22nd June Harwich

Just arrived in Harwich but somehow the captain got it wrong and the ferry is now resting on the quayside. We could be here for some time, we have police, fire services, lifeboat and rescue helicopters here. No doubt we could be here for some time.

21st June Esbjerg

We are including a photo taken on a beach in Denmark...in the rain. Unfortunately have just had a phone call from home to say that my mum is ill. We are lucky enough to be able to change our ferry booking to Harwich and in 2 hours we will be leaving. That's it, thank you for looking at my blog.

18th June Sondre

We stayed last night at a place called Laerdl, it seems every campsite is by a fjord or next to a river. Over the last couple of days we have become very aware of how busy places are, this much further south. Last night's campsite was full of German and Swiss vans, we feel slightly outnumbered! With this in mind we have decided to head for Larvik where we are getting a ferry to Denmark on Friday. Rumour has it that It will be quieter there so we are going to spend our last few days finding out. Today we experienced our first road closure, with so few roads here it meant a completely new route to the ferry. Everywhere here has great scenery so it no big deal. We are of course camping next to a lake and our neighbours are......you guessed it German. We don't really mind the nationality it is just in the nature of certain countrymen to take two allocated spaces always in the best position. There that's my rant for the day! We visited a very old stave church today, photo included. The other picture is our overnight pitch, very nice.

16th June Briksdalbreen

Last night we celebrated the birthday with a meal out, our first in over 5 weeks, the weather was good enough to eat outside, at 9.30 it was still very warm, photo included. We are now at a campsite at the foot of the Briksdalbreen glacier. We have been up to the edge of the glacier where you are made very aware of global warming. The weather here in the mountains changes very quickly and our walk down was accompanied by thunder and rain. Another of today's photos is taken from the drive out of Geiranger with our campsite visible below.

15th June Geiranger

I may have woken up this morning expecting to stay in Alesund for another day, Ron had other ideas. As it is his birthday today he was allowed a choice and I have to admit that his decision was a good one. The weather has been perfect today and we have driven to one end of Geirangerfjord and taken a cruise through the fjord, complete with campervan. It was a stunning journey and now we are on a campsite at the end of the fjord in Geiranger. Life does not feel that it could get any better. Added to that I have seen two Norwegian men, completely in the buff but since they had just been swimming in an ice cold fjord, there really was not much to look at!

14th June Alesund

We drove along the Atlantic highway route today, according to the guardian newspaper it once crowned it the'world's best road trip'. I'm not totally convinced but it was certainly a route worth taking.  At the beginning of our holiday we would say 'wow', stop the car and take a photo. Now we still enjoy the view as much but forget to take the pictures. We are now in Alesund for two nights, it is a popular stop for cruise liners and is very pretty, the buildings are all art nouveau in style. We are in a large aire type parking right in town, no Brit vans but plenty of other nationalities. We are enjoying all the comings and goings in the 40 or so parking places, everyone fighting over the electric points! Photos today are taken in Alesund, in town and our parking with the Hurtigruten cruise ship nearby. Weather, not cold but showery.

13th June Kristiansund

Our day off yesterday was very relaxing, today we have driven only 25 miles to a campsite near the centre of Kristiansund. We have already cycled in to town as rumour has it that there was a great place to get fish & chips. That information was completely wrong so we checked out a fish restaurant, 285Kroner for a bowl of mussels.....that's £31.00! Looks like it's campervan food again tonight. Kristiansund has been a little disappointing, it is no longer a fishing port, it now services the oil industry. Today's photo is taken in the old shipyard quay where there are plenty of interesting old boats.

11th June Kvisvik

We had a long day of driving yesterday, the weather was not good and the E6 main road south was busy and bumpy. Norway is a very rich country and they have decided to improve their roads, there are roadworks everywhere and it is chaos to drive through them. They have a phenomenal amount of machinery at every small road improvement, every man on site has a toy to play with. We spent last night at an old army base, positioned next to our own tank...a first! We are now in the Western Fjords and yet again the scenery does not dissapoint. We are on a site on a fjord and are lucky enough to be next to the sea. We have lovely weather and as you can see by my second photo, it is warm enough for Ron to be topless.

