperatures up here in the Arctic Circle: as i sit here now in my hotel room in Alta i am being told it is 26c outside… I even managed to sunburn my right arm driving the 300 miles without the roof on the Cat!!! Somebody up… Read more: Day 14: Narvik to Alta
  • Day 15: Alta to Honningsvag and on to Nordkapp
    Made it, Ma! Top of the World!! With apologies to James Cagney, i’ve always wanted to use that line….. Actually Nordkapp is just the most northerly point you can reach by road on the European Mainland, it’s just 19 degrees south of the actual top of the world, the North Pole. The drive from Alta… Read more: Day 15: Alta to Honningsvag and on to Nordkapp
  • Day 16: In and around Honningsvag
    There we were last night in Honningsvag John, Alison and I having finished an enjoyable meal, me having consumed sufficient alcohol to believe i had appropriately celebrated getting to the Top of the World, when in the space of 20 minutes the weather changed dramatically!!! Being used to weather changes on the mountains i ought… Read more: Day 16: In and around Honningsvag
  • Day 17: Honningsvag to Karasjok
    Almost half our short drive today was going south on the same road on which we had travelled north to Honningsvag on Wednesday. Then we headed off more to the east and down to Karasjok, our last stop in Norway before crossing into Finland. Sorry to keep going on about the weather but we saw… Read more: Day 17: Honningsvag to Karasjok
  • Day 18: Karasjok to Rovaniemi
    So begins the long drive home as we leave Karasjok, our final stop in Norway… But not without its own little dramas: just getting ready for dinner last night and even i heard the huge clap of thunder. Remembered i had not put the roof on the Cat since arrival, so threw on some clothes,… Read more: Day 18: Karasjok to Rovaniemi
  • Day 19: Rovaniemi to Kokkola
    Not a lot to share with you today, folks! The drive was almost completely without stress – apart from, for the first time, almost running out of fuel….. Today the roads were mostly of a good standard and the Reindeer behaved themselves. I guess as we get further south there are fewer of the beasts,… Read more: Day 19: Rovaniemi to Kokkola
  • Day 20: Kokkola to Helsinki
    Enjoyed today’s drive more than i expected…. Wall to wall sunshine, again, and that always helps. The countryside a little more varied but still not what you might call exciting for photography…. Became steadily more arable as we drove south: again could not tell what they were sowing this time of year, but did see… Read more: Day 20: Kokkola to Helsinki
  • Day 21: Helsinki to Travemunde by Ferry
    A lot of hanging around as usual, waiting to board the Ferry, but to be fair that’s mainly a function of me and most others wanting to make quite sure they are in plenty of time to make the sailing!!! The consequences of missing the ferry are pretty dire in terms of the knock on… Read more: Day 21: Helsinki to Travemunde by Ferry
  • The final two days: and an Epilogue….
    The 380 mile drive from Travemunde proved less taxing than i had expected: maybe i was getting used to German driving habits on the autobahns??? Although i guess the tiny fuel tank i have on the Caterham means lots of stops for gas, that does have the benefit of forcing me to take a break… Read more: The final two days: and an Epilogue….

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