58 degrees North.
Today was a day where the whole plan could go embarrassingly wrong. We had positioned ourselves further from Hirtshals than planned at Klitmoller and so still had at least 2 to 2 1/2 drive to the terminal. Our ferry was due to leave at 11:45 and last check in was an hour before that. So we set there alarms for 06:00 and woke when they went off, it was lashing down with rain outside, thankfully I had did the majority of the outside tidying and loo emptying the night before. There was no snoozing of the alarms and we got up and started to get things sorted out and the boys up. We were good to go at 07:30am, but the lady from the campsite wasn't up so I couldn't pay her or escape as the barriers were down at the entrance, so I rang the night bell and eventually she appeared down in a bit of a tizzy. She soon got her PC fired up and rattled up our bill for the 2 nights. We paid her and she kindly gave us another couple of fancy pokes of sweets for the boys and the barrier finally raised at 07:45am, we were on our way.
We decided to take the coast road up to Hanstholm then east as it worked out pretty much the same as the option the sat nav was giving us, The weather was pretty Scottish, wet and a good wind was blowing off the North Sea. The drive was still nice, and I nearly stopped to take a photo of some more bunkers and an old WW2 gun that's in position at this town, which incidentally (according to the campsite lady anyway) is the largest fish processing port in Denmark and the 2nd largest in Europe, I have not confirmed this but it was pretty big looking. We continued without ado and were making good time, but were hitting a fair bit of rush hour traffic. We needed the shops to stock up and pulled in at a store about 60k from Hirtshals.....this seemed to take an age as it always does when there's a deadline, Joyce finally appeared out with a big bag of messages, the boys got buckled back in and off we went. We needed diesel too so I pulled into an unmanned garage and and quickly got fuelled up, this was a good shout as at 949 danish Kroner per litre it appears to be half as much again now we are in Norway.
We finally got to the check in with 15 minutes to spare, and for anyone who knows me this was a stress that I could have done without. One traffic jam, or minor mechanical and this blog may have been buttered up in a whole different light.....however, we were there. A year in the planning and finally we were in the queue to catch the Fjordline ferry to Kristiansand that we had booked a few days earlier in Germany. Joyce quickly rustled up a few rolls and fruit for us to take on board and we sat back waiting on the ferry to dock, unload its vehicles and allow us to board. This it did and soon we were moving, but the ferry man told us to pull forward and away from the ferry and wait, we soon realised why this was, us in the taller vehicles were going to need to reverse onto the vessel. Its cool, we are used to maneovering in tight spaces and soon we were on although the front wheels were perilously close to the edge (rear) of the boat. And once were got out we saw just how jam packed they had put us all. We headed upstairs and found 4 seats around a table with a nice view out the side windows.
Soon, the ferry untied and were bound for Norway. We settled back and soon a lad came around issuing everyone on board with sick bags....then an announcement from the captain welcoming us on board and then telling us we were in for a bumpy ride!!.....I don't get seas sick, Joyce has been in the past but the boys were an unknown. Anyway we were soon tucking into our rolls and we'd see how it went. It was definitely bumpy, the superfast ferry was flying across the channel and was reeling from side to side in the swell, it was very tough to get up walk about anywhere unless always having a hand on something. Fortunately the rolls and drinks stayed down, the boys each got a visit out the back of the boat to see the propulsion jets firing water out the back and speeding the boat along, its pretty impressive but we had to hold on tight. Terrible parents-well me anyway, lol. Loads of people were spewing up and really looking quite poorly but Team Easson's sick bags went back unused and wee entered Kristiansand fjord and calm water after 2 1/2 hours. It had been better than the rollercoasters at Legoland😁👍🏻. We were called back to the vehicle deck and got into the van before the boat had even berthed so myself and Joyce had grandstand seats out the back of the vessel as she inched her way to the loading ramp, thrusters pushing this way and that lining the boat up. Soon we were connected to terra firma once more and we drove off, it was like motorhome whacky races, we were all first off followed by a big group of Harley Davidson bikers.