9th June Mosjoen

Last night we were joined at our overnight wild camp by a lone motorcyclist, Matt from Cumbria. 32yrs old, good looking with long hair that would be the envy of many women. He had not met any Brits to talk to in 2 weeks, he was desperate, he chose us! He had recently been dumped by his wife and decided to head off on his bike to Norway to escape. We gave him tea and biscuits and later a few beers. He slept in his hammock by the picnic tables....more tea in the morning. We feel sad for him, Norway is so big and empty it seemed to make him lonely and you can never escape your emotional baggage. We in convoy with Matt drove the coast route through very stunning scenery, he carried on and we have stopped overnight at a busy campsite. There will be no photo today of beautiful views or of good looking Matt. Tonight we thought we would show you what we will be having for dinner tonight.....YUM!

8th June Svartisen

The ferry journey today was trouble free, the sea as flat as a dab. We have been driving today along a small coastal road recommended by fellow travellers. It was lovely but the rain and cloud meant that we did not get to really appreciate the scenery. We are now wild camping at the base of the Svartisen glacier, the sun is just beginning to shine through...hurrah! My photo today is of a 'tongue' of the glacier, unfortunately taken in poor weather. It is impossible to visualise the size of the glacier in a photo or the colour which is an amazing turquoise. What you can see is how the glacier is receding due to global warming.

7th June Moskenes

Our weather is as forecast today, breezy, cloudy and occasional showers. We are now at the end of the Lofoten Island chain and tomorrow we are catching a ferry back to the mainland. It's a 3hr15min ferry, a 7am departure. Our ferry routing takes us through the strongest sea current in the world....could be interesting. The photo today is taken in the small fishing village of A at the end of the island chain. Plenty of seagulls here too!

6th June Lofoten Islands

Travelled only 30 miles today, we have found a lovely campsite next to the beach....again. We are enjoying the sunny weather as every forecast we have predicts a change to rainy weather. Went out cycling and met another Brit van, an unusual occurrence. They are going north, we are going south so we have exchanged useful information. Photos today are of an enticing pile of fish....yum...all heading for Italy and Spain, second photo is our campsite.

5th June Lyngvaer, Lofoten islands

A good relaxed day today, did all the necessary jobs like the laundry and cleaning. The day was so nice that Ron....''I'm so glad I have'n't got a boat''.....decided to rent a boat! Photo included.

We check on the weather at home when we publish the blog, it is good to see that the summer weather continues.

4th June Lofoten Islands

Our sunshine is back but the north wind is cold. We have travelled a relatively short way today, taking a 20 minute ferry crossing linking the two groups of islands. We have immediately found that the Lofoten islands are busier, motorhomes everywhere! The scenery still does not disappoint though and we are definitely overusing the word wow! We are on a bobil campsite now, by a fjord, another stunning location. Our German neighbours have a cat (I am so happy) and a photo is included. The second photo is taken from the campsite pontoon where you can hire a boat, it looks a tempting idea for tomorrow.....or shall I do the laundry?

3rd June Andoya Island

Last night the sea fog rolled in and today we have completely different weather, 8c and rain. It is a pity that the sunshine could not have lasted for today because we had booked a whale watching trip. 25 passengers took the trip and probably 10 were very seasick, we were lucky, we got wet and a little cold but we were okay. The boat we were on has sonar equipment, it told them not only where to locate the whales but could by computer recognise the sound of an individual whale. We were able to see a sperm whale named Moby Dick, very, very close to the boat, he is 18 metres long. I have a photo on my small camera but could not risk the iPad in the rain, therefore today's photo is what we experienced but a copy from the boat info. We are now parked up on a beach looking out at the rain....it had to happen sometime!

2nd June Andenes, Andoya Island

We took a ferry this morning, nearly two hours but we saw plenty of puffins. We are now at an idyllic beachside campsite. My second photo today is of someone crazy enough to go swimming in the arctic, we have called him little willie.

1st June Hamn I Senja

We keep our eye on the weather at home and it is good to see that the summer has arrived. Here it has been 30c and according to locals, very unusual weather. We took a slow and short drive along the north coast of this island, the most scenic drive so far. They do have the most basic tunnels here though, barely two cars wide and sometimes not lit, rough sided and poorly surfaced, I would hate to cycle through. We have found an idyllic place to park, there are other motorhomes here, part of a choir. They are performing in the next village and invited us along suggesting we could cycle. We did 4 hilly miles before turning back at a mountain pass with another 5 miles ahead, pity but perhaps we can buy a DVD. My photos today are off last nights midnight sun, a tunnel entrance and our current view from the van.

