Detour #28: London to Nordkapp
It seemed like a good idea. Drive from London to the northernmost point in Europe. In a convertible. With the roof down. In February.
It seemed like a good idea, right up until the moment I found myself skating towards the back of a Land Rover at 70mph, faced with either hitting two tonnes of Discovery or an equal weight in elk that the Disco had slammed on its brakes to avoid.
In the event, fortune and some pulse braking averted disaster and the journey continued – a journey that had started a few days and a couple of thousand miles earlier.
London, Folkestone, the Channel Tunnel, France, Belgium, Netherlands and a chunk of Germany were dispatched in day one of motorway madness. My 25-year-old Mazda MX-5 cruised along happily – if noisily – at 80mph and by the end of day two I’d passed through Denmark and Sweden (via the amazing Oresund bridge) and overnighted in Oslo.
Only north of Norway’s capital did the snow set in, along with shorter days and longer nights. I simply turned the heater up, plugged in an aftermarket seat warmer and drove on into the darkness.
On a set of Avon winter tyres the little Mazda never stop moving – although it was quite delighted to spin up its rear wheels and kick its tail out at anything above half throttle in the first three gears.
With temperatures double-digits below freezing, I was suitably wrapped up in layers of thermals and the MX-5 also needed a little protection from the cold, so I fashioned a radiator shield from a pizza box and duct tape, shoving it inside the car’s smiling mouth.
With Detours along the way including the echo chamber of the Laerdal Tunnel and the rollercoaster Atlantic Ocean Road it took a little longer to reach the Arctic Circle than planned. And from then it was still another 500 miles to go to Nordkapp, with that elk test thrown in to add to the jeopardy.
In the winter you have to join an official convoy, escorted by a snowplough, to reach Nordkapp and the drivers weren’t keen to lead me fearing I’d get stuck. But the little Mazda laughed in their faces and made it.
Almost 3,000 miles and five days from home I saw the sun set at the northernmost point in Europe. A few years earlier I’d visited in the summer and never saw it go below the horizon. Strange place, the Arctic.
If you’re thinking about heading there yourself, don’t be daunted. Whether you’re seeking the midnight sun or the snowy wastes it really is a good idea after all.
Roadbook
Class: Epic Drive
Name: Nordkapp or bust
Route: London to Nordkapp
Countries: UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway
Distance: 2,700 miles