Impressions of the Arctic

The Sun at Midnight just north of the Arctic Circle

There had been storms in Britain on the day before the sea crossing from Newcastle to Bergen but the crossing was calm and we saw orca half way across the North Sea. But the storms caught up with us when we got there. Walking to the summit of Mount Fløyen we emerged from the trees near the summit to thunder and lightning and a rain-swept view of Bergen and the fjord below. In spite of this on our way up we passed a large group of young children gathered around a large pond, some of them paddling in it in their wellies. It seems that early-age schooling in Norway consists of taking the children out all day regardless of the weather.

From Bergen we ferried up the coast northward through the fjords, outlying islands and skerries. As we proceeded northwards sunrise and sunset times grew closer together until at 66° 33’ 44” N we reached the Arctic Circle. On the way the coastline became increasingly more barren and rocky with mountains flung out to the sea-side of the sound as we went along.

Some delights on the way:

At Brønøysund we climbed Torghatten a ‘Top Hat’ shaped hill with a hole through it framing a sea view. We were told sea eagles nested here. None were seen but the one possibly heard.

We crossed the Arctic Circle at about 9.30 pm on a bright sunny day so were able to get a clear view, later, of the midnight sun which would now not set until after we returned to this point.

At the ferry terminal at Sortland a flock of Arctic terns swooped over our heads, their scimitar wings and swallow-like tails providing a graceful spectacle which was a real delight.

Sperm whale sighting far off against the backdrop of looming mountains in the farther distance.

At Ålta we went to see the prehistoric rock art: reindeer, elk and fish among other things carved into the rock by the first settlers of these parts after the Ice Age about 6000 years ago. They seem to depict hunting scenes. Some have the incisions in the rock coloured in red ochre to make them more visible, though others have been left for the visitor to discern. The practice of colouring is debatable and probably won’t be done again, though the uncoloured ones can only be seen close-up.

Honigsvåg was our most northerly ferry terminal. By now it was noticeably colder and in spite of 24 hour daylight the sun was hidden by cloud. From here our way up to North Cape, the most northerly point on the European mainland, was by coach over the tundra. We passed a Sámi village with grazing reindeer on the way. North Cape is a headland jutting out into the Arctic Ocean with a visitor centre and a large globe at the northern-most point. Here mist formed strange shapes on the sea and snow flurries drifted across the bare ground.

Midsummer Orchids

As the poem in the previous entry indicates, we often make a point of being out in the open on Midsummer’s Day. We do this whatever the weather. The poem records a previous Midsummer. There St John’s Wort provides the Midsummer theme, a plant especially associated with this time of year. Although the longest day usually occurs on the 21st June, and so is called Midsummer Day, the 24th June (St John’s Day) is also often so called. In fact the day length, rounded to whole minutes, is the same for each day between the 21st and the 24th June. So ‘Midsummer’ is best thought of as a time of year rather than a precise event as suggested by the Summer Solstice.

Nevertheless, we always choose to go out on the ‘Longest day’ for a picnic and to spend some time in the Midsummer atmosphere, I suppose as much for symbolic reasons as for any other . This year we went out to the sand dunes to look for orchids. Some heavy showers of rain fell in the morning, but by the time we had prepared our picnic lunch and were ready to go out, the sky was clearing with some patches of blue appearing. So, following our picnic, we went in search or orchids on a bright, if windy, afternoon.

There were plenty of marsh orchids and pyramidal orchids in flower and quite a few helleborines still in bud.This splendid specimen, towered above the other orchids and had purple blotches on its leaves. 

We identified it as a Broad-leaved Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis). We found this at the end of a long afternoon on the way back from the far reaches of the nature reserve, on our way to the Information Centre where we intended to ask where we might find the Bee Orchids that we knew were there but could not find. But we had left it too late and the centre was closed. No matter. We spent the end of the day looking across the estuary to the distant mountains and watching the waves roll onto the sandy beach which, by then, we had almost to ourselves. Rain clouds were gathering again as we made our way home. But it had been a perfect Midsummer’s Day for us in the brightness of the afternoon and the extended tranquility of the evening.

Midsummer

Hypericum perforatum

The longest day, and we went
Into the mountains to see it through.
The shallows of the river were dry
So we sat for the feast of Midsummer
On grey sand and shingle and only
The deeps of the river ran swiftly
In a narrow channel beneath the sky.
We lingered there till the day was spent.

It was open season and hunting weather
So we stalked flowers in grass and heather,
Slender St. John’s Wort had translucent spots
And petals edged with a beading of dots:
Small suns of the mind to hallow the day
And keep from Time its passing away.

Hypericum pulchrum