There were no stops for passports or customs so our whisky stash is safe and soon we were on the E39 heading away from Kristiansand. The foul weather we had endured on the Danish side had vanished, the sun was out the waters were sparkling and we soon had to stop and get back into holiday mode by getting our shorts on. The weather gods have been good to us so far. The landscape contrast between the countries we had travelled for the last week and what were now seeing in Norway was like chalk and cheese, I had gotten to quite like the flat lands with no hills, water on both sides of the road and hardly any trees, but this was like suddenly being transferred into some of the most beautiful parts of the Scottish highlands for example with crags and rock faces and trees clinging to the steep slopes......what I like about that sort of scenery all came rushing back to me. The road was twisting and turning revealing beautiful little hamlets of houses and boat houses all painted a pretty uniform brown colour right on the seashore, totally stunning. It even had Joyce "wowing" a few times so all was good. The boys, quite oblivious to it all snoozed or argued until we pointed something out to them.
I had a rough a plan to head south to Lindesnes peninsula, we had read that its possible to park for a small fee right at the end of the road by the lighthouse. This is the most southerly point of the Norwegian mainland, and seemed a fitting place to visit first. We passed through Mandal, a gorgeous little town and found a bank, we had no currency, so that was sorted swiftly. Wee failed to find the beach however which is reckoned to be one of the best in Norway. We've had our fill of beaches for the time being. The road to Lindesnes twists and turns its way south and we were in no rush but eventually arrived at the big carpark and found a spot. It was windy but we were sorted for the night. Callum and Logan had a wee set too and Logan lost so was upset so after turning on the gas I took him for a wander to find out how and where to pay and also check out the local area, we ended up having a great wee walk, checking out the lighthouse and the old wartime bunkers and other military installations that are hewn deep into the rocky outcrop. After an hour or so we figured being in the bad books again would be a really bad plan and got back just a tea was being served, perfect timing. We chinked glasses and wished ourselves a happy adventure which has now well and truly begun. I checked the map to see where we are level with so to speak, we are on the 58th parallel, and that puts us inline with a slice of Harris and Lewis where I was 2 weeks ago, and also Achiltibui and Brora in Scotland. Darkness took a while to arrive, its noticeably lighter in the evenings now and this will become more apparent as we move north.
After tea we all went for a walk and it was about 9pm when we got back, bedtime for the boys. We bumped into a group who had been celebrating and waving Norwegian flags about, they had just completed a bicycle ride over 21 days from the Nordkapp to this the most southerly point.......one for the future lads?? We all went up the lighthouse and opened had a wee tipple. A good friend of ours and a couple of Joyces work colleagues had gifted us some whisky and chocolates so we decided the most southerly point was a good place to open one of them. We will endeavour to save some for our most northerly point, wherever that will be. The boys were tired and went straight to sleep. I headed out for a few evening shots and Joyce chilled with her Kindle. Blog typed up and time for bed.
We decided to take the coast road up to Hanstholm then east as it worked out pretty much the same as the option the sat nav was giving us, The weather was pretty Scottish, wet and a good wind was blowing off the North Sea. The drive was still nice, and I nearly stopped to take a photo of some more bunkers and an old WW2 gun that's in position at this town, which incidentally (according to the campsite lady anyway) is the largest fish processing port in Denmark and the 2nd largest in Europe, I have not confirmed this but it was pretty big looking. We continued without ado and were making good time, but were hitting a fair bit of rush hour traffic. We needed the shops to stock up and pulled in at a store about 60k from Hirtshals.....this seemed to take an age as it always does when there's a deadline, Joyce finally appeared out with a big bag of messages, the boys got buckled back in and off we went. We needed diesel too so I pulled into an unmanned garage and and quickly got fuelled up, this was a good shout as at 949 danish Kroner per litre it appears to be half as much again now we are in Norway.
We finally got to the check in with 15 minutes to spare, and for anyone who knows me this was a stress that I could have done without. One traffic jam, or minor mechanical and this blog may have been buttered up in a whole different light.....however, we were there. A year in the planning and finally we were in the queue to catch the Fjordline ferry to Kristiansand that we had booked a few days earlier in Germany. Joyce quickly rustled up a few rolls and fruit for us to take on board and we sat back waiting on the ferry to dock, unload its vehicles and allow us to board. This it did and soon we were moving, but the ferry man told us to pull forward and away from the ferry and wait, we soon realised why this was, us in the taller vehicles were going to need to reverse onto the vessel. Its cool, we are used to maneovering in tight spaces and soon we were on although the front wheels were perilously close to the edge (rear) of the boat. And once were got out we saw just how jam packed they had put us all. We headed upstairs and found 4 seats around a table with a nice view out the side windows.
