Dunns On Tour

  Final day, once again blessed with fantastic weather, though with a forecast of rain closing in later in the afternoon. We walked from the hotel to the ferry terminal, taking the boat over to the island of Skrova, directly opposite Svolvær. An old fishing community, it is lovely and unspoilt, with a pretty harbour and several bays, coves and inlets, and deserted white sandy beaches. Em opted for the easier walk, to keep Jack company, as he was still feeling a bit discombobulated. Jack and I had a very easy amble, taking a stroll away from the coast initially, then following a grassy track down to a beautiful sheltered beach. White sand, emerald water. We had a paddle (not as cold as you might think for the Arctic Ocean) and had our lunch, whiling away a delightfully relaxing hour or so.  On our way back to the ferry we checked out a permanent photographic exhibition in an unused road tunnel. They were a black and white collection taken by one man, showing island life from 19...

 Jack was very sadly still not feeling up to a walk, and so spent his third day in the hotel room. Joff and I were back on the bus for an hour or so, heading south west to the area of Stamsund, to climb Justadtinden. At 700m it’s the highest this week by a good way, and like those on the west coast of Scotland, you do the whole height from sea level. It was another scorcher, up at 29 degrees by the time we got back down. However, we had the breeze with us for a good part of it, so it wasn’t too bad. The climb was initially fairly steady through wild upland areas studded with lakes and boggy bits, though these were comfortably traversed by duckboards. At one point we were brought to a standstill by a regular, high pitched peeping noise, and everyone checked their phones until we realised the sound was coming from off to the side. A couple of people have the Merlin app, and identified that it was a golden plover. This is interesting, apparently. The last hour or so to the top was pre...

  Back to Mediterranean conditions in the Arctic Circle, sun beaming down from an azure sky and temps reaching mid twenties. And that’s since 1.30am. Jack had improved overnight, but was still shaking off the after effects of whatever bug he has picked up. Breakfast was brought to him courtesy of parental room service, and he rightly decided not to join today’s walk. We set off by coach to Hadseløya, a small island to the North, reaching it via ferry from Fiskebosk.  Both Em and I elected for the ‘harder’ walk, which involved a stiff climb up Pallheia, a hill around 400m above sea level, and then a circuit round a brace of inland lakes. It was a large group again, possibly as a result of the other team leader failing to persuade with his narrative of the other, ‘easier’ walk at last night’s briefing (“there will be pathless terrain, it is likely I will get lost and need to beat my way through vegetation to find the way for you”). There was a good breeze off the sea, which took...

  Today was a free, ie non-walking day, which started slightly stressfully. We had signed up for a boat trip along the coast and into Trollfjord, meeting at 10am to walk to the dock. Jack texted to say that he wasn’t feeling well - headache, sore throat, feverish and aching. As I was figuring out opening times of supermarkets and pharmacies to buy paracetamol, one of the lenses of my glasses fell out - luckily I didn’t lose the tiny screw, but we had nothing to tighten it with. There is a Specsavers here, but it doesn’t open till 10. The timings worked out in the end and with some logistical planning. With the help of Paul, walk leader, who miraculously had some teeny, tiny screwdrivers, we managed to buy paracetamol, take a tray of food up to Jack, have breakfast,  and fix my specs in time for the boat.  Jack was feeling pretty rough, so we left him to rest. We were blessed with a flat sea and were soon in among tiny islands and the most gorgeous scenery. Part of the dra...

Different conditions today. Clouds have descended, bringing cooler temperatures with them. Much to Jack’s relief. Our walks today were on the island of Vestrågøy, around 40 miles south of Svolvær. The Lofoten chain of islands are interlinked by a series of bridges, funded by the public investment arm of Norges Bank, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund created during the 1980s oil boom. Previously you apparently had to catch individual ferries to traverse the archipelago. The walking group was conveniently split 50/50 this time. I was in the gang taking the ‘harder’ option, stepping off the coach early to tackle a steep scramble over the hill of Holandsmelen, before picking up the trail of the ‘easier’ walk from Haukland to Uttakleiv. Jack and Em opted for this more leisurely, flatter circuit around the coastline. Jack loved this walk. The clouds were very low, making for a somewhat spooky atmosphere, and the landscape was very reminiscent of large tracts of Scotland. We just had one short s...

Did someone move the arctic circle further south when we weren’t looking? I ask because we did a very hot and sunny walk today. Like us, most of the group are veterans of walking in Scotland and came prepared for that sort of weather, not 25 degrees! Jack was not impressed, disliking the heat as much as he does. But back to yesterday. It was a long day. I think the actual time travelling was about 9 hours (car, plane, plane, coach), but we left home at 4.30am and didn’t reach the hotel till nearly 10pm. You can do the maths - a lot of hanging around at airports. However, that aside, everything went smoothly. The drive from Narvik airport to Svolvœr was fabulous - view after view of very pointy, craggy hills descending sharply into clear, limpid water. Eating dinner at 10pm felt a bit weird, and even weirder was the short stroll afterwards to sample the delights of the last day of the year when the sun doesn’t set at all. We got a kind of gentle dusk, briefly, but basically it was warm ...