Roadtrip Timlapse--UK to Arctic circle/

[rpmmatt]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum but been a reader for a long time. Thought I would share this timelapse video footage from a trip I took last year. I was lucky enough to take 2 months away from work while relocating. Decided to waste my time off cruising around Scandinavia.

Short version:
I did done a road trip, here is some time lapse footage of it if your your interested. It's 4 hours or more of footage, covering about 3000 miles. Not expecting everyone to watch it all, but its split up in to 15 to 30 minute sections, so worth a flick through if your interested how the roads change all the way up north inside the arctic circle. This all took place in June and July, so 24 hour day light and comparable temps to UK at that time of year.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Crka47LXiQ

This is a rough outline of the journey... https://goo.gl/maps/qYKn6SCJPtQ2 ...approx. 5000 miles not including time spent exploring each location we stopped at over the 6 weeks.

Long Version:
Leaving the UK via the tunnel, sped through France and Belgium to get to Friesland to pick up my mate who was also at a loose end. After a good nights kip head out early to get through Germany, up through Denmark(Denmark is a looooooong boring drive), then under and over the Øresund crossing and into Sweden. This fantastic crossing gives an idea of what the channel tunnel might have been if they had gone with the tunnel to island then bridge idea. Once in Sweden you are greeted but gentle rolling hills with endless forests and lakes. Sweden has some of the best roads I have ever driven on. Very few motorways away from major cities, but their highways are wide, smooth, and have lots of overtaking. Never saw a police car and cameras are well signed in advance and only at busy junctions. Speed limit is 90k's but progress far exceeds this.

After 2 weeks at a lakeside cabin in the quaint town of Askersund, it was time to head north. We had to go via Stockholm airport to collect a friend who was joining us for a week. After Stockholm we headed north up the coast then headed west across Sweden towards Norway. The hills and forests continue for a while, until you are suddenly driving across the mountains on the border. Stunning snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes. Crossing the border the wide smooth roads of Sweden give way to potholed narrow mountain roads of Norway. Speed limit is a universal 80k's with few exceptions on very new roads. Progress is much slower than Sweden and speed enforcement is also more stringent. From the mountains to the coast is only about 20km and the road very fast, it was almost possible to coast for those 20km all the way downhill to Mo I Rana, a small industrial town just south of the arctic circle, to stop with a good friend and his family for a week.

After a week boating, fishing and camping around the fjords it was time to head north again. Leaving Mo I Rana you follow the so called blood road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Road with many monuments to the slave labour who died. The scenery turns very barren passing the offical arctic circle(marked by nothing but a rubbish gift shop) then the road starts climbing and falling and twisting round the edge of the fjords. The roads are potholed and twisty with less overtaking chances, but traffic is very light this far north. First stop is Bodø to drop off our mate at the airport. After a night in Bodø it was off again, to Narvik. Camera cut out just before getting Narvik, however you missed nothing, we found it to be a dreary, tatty city. Nothing to see, and the only thing of interest,(the War museum) was shut. After a night in Narvik our most northern stop was a tiny village called Lavangnes, at the meeting point of 3 fjords. The scenery here was simply breathtaking. There are a lot of monuments and museums regarding the Battle of Narvik, and we even took a walk to find the wreckage of a crashed He-111. preserved each winter by the ice, the wings, engines and even some of the paint and marking are still visible. https://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/lavangen.html.

After a week exploring up this area, was time for the long journey back home, so we depart, and head once more across the mountains and back the wide open roads of Sweden braking only for reindeer. Heading back into the forests and lakes. Video ends at our last major destination. A tiny hamlet called Stornasudden, next to an enourmous lake to enjoy swimming and canoeing and generally chilling out.

There is no more footage, but after leaving Stornasudden, headed back in to south of Norway towards Larvik to catch the ferry back to Denmark. The south of Norway is seeing an awful lot of development, with major new roads going up everywhere. Almost every other car on the road is a Tesla due to high subsidies for electric vehicles and cheap hydro electric energy. After the 4 hour ferry crossing it was back to Denmark and the gentle cruise home.

Happy to answer any questions anyone has about driving up that way. It really was a great trip, and I recommend Norway and Sweden for holiday destinations to anyone who likes nature, the wilderness, and stunning scenery.

Thanks for reading. Matt

[Burns]

I've watched a couple of your Norway videos, being a big fan of the country myself and I now really want to explore the north of the country (to date, I've only really explored Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane). Here's my favourite video from the last trip I took, showing the journey from Skjolden to Flesland airport.

[rpmmatt]

You have some cracking videos there, the place looks so different with snow. I would love to head over again out of summer to maybe see the northern lights and get out on a snowmobile. The north of Norway is well worth the visit. We were mostly out camping and fishing from the boat, and hiking through the wilderness. I think only Canada beats it for me, in terms of getting away from people.

[Comstock]

Just watching this now, at 1/4 speed to get the best view. Love it! Barring a lottery win this is as close as I'll ever get to one of my dream trips.


By the way, we've got a road trip in your neck of the woods next month if you're interested.