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Sunday 14th September During the night we entered open sea (Barents Sea) and experienced a ‘perfect storm’. The high pressure over Europe and the high pressure over the Arctic squeezed the approaching low pressure from the Atlantic creating strong winds, high seas and meteorological confusion that results in swirling water, and during the night 29

Saturday 13th September Overnight we travelled northwards in between the Lofoten Islands. This wall of volcanic rock has been cut by the ice and the sea into mountainous and rocky islands. Our ship called in several ports and threaded its way to the open sea at Harstad. Our last call in the Lofoten Islands will

Friday 12th September Overnight we called in some smaller towns for just a few minutes collecting cargo. In the early morning we crossed the Arctic Circle (63.33 N) and continued to our first stop at Ãrnes having crossed another part of open sea. Our journey continued passed uninhabited islands and glaciers to arrive in Bodo

Thursday 11th September We awoke to the ship docking alongside the southbound Hurtigruten in Trondheim. This is the largest city in this region of Norway at 62 degrees north. An exploration enabled us to find the ancient cathedral and the wharves and warehouses from the fish trade. At 12 noon we set sail to continue

Wednesday 10th September Overnight we progressed through fjords and the open sea called the Stadhavet. This is where the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea meet. A headland here is often called “a clenched fist against the sea” and “full storm at Stad” is a meteorological warning in Norway. It can be a dangerous place

Tuesday 9th September Most of the day was spent touring Bergen. An overview of the city is to be had from Floyen, which is reached by a funicular and cable railway (the longest of its type in Europe) known as Floibanen. From the summit the ancient and modern cities and harbours can be seen.    

Monday 8th September We flew from Manchester via Copenhagen to Bergen in Norway where we are sightseeing before tomorrow’s embarkation and departure of the Hurtigruten postal ship. Upon arrival we headed for Bryggen – the 16th century harbour of Bergen. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and consists of houses and within each domestic

We travelled from the Somme to reach our ferry back to Dover. At the dockside this is what we saw. Having checked in we await our departure and explore the lorries and cars waiting to go onboard. This was the end of a very interesting and informative week.  

We drove to Talmas to complete the photographs of an earlier visit. We were able to find a location we had previously missed and on driving to the next village came across a sunken lane that was sunk and flooded!!!! The next village Rubempre proved difficult. We were confident in one location but so many

First visit of the day was to Morlancourt, a village used as a staging post for troops en route to the front at Thiepval. The scene below is the village in 1915/16, before the Battle of the Somme. We were doing the present day photograph outside the house on the immediate right of the above