Soon, the ferry untied and were bound for Norway. We settled back and soon a lad came around issuing everyone on board with sick bags....then an announcement from the captain welcoming us on board and then telling us we were in for a bumpy ride!!.....I don't get seas sick, Joyce has been in the past but the boys were an unknown. Anyway we were soon tucking into our rolls and we'd see how it went. It was definitely bumpy, the superfast ferry was flying across the channel and was reeling from side to side in the swell, it was very tough to get up walk about anywhere unless always having a hand on something. Fortunately the rolls and drinks stayed down, the boys each got a visit out the back of the boat to see the propulsion jets firing water out the back and speeding the boat along, its pretty impressive but we had to hold on tight. Terrible parents-well me anyway, lol. Loads of people were spewing up and really looking quite poorly but Team Easson's sick bags went back unused and wee entered Kristiansand fjord and calm water after 2 1/2 hours. It had been better than the rollercoasters at Legoland😁👍🏻. We were called back to the vehicle deck and got into the van before the boat had even berthed so myself and Joyce had grandstand seats out the back of the vessel as she inched her way to the loading ramp, thrusters pushing this way and that lining the boat up. Soon we were connected to terra firma once more and we drove off, it was like motorhome whacky races, we were all first off followed by a big group of Harley Davidson bikers.
There were no stops for passports or customs so our whisky stash is safe and soon we were on the E39 heading away from Kristiansand. The foul weather we had endured on the Danish side had vanished, the sun was out the waters were sparkling and we soon had to stop and get back into holiday mode by getting our shorts on. The weather gods have been good to us so far. The landscape contrast between the countries we had travelled for the last week and what were now seeing in Norway was like chalk and cheese, I had gotten to quite like the flat lands with no hills, water on both sides of the road and hardly any trees, but this was like suddenly being transferred into some of the most beautiful parts of the Scottish highlands for example with crags and rock faces and trees clinging to the steep slopes......what I like about that sort of scenery all came rushing back to me. The road was twisting and turning revealing beautiful little hamlets of houses and boat houses all painted a pretty uniform brown colour right on the seashore, totally stunning. It even had Joyce "wowing" a few times so all was good. The boys, quite oblivious to it all snoozed or argued until we pointed something out to them.
I had a rough a plan to head south to Lindesnes peninsula, we had read that its possible to park for a small fee right at the end of the road by the lighthouse. This is the most southerly point of the Norwegian mainland, and seemed a fitting place to visit first. We passed through Mandal, a gorgeous little town and found a bank, we had no currency, so that was sorted swiftly. Wee failed to find the beach however which is reckoned to be one of the best in Norway. We've had our fill of beaches for the time being. The road to Lindesnes twists and turns its way south and we were in no rush but eventually arrived at the big carpark and found a spot. It was windy but we were sorted for the night. Callum and Logan had a wee set too and Logan lost so was upset so after turning on the gas I took him for a wander to find out how and where to pay and also check out the local area, we ended up having a great wee walk, checking out the lighthouse and the old wartime bunkers and other military installations that are hewn deep into the rocky outcrop. After an hour or so we figured being in the bad books again would be a really bad plan and got back just a tea was being served, perfect timing. We chinked glasses and wished ourselves a happy adventure which has now well and truly begun. I checked the map to see where we are level with so to speak, we are on the 58th parallel, and that puts us inline with a slice of Harris and Lewis where I was 2 weeks ago, and also Achiltibui and Brora in Scotland. Darkness took a while to arrive, its noticeably lighter in the evenings now and this will become more apparent as we move north.
After tea we all went for a walk and it was about 9pm when we got back, bedtime for the boys. We bumped into a group who had been celebrating and waving Norwegian flags about, they had just completed a bicycle ride over 21 days from the Nordkapp to this the most southerly point.......one for the future lads?? We all went up the lighthouse and opened had a wee tipple. A good friend of ours and a couple of Joyces work colleagues had gifted us some whisky and chocolates so we decided the most southerly point was a good place to open one of them. We will endeavour to save some for our most northerly point, wherever that will be. The boys were tired and went straight to sleep. I headed out for a few evening shots and Joyce chilled with her Kindle. Blog typed up and time for bed.
absolutely fantastic pic`s and write up mate love it, what a cool pic at the sign with all your Scotland tops on and the night time photo of the van sums up exactly where you are with this whole adventure, as for a north to south cycle trip of Norway your kitty bag wouldn't be big enough for the whisky and neither would my wallet lol
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