Nordkapp, the end of the road, the end of our journey?

  

This was not the day we expected it to be. It had started well, the weather as we exited the tunnel was perfect and the views dramatic, it really does feel as if you are driving to the top of the world. The road is steep and winding, the sky is huge and the reindeer well fed.

As the road twists and turns we spotted the Horn of Nordkapp, one of the places many walkers trek to and then there it was, in the distance, the white globe above visitors centre appears.

The steep cliff of the North Cape is located at 71°10′21″N 25°47′04″E, about 2,102.3 km (1,306.3 miles) from the North Pole. Nordkapp is often inaccurately referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. However, the neighbouring Knivskjellodden Cape actually extends 1,450 m (4,760 ft) further north. The northernmost point of Europe including islands, is hundreds of kilometers further north, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

E69 motorway has its northern terminus at Nordkapp (North Cape),it is the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car and makes the E69 the northernmost public road in Europe. The cape includes a 307-metre-high cliff (1,007 ft) with a large flat plateau on top, where you can look out to the Barents Sea to the north. North Cape Hall, that houses the visitors centre, was built in 1988 on the plateau. It includes a  fabulous restaurant with a stunning view , a souvenir shop, chapel and a small video about the Cape.

We were so lucky, we had a glorious day, cold, windy, but as clear as it could be. Th Globe ( the monument anyone who visits needs a photo beside) was busy, but we took our turn. It felt like a big step on our journey, from here on, we would be heading south and home ( although our plan was to visit a lot of places on the way and take another 2 months).

Just along the plateau from the Globe is the  Children of the Earth monument, in fact it is seven monuments made by seven children from all parts of the world, symbolising cooperation, friendship, hope and joy across all boundaries. The project was initiated in 1989 and every year in the beginning of June, local children join to celebrate the very same values, and a humanitarian award is given in support of children around the world.

To warm up we headed inside for lunch at the restaurant, courtesy of my fabulous friends and colleagues at Versus Arthritis as  my leaving gift, the view was stunning! We took out time enjoyed all the exhibitions and films, made a small purchase in the shop and headed back to Agy. We had a campsite to get to.

This is where it all went a little bit (!) wrong. Getting in, the wind was so strong I struggled to hold the door and clamber in, but once in, Ian started her up…. A warning light came up on the dashboard and a terrible sound ensued.  Agy must have heard us saying “we are driving to Nordkapp” and decided I have got you here, so I’m going no further! 

The long drive to the top

We stopped for a night in Øse camping where we had the warmest welcome and the best view from our bed on the trip so far (I think!) before heading further up the E6.

We climbed higher and higher and really thought we must be at a huge altitude looking at the scenery and amount of hills we’d climbed, but it turned out we were only at 104 M (1300ft). It must have been the fact we were now so far north that made it seem so remote. As you can see the cyclist ( yes people cycle this!) thought so too!   

As we dropped down again we came across some interesting roadworks. Basically, the road isn’t there, so you drive on the makeshift gravel, it works, but again put Agy to the test!

With another stop at Alta river camping we were finally ready to make the journey to the top of Europe.

Heading off early we had the most beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies, we were hopeful. Many people have, planned for months, saved up, driven this far and had thick fog, have seen nothing of the stunning landscape and although made it to NordKapp ( The North Cape) they didn’t see it.. 

(This sign, will come to mean much more to us than we could ever imagine... more on this later!)

We felt we might but in places like this the weather can turn in an instant. Reaching Nordkapp Kommune, ( the community of Nordkapp) it still looked hopeful, but we still had a long way to go. We knew that the North Cape tunnel can bring different weather on the other side, so it felt like an important landmark as we entered.

North Cape Tunnel ( Nordkapptunnelen) is one of the longest and the northernmost of the subsea road tunnels in Norway.  The tunnel is 6.875 kilometres (4.272 mi) long and reaches a depth of 212 metres (696 ft) below sea level, it’s not unusual to have fog in the tunnel.. The tunnel has automatic anti-freezing doors which close the mouths of the tunnel in the winter to avoid the freezing of any leaking water. These gates open automatically when cars approach and are permanently open in the summer. Thankfully we didn’t need the doors and no fog was encountered mid tunnel.