31st May Senja island

Today our motorhome incurred a little damage, only the wing mirror and thankfully the main mirror is okay. We took two ferries today to get us into Tromso, the party capital of the north. We found a car park full of motorhomes and went into town to check out the night clubs.....! When we returned to just shower and get ready to party we found that all the motorhomes had gone and we were all alone. It just did not feel right, so I packed my party outfit away and we took another ferry to this remote island. We are at a campsite which would not pass inspection by the caravan club but the beachside location is lovely. The first phot is for my friends who knit, taken outside a shop in Tromso. The second is our view from the motorhome, taken this evening.

30th May Kviteberg

We left the North Cape yesterday and returned to sunshine and hot weather. We stopped at Alta river camping making full use of their facilities including the necessary laundry. Our fellow campers were all sunbathing, none were British. Today we have visited the Alta museum site where there are hundreds of rock carvings dating back 6,000 years, an amazing site next to the sea. We are now on our way to Tromso, still in the arctic circle and are wild camping at the side of a fjord, off the beaten track. In the photo of our view are a pair of eider ducks.....mmmmm, duck in orange sauce, not for us tonight we have pasta with tomato sauce. BUT...there will be wine.

28th May Midnight sun

The low cloud and freezing wind persisted but the midnight sun shone through.

28th May Nordkapp

We experienced the midnight sun from our overnight parking at the lighthouse on Sunday night, it was so cold that night we did not leave the van. The next morning with no wind it was hot again. We spent yesterday driving to get back on track after our detour to Nordkyn. The drive was on the old Atlantic highway and was a test for the build quality of our van, they have yet to repair the road after the ravages of the winter weather. We drove through a very stark landscape for about 60 miles that looked like the after effects of a nuclear attack. Finally the landscape improved and we parked on a beach at the side of a fjord, we sat outside in 25c sunshine. There were plenty of birds to spot, perhaps not quite the type that Ron had in mind. In the morning we were lucky enough to see 2 dolphins. We are now at the north cape and we have gone from summer to winter in the space of an hour. We are here at the most northerly point in Europe, we paid the rip off sum of £26 each but somehow it had to be done!

26th May Gamvik

We are on the Nordkyn peninsula, parked near the most northerly mainland lighthouse in Europe, overlooking the Barents Sea. We are in the sub-arctic where there is no summer, it is very windy and not exactly beach weather. We are parked next to a bird reserve and we have braved the elements and followed the three mile trail. We were lucky enough too see a white tailed eagle, a very impressive sight. One of today's photos is especially for slippy, a rack of fish, drying in the wind. They dry the cod heads here and grind them into a powder that is sold in Nigeria, where it is prized by cooks as a flavouring or seasoning. The beaches here are disappointedly full of rubbish from boats, there was even a fish box with a UK telephone number on.

25th May Norway

This morning the temperature at Inari was probably 25c, by the time we drove 50 miles north a cold wind was blowing. We are now in Norway and suddenly things are very different. We are on a peninsula east of Nordkapp overlooking a fjord. We are wild camping, completely alone in this remote and windy landscape where the sun and moon will not set tonight......it's great. Photos today are of a route that has only just re-opened after the winter.

24th May Inari

Just been told by my boss that I posted the wrong picture of the skidoos !! So here we are.

24th May Inari

Long journey today 200 miles but plenty of wildlife, including many reindeer and also a very large hare still in winter white but changing to brown for the short summer. Here at Inari the sun will set at 12.59 and rise at 1.17. We stopped off at a national park today which borders Russia, just 30 miles away. They have brown bears in the woods but they must have been sleeping when we were there, still it was a good walk with thankfully a lack of mosquitoes.

We are yet again parked on the edge of a lake, weather lovely, 20c and right next to us is a big boys toy box. Ron asked to be taken up in the seaplane but unfortunately the pilot is not here.

23rd May Rovaniemi

I could not help adding this photo, it is 10.30pm, sunset at 11.30, sunrise at 3.00am, it never really gets dark, too many photo opportunities.

23rd May Rovaniemi Finland

Just a 2 hour drive today to this campsite beside a lake. Yet again this site is not open yet but the owners were here preparing for the summer. The campsite amenities are not yet ready so they are letting us park next to and use a summer cabin. All for the normal camping fee. The cabin overlooks the lake, it is lovely.

We have just returned from seeing Santa Claus so if any of you doubted his existence, I include a photo to prove otherwise.

We are now at the beginning of our journey into the arctic circle, it is still very good, sunny weather but there is a cold wind. 

22nd May Kukkola

Day off from touring today, time to do the chores and just relax. We cooked and ate in the camp kitchen last night with facilities that you never get at home. There are also several wood burning saunas to use but that is a step to far!