There is something very intriguing about ferns. Almost prehistoric in nature, it is easy when among them to imagine dinosaurs walking the earth. Unsurprising perhaps, as these often-beautiful plants actually predate those dinosaurs!
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Yes, London can be different things to different people, and different parts of London can be different to each other. Contrast Mayfair with Camden Market, or Soho with the South Bank. As a Londoner I have lots of favourite areas of course, and love to visit all of them. But I always enjoy a walk in London’s Spitalfields and Brick Lane areas, and even better when I can introduce a friend to this lively area.
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For me this past June has been one of more than usually changeable weather. I started the month inside the Arctic Circle where in the first few days of meteorological summer the temperature didn’t rise above six or seven degrees Celsius and was often colder than that. I then returned to a London going into its first heatwave of the summer, hitting thirty degrees on a couple of days. Towards the end of the month the temperature dropped to the more usual, and comfortable, low to mid-twenties.
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Tromsø is in many ways a surprising city, and full of extremes. Located well inside the Arctic Circle it experiences both Midnight Sun (in summer) and Polar Night (in winter). It can boast the world's northernmost university, its northernmost botanical garden, northernmost cathedral – and northernmost brewery!
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Welcome to the ‘strange’ world of northern Norway, where June feels more like January in London and where the photographic rewards are great if you’re happy to brave the chilly fingers needed to press the shutter!
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The Hurtigruten line is first and foremost a postal service and ferry, although it caters well to tourists too with a cruise-like offering of quality food, excursions and on-board lectures. Many of the stops the ships make are brief, typically twenty minutes. Supplies for these small coastal towns and villages are off-loaded, post and parcels collected. A few passengers embark or disembark. Most are locals, visiting family or returning home after time away. Only a handful will be tourists, hikers perhaps.
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The most famous sight in Tromsø is probably the Arctic Cathedral … except it isn’t actually a cathedral. Despite the popular name, this is a parish church, but a very substantial and eye-catching one.
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Much of the Norwegian landscape looked a little unreal to me even in its natural colours. The drama of its mountains, the almost eerie light around midnight, even the snow and rain. All these lent it a magical air.
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Trondheim’s Nidaros Cathedral is the world’s northernmost Gothic cathedral. It was built over the tomb of King Olav II (reigned 1015–1028), the Viking king who converted Norway to Christianity. He reigned from 1015 to 1028 and later became the country’s patron saint. It is here that Norwegian kings are crowned, not in the capital Oslo.
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In Viking times this was the capital of Norway. Today it is a busy modern city with an impressive cathedral. It lies where the Nidelva river meets Trondheim Fjord, creating an excellent sheltered harbour. Although south of the Arctic Circle and therefore experiencing neither Polar Night nor Midnight Sun, in the summer months it remains light enough all night for artificial lighting only to be needed in poor weather.
