The last ten days have been spent dashing for the midnight sun travelling the 1750 km, or so, from Bredäng Camping to Nordkapp (North Cape), said to be the most northerly point of Europe that you can drive to. This included some R&R and domestic tasks in Sundsvall and the stunning Storforsen rapids.
Thursday 19th July 2018
We left Bredäng Camping and headed north to Sundsvall Camping some 380 km north. Kim had found the site on the internet and reviews were good.
Our original intention had been to head inland and take the E45 road but reports of many forest fires in that area made us decide to stick to the coast road.
We received a friendly welcome and allocated a nice pitch right on the edge of the Gulf of Bothnia.
We booked to stay two nights but increased that to four nights the next day.
The site has excellent facilities and the laundry room was only 25SEK an hour for two washing machines and a dryer. No need for us to use our twin tub here.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 383 Cumulative: 18,517
Short video of our waterside pitch
Sunday 22nd July 2018
We only took the briefest of visits into Sundsvall on Sunday morning but the town was surprisingly large and the town square is surrounded by grand buildings.
We were camped fairly near to a large shopping centre so as we were in Sweden we decided to visit the IKEA.
Kim was much amused by the site of a very large tractor parked in the car park 🙂 Presumably the driver had popped out from the fields to do some lunchtime shopping.
Monday 23rd July 2018
Monday saw us move on to Lufta Camping. We had planned to go further but the heat defeated the driver and we dropped in here as we passed.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 334 Cumulative: 18,851
We were allocated a pitch, but as much as we searched, we couldn’t find it. The area appeared to be overgrown with machinery stored there. We moved to an upper level and found a reasonable spot close to the adequate services. We stayed one night before moving on.
Tuesday 24th July 2018
On Paul & I’s 2012 motorcycle trip up through Sweden we had passed close to Storforsen, the longest rapids in Europe, but had not visited. I wanted to correct the omission this time.
We had a casual pack up and made our way up the 230km to Storforsen Hotel which has a large camping site in its’ grounds. The washrooms here rival those at top class hotels and the views of the rapids and surrounding area are superb.
There is a stout wooden walkway running across the river then up close to the rushing and very loud water course .
Towing Kilometres – Today: 234 Cumulative: 19,085
Unfortunately the pictures and any words I could produce do not do justice to the magnificence of this natural attraction.
the magnificent Storforsen
Thursday 26th July 2018
Our rush toward the midnight Sun continued on Thursday by continuing up the