To the Lofoten islands and some family history.

We’d decided to get the ferry from Bodø, about 4 hrs drive away, to take us to the Lofoten islands. To ensure we had plenty of time to see the islands and to definitely get a space on the ferry (you don’t book, you just turn up and queue) we needed to get to the ferry terminal early, which meant leaving at 3.30am. We set our alarm, and before we knew it we were awoken from our slumber! Ian decided he’d just take a look outside…. And swiftly said, get back into bed, we aren’t going anywhere at the moment, it’s thick fog… so we snuggled back in and appreciated an extra few hours sleep.

The next morning our drive to the ferry bought our first real sight of mountains with snow capped peaks. It felt like we were alone in the world. We didn’t see a soul for hours, and the drive was stunning.

Arriving at the ferry we entered the queue and ate lunch while we waited. The best thing about being in Agy is lunch is always at hand when you have a wait!

Boarding a while later we sat back, had a sneaky hot dog (ok we had had lunch, but you need to try the local food! and the locals here like to wrap their hotdogs in bacon - which was rather tasty). The views from the ship were mighty as we sailed across to Moskenes.

With a campsite literally 30 seconds from the ferry we were soon parked up. It was an unusual atmosphere at the site. A huge number of people visit Lofoten for serious hiking, cycling and climbing as well as more general travel like us, but it had the feel of some sort of base camp from which people set off on expeditions. We were surrounded by brightly coloured tents perched between rocky outcrops and there was a distinct chill in the air. The location was incredible.

One bonus was the opportunity to try the local beer and the Norwegian version of KitKat, ToppTur, I actually think it’s much nicer - if you go, try it!   

Next morning we were up early to make the most of our day, our first visit was to Å. Yes this place has a single letter for its name! Å is the most southerly fishing village of the islands and  is thought of as Northern Norway's best preserved fishing village. It has many listed buildings and Europe's oldest fish oil factory dating back to 1850.  

We walked to the very end of the island where the rocks stretch out into the sea of Vestfjorden. Considering how many people were at the campsite, we were surprised to have the place to ourselves, maybe everyone else was taking on more ambitious hikes. 

The only way from here is north, so north we went passing incredible scenery and hundreds of fish drying racks.

I’d been updating dad as we travelled and had sent him an email to say we had reached the arctic circle the day before explaining where we were heading, and got this reply..

You are not the first family member  to visit Lofoten. My cousin John, son of my dad's older brother William, landed there on March 4th 1941, as one of the Commando force which raided the area in the second world war as part of Operation Claymore.

Wikipedia tells us ‘Operation Claymore was a British/Norwegian commando raid on the Lofoten Islands during the Second World War. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and glycerine, used in the German war economy. The force landed almost unopposed in Stamsund. The original plan was to avoid contact with German forces and inflict the maximum of damage to German-controlled industry. They achieved their objective of destroying fish oil factories and some 3,600 tons of oil and glycerine.The most significant outcome of the raid was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an Enigma Machine and its code books from the German armed trawler Krebs. German naval codes could thereafter be deciphered at Bletchley Park, providing the intelligence needed to allow Allied convoys to avoid U-boat concentrations.’

Of course, having discovered this we wanted to find Stamsund and see where John landed in this incredible raid. Stamsund today is a very quiet out of the way village, with very little there. The harbour was calm and still when we visited, a huge contrast to March 4th 1941 I’m sure. The only sign that anything important had taken place was a gun at the side of the road, with no plaque to explain its significance. It’s hard to imagine what John felt that day, but I feel very proud of this little bit of family history, that we’d never have known if dads memory hadn’t been prompted by our visit. 

As we continued north the island landscape changed, in the south it was very rocky, with steep jagged cliffs, the further north we got we found more big hills covered in vegetation rather than huge bare rock mountains, and increasing numbers of fishing villages with their distinctive drying racks. 

Lofoten is actually an archipelago of islands rather than one large island, so you frequently cross bridges as you wend your way along. It's a stunning isolated location, and well worth a visit if you are ever this far north!