On the 14th of August 2026, along with Tom Mouse, and a group of fellow adventure motorcyclists, we reached the most northerly road in mainland Europe; Nordkapp (North Cape) in Norway. Nordkapp, at a latitude of over 71 degrees north, is only 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the North Pole. In six weeks we rode some 7,000 miles (11,265 km), through 15 countries: UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. We experienced great people & cultures, beautiful towns and cities, spectacular scenery, expensive beer, amazing roads, and extremes of weather. It was challenging at times, but a real privilege to have been able to undertake such an incredible journey and with such a wonderful group of fellow adventure motorcyclists.
Pictures and commentary from the challenge are shown below:
On Eurotunnel LeShuttle, heading to France, with Tom Mouse.
Our route over the next 6 weeks …
Our first night is in Arnhem, in the Netherlands. The John Frost Bridge is named after Lt Col John Frost who led 740 men from 2 Para in WW2 in Sept 1944 and managed to hold the north end of the bridge for 4 days against heavy German attack.
“Here’s looking at you kid” … Casablanca? … Nope … Hamburg, Germany! (our second stop).
Yep! Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Little Mermaid; bronze sculpture by Edvard Eriksen depicting a mermaid becoming human, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale.
… he’s very popular …
Copenhagen … literal translation; merchant’s harbour.
Evening in beautiful Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Holmenkollbakken, near Oslo, Norway, is a huge stunning piece of architecture, and the oldest ski jumping arena in the world. Opened in 1892, the new amazing Olympic ski jump has a vertical height from the top of the tower to the landing area of 121m (398ft). The slope is 36 degrees, and the hill record is 139.5m (458ft): All in front of a capacity crowd of over 30,000.
In southern Norway, me and the bike are still relatively clean!
At the Hallingdal Museum, the beautiful Staveloftet loft dates from circa 1340.
The bloke on the Porsche tractor (yes, it really is a Porsche), dates from 1960.
… more from the Hallingdal Museum …
View from Ardal, at the head of Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway stretching 205km (127 miles) inland from the coast just north of Bergen.
At its deepest point it is 1,308m (4,291 feet). For context, the average depth of the North Sea is 95m (312 feet).
On the bleak Tindevegen mountain road (32 km, altitude over 1300m) …
The beautiful Fjaerlands Fjord …
The edge of the Boyabreen Glacier, an arm of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier, the largest glacier on the mainland of Europe (60km 37miles long, and up to 600m 2,000 feet deep ice).
On the Old Strynefjell Mountain Road, 27km of gravel / unsurfaced road but fabulous!
Overlooking the spectacular Geiranger Fjord. A wee bit wet but adds to the atmosphere!
The super impressive Trollstigen, meaning “Troll’s Ladder”, gets its name from Norwegian folklore about massive stone giants said to roam the wild mountain ridges and turn to stone in the sunlight …
The Norwegians are keen on trolls … myths & stories! …
… for us tourists however, it is about these we plastic blokes, with woolly hats, at circa £8 a pop …
Amazing to ride and experience the iconic Trollstigen Pass, which includes 11 hairpin bends on the steep mountainside road.
The views, and the way they are presented, are magnificent.
Some elements of Norway’s geography can be characterised as “Scotland on steroids”: Trollstigen is a prime example.
Norway; a country of spectacular mountains, beautiful waterfalls and very expensive beer.
A more tranquil day is had riding the Romsdalsgondolen (Romsdal Gondola) and taking in the dramatic mountain views and the Romsdalsfjorden landscape.
The beautiful coastal town of Bud, on our way to …
… the dramatic Atlantic Road and the iconic Storseisundet Bridge, as seen in the Bond film, “No Time To Die”.
Kristiansund, a quiet, picturesque, and modern city, with a free & fun water taxi!
And on to Trondheim, Norway’s 3rd largest city, after Oslo & Bergen, dates back to the 10th century when it was Norway’s capital in the Viking Age. It includes the beautiful Nidaros Cathedral, dating from the 12th century. In ancient times the kings of Norway were crowned here.
The city retains many of its older buildings and is a pleasure to wander round & explore in the setting sun.
Ferries in Norway are a necessity and great fun too.
Infrastructure investment in Norway is considerable, matching the country’s geographical challenges (includes 50,000 islands). Norway have some 112 coastal ferry routes served by a fleet of 180 ferries; over 960 miles (1,550 km) of road tunnels; over 17,000 bridges; the country is over 1,000 miles long (1.8 times the length of the UK); with a population of 5.6 million, (one twelfth of the UK which has 69.5 million people). … don’t y’know.
Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at circa $2.3 trillion: Largely through surplus revenues from Norway’s oil and gas industry.
We stop at “Stegasteiner” … stepping stones. A simple but wonderful thought provoking art installation.
We stay in the quaint old town area of Mosjoen, amongst its beautiful traditional buildings. Includes the second oldest petrol station in Norway (1933).
Next stop, the Arctic Circle Motorcycle Museum; unsurprisingly it does have a number of old motorcycles, but more strikingly it contains a fabulous eclectic mix of memorabilia from the war years through to the 70s.
Onwards to the Arctic Circle Centre, and an opportunity to record reaching 66.33 degrees North, and our entering the Arctic Circle.
On to Saltstraumen, and its impressive bridge, over the treacherous waters created by changing tides through the narrow gap between sea and the fjord beyond.
We take the Bodo to Moskenes ferry, to the beautiful and spectacular Lofoten Islands; a wee bit like an exaggerated version of the Isle of Skye.
We drop in at the splendid Viking Museum, with its captivating replica of a Viking longhouse, based upon the findings in a nearby archaeological dig: A replica longboat sails magestically nearby.
We stay in the coastal village of Svolvaer … PS it's not a real fish! ...
… and then on to the town of Narvik (over 68.4 degrees North). Although there is evidence of a settlement here dating back to the Bronze Age (3300BCE to 1200BCE), the town grew in significance in the late 19th century as the Swedish, in partnership with the Norwegians, developed it as an ice free port, linked by a railway to Sweden, for the export of Swedish iron ore. In early 1940, Germany launched an attack on the town, in part to seize control of iron ore export (vital to the war effort on both sides). Amongst several museums (& art galleries) in Narvik, the excellent War Museum tells the story of Narvik during WW2, and explores powerfully the wider aspects of conflicts & wars.
More fantastic Norwegian coastal scenery as we head further north …
… and eventually reach the remote and striking Nordkapp (North Cape)!
There are several places that it is a long way to; for example,
1. Tipperary …
2. The Moon …
3. … and Nordkapp.
… after riding over 3300 miles, we reach the end of the most northerly road in Europe, over 71.10 degrees North, taking us to within 1300 miles of the North Pole!
We journey south from Nordkapp, and enter into Finland. The geography & landscape changes dramatically: A land of thousands of lakes, endless forests and billions of midges! As with Norway, no heatwaves here; rather they are breaking rainfall records. We ride on long straight roads, some unmade ...
Mid way through Finland, near Suomussalmi, we stop off to visit “The Silent People” ; a creative, thought provoking, haunting and yet fun, art installation, with some 1000 turf headed figures, by Finnish artist, dancer and choreographer Reijo Kela.
I love that he asks that you put your own interpretation on its meaning:
“The Silent People invites viewers to interpret its message for themselves. There are no ready answers.”
For me, I feel there are multiple meanings, references and relevances, including that ultimately we will all likely join the silent people.
From Suomussalmi, in Finland, we follow the historic Raate Road to the Russian border. It is no longer an operational border crossing, but it is a fascinating place with the original border post building and its associated watch tower. We gaze into the 1km wide “border zone”, which apparently contains a security / anti-personnel fence.
We also explore trenches from the little known “Winter War”. The Raate Road is where an estimated 10,000 soldiers died in just one battle, over 6 days. On 30th November 1939, the Soviet Union illegally invaded Finland, using massive force including over 750,000 troops. With a significantly smaller and less well-equipped force, Finland fought back: The Winter War lasted 105 days, resulted in severe losses for the Soviet Union and a peace agreement being signed (the Moscow Peace Treaty). The Soviet Union had lost up to an estimated 167,000 dead, and Finland some 25,000 dead.
The futility of war.
We reach Helsinki, Finland’s capital, and explore the striking city with its neoclassical and art nouveau styles.
A fifty mile ferry trip south, across the Gulf of Finland and we are in the beautiful old town of Tallinn, Estonia’s capital.
We visit the daunting Prita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa Circuit, and the site of the tragic death of Joey Dunlop OBE, one of the greatest road racing motorcyclists of all time. From Northern Ireland, as well as earning an MBE for his services to his sport, he was also awarded an OBE for his humanitarian work for children in Romanian orphanages.
Next stop Riga, the capital of Latvia. Another fantastic Baltic city, with clear support to Ukraine, also celebrating 35 years of independence.
The three Baltic countries are of a similar size (each circa three times the size of Wales) but with relatively small populations; Estonia (1.3m); Latvia (1.8m); and Lithuania (2.9m).
We cross over the border and into Lithuania. A stop off at the somewhat surreal “Crosses on the Hill” (over 200,000 of ‘em!), dates back to the 19th century, (although the Russians bulldozed it, as tends to be their way, at least once in its history). Pope John Paul II visited and blessed the site in September 1993.
Kaunas, Lithuania’s second city is yet another beautiful old city, but also with a troubled past (thanks largely to Poland, Germany & Russia at various times.)
A visit to Fortress Number 9, outside Kaunas tells the harrowing story which includes the killing of over 50,000 people in the Holocaust. The enormous memorial (32m high) is both striking and thought provoking.
… we also visited the KGB bunker / museum, for a bit of Cold War reminiscing.
Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, is a vibrant city, again with a very attractive old town. Lithuania is the wealthiest of the three Baltic countries, and by a margin. Views from the castle, which dates back to the 14th century, provide great perspectives of Vilnius.
Over the border from Lithuania and in to Poland on to the rightly popular Krakow, with its fantastic castle complex on Wawel Hill, the beautiful old town and characterful Jewish quarter.
Super impressed with Slovakia; what we saw of it is beautiful, and it reminded me of parts of Scotland with wooded rolling hills and distant mountains.
Orava Castle dates back to the 16th century; the restoration work and the castle’s dominant position is spectacular, (… and a wee bit knackering to climb to the top!)
Heading further south, we ride over the border into the Czech Republic also called Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia. We stay in the capital Prague (Praha), on the River Vltava. Although Prague is large and lacks the intimacy of some of the other medieval cities we have visited, it has a stunning selection of baroque, gothic, renaissance and art nouveau buildings. The pedestrians only, Charles Bridge was completed in 1402.
A number of us went along to one of the famous & excellent organ concerts at the rather bling Saint Francis of Assisi Church. The organ had apparently been played regularly by Mozart himself.
Finally, and rather poignantly, our last visit in Czechia is to the memorial at the site of where the village of Lidice once stood. In retaliation for Czech resistance fighters killing top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazis completely destroyed the village of Lidice in June 1942, and all evidence of it, along with killing over 340 citizens. 82 children were gassed: The beautiful haunting emotive memorial sculpture, in the middle of where the village once stood, is so moving & sad.
Man’s inhumanity to man.
In Germany we visited the 3 dams, (the Edersee, the Möhne, and the Sorpe), that were targeted, to disrupt power generation and military production during WW2, by The Dam Busters (617 Squadron). Barnes Wallis’ Bouncing Bomb was used in Operation Chastise on one night in May 1943. Eight of the 19 Lancaster bombers used were lost and 53 aircrew killed; an estimated 1,600 civilians were drowned.
In Belgium, we stopped to see Fort Eben-Emael (the largest underground fort in Europe). Built in early 1930s to protect the Albert Canal bridges, and to enable Belgium defence against a German attack, it had over 3 miles of underground tunnels, covered an area of circa 185 acres, and housed 1,200 Belgian troops. In the event some 85 German paratroopers, with specialist explosives, disabled the guns and took the fort in less than a day in May 1940!
Final stop was at the Strepy-Thieu boat lift, in Belgium. It is very impressive, and until 2002 was the largest boat lift in the world (a record now taken by the Chinese). The Strepy-Thieu boat lift can raise 1350 tonnes the 240 feet height difference (this compares with 600 tonnes, and 79 feet, for Scotland’s Falkirk Wheel).
A brief stay at a chateau near Calais and we head off early in the morning to the Eurostar terminal and LeShuttle train to the UK, and to home.
It was a brilliant challenge (7,000 miles, 15 countries, 6 weeks) and an absolute privilege to undertake, riding with fourteen other adventure motorcycling chums, to the most northerly road in mainland Europe: Nordkapp (North Cape) in Norway, only 1,300 miles from North Pole!
Tom Mouse & I were, as usual, fundraising for the wonderful Down’s Syndrome Association and for the fabulous Woolgrove Special Needs School: thank you, as ever, for your interest and support.
