![]() ![]() I’m certainly glad there’s a compass in my pocket to back up the GPS on my phone, even if – technically – we’re on the main walking route across Senja, which a few hardy Norwegians take on each season. It’s all just unbelievably serene and feels a long way from anywhere in the best possible sense, though if the weather came through it might go from ‘perfect’ to ‘quite-a-lot-less-than’ in the blink of an eye. ![]() After passing Langdalsvatnet, we drop down along the busy stream flowing north-west from it, then traverse open country, passing the occasional waterfall, and on through birch forest to a pass through to Tromdalen. The hills are quite barren with a wild feel to them – at this latitude the treeline is at just 300m. We turn off up the beautiful Kaperdalen to begin walking into lake country. Relaxed driving at any rate, with the main hazard probably wildlife around here it’s not ‘Who killed Bambi?’ but ‘Who killed Rudolf?’. That means it’s tarmac and two lane, though I’m not quite sure why. We’re heading inland on the main road ‘86’. This is the kind of place you wave at any oncoming driver – not because you know them, but because they might be driving the only other car you see all day. We’re planning several days of walking, so will bear that in mind. When we finally make it back to Mefjordvaer for in-depth research into the definition of a green hiking trail, we find that walks around here are graded by vertical metres climbed rather than possibly more useful criteria like what’s underfoot. The way climbs away from the water, finally reaching goal – a stunning point about 80m above the waves breaking on the rocky shore to east and west, while to the north of us, nothing for 800km to the Svalbard archipelago and its polar bears. Our progress slows to a crawl and I have the nagging feeling that if we make it out and back without breaking any ankles, or worse, it will have been a very good day. What we hope might be path is deep grass obscuring a bed of ‘pebbles’ the size of cannon balls, only slightly more irregular, and prone to rolling underfoot. For now, it’s on along the coast that turns out to be rocky at the edge and pretty steep from there on in, and not beachy at all. In fact, on our way back, that might be just what’s needed. Even without going to the top of anything the views are spectacular, but it’s definitely worth this little loop, over the top and down past an old lighthouse near the point.īack onto the main program, northwest along the shore, massive rock slabs washed by the incoming tide are an irresistible diversion – sort of big boys rock pooling with real potential for an accidental swim. Our one’s green – couldn’t be easier – so we make a quick detour up Knuten, a 100m knob of a hill just north of the village, projecting into the sea. The weather’s set fair and as we head past the last house in the village there’s even a friendly-looking info board with local trails graded like ski runs. My breakfast – all kinds of cured fish on offer, if that’s your thing – can settle nicely as we start our trip with a leg-stretcher on some of the loveliest coast you could imagine, a beach stroll to the point of Skoyteneset, for a picnic. If that doesn’t sound very cosy, rest assured, the factory has been converted into a hotel, and the only fishy smell comes – in a good way – from the kitchen, from which they serve amazing cod straight out of the fjord and the occasional bit of reindeer. ![]() A gentle start from our base in an old fish factory in the village of Mefjordvaer on the northwest coast. ![]()
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