Slowing down, a run to the beach, and the Venice of the Lofotens

Tonight we are in the stunning fishing village of Henningsvær, the Venice of the Lofotens, which sprawls across several islands, connected to the main road by lofty bridges. Every lay-by on the approach was jammed with vehicles, there were even cars in some of the passing spaces, so when the small car park 30 minutes walk from the village was also jammed, we decided it was time to pay for an overnight. After all, it's been over a week since we last paid, in Trondheim. The motorhome parking area was half empty - there are other, dearer, places in the village for those who can't face the walk - and we were more than happy to stump up £15 for a stunning view and access to Henningsvær, if not much else. Just as well we did, as the parking attendant drove up and checked all the vans within 15 minutes of our arrival.

Worth every penny of £15 for that view

We have covered a grand total of 119km since we left Å on Saturday morning. On the mainland that was a morning's drive, but here the pace is slower, and we want to make the most of our time in the Lofotens, which has long been top of the list of places we want to visit. After being unable to get into the beach parking at Haukland, which has become a bit of a Lofoten version of "The Beach", we spent a quiet night on a hill above, with views across two bays. An added bonus as we settled in was the appearance of two white-tailed eagles soaring overhead on the thermals, and soon a third a short distance away. We watched until we had cricks in our necks, and soon they moved on. 

The Beach, before the hordes arrive

After discovering we were actually in the parking area for a trail head, we decided to take the spaniels for a walk up the hill, promised by the Lofoten tourism site to be "easy to moderate", "a good introduction to hiking for beginners". It was also supposed to be an hour to the top. They did warn that it was "quite steep at the start." "Quite steep" meant 15 minutes of near vertical scrambling through the woods, before the path spat us out onto a heather-covered plateau. Luckily the weather has been dry, so we were able to bounce across bogs that would have devoured the spaniels in spring. We wound our way across the moorland to a rocky knob, where a path could be seen heading fairly directly up the side. Nick and Max were pretty game at first, but eventually the climbing was too much for Max's hip dysplasia, and Nick heroically volunteered to stay with him while Elsa and I struggled on. Alas, before long it was too much for us too, as the scramble needed almost constant three point contact, not easy to achieve with a dog lead in hand. We retreated short of the summit, and the descent from there was tricky enough to confirm we had stopped at the right time. We got back to the van after almost two and a half hours, with two very tired spaniels, and decided to risk staying a second night.

Elsa contemplates the path back down

You have to keep stopping for that view

The code which allows people to park up for an overnight almost anywhere has a few rules. It's should to be at least 150m from a house (we were) and you are only supposed to stay for one night. On the other hand, it was such a quiet spot, and while we had been joined by a couple of other vans, they had moved on. Decision made we had a relaxing afternoon, and Nick did some family history work while I did a couple of jobs around the van, and some advance planning.

The Beach, from the other side

This morning it was an early run down to the beach for me, and a slightly later walk down with the pups. It is a beautiful beach, with fine silver sand, clear water, and soft turf around the edges. On Saturday there had been lots of people on the beach sunbathing, but few in the water. It's easy to forget that we are inside the Arctic Circle, and the water temperature would be no more than 14°C. The weather has continued fair, reaching 23°C here in Henningsvær today, so after a good walk around the village with the spaniels we were tempted by ice-creams on Englishman's Wharf. Brown cheese aside, Norway really does very good dairy products, and the ice-creams were no exception.

Fabulous Olsen's Ices

A very famous football pitch, apparently

It's like this, in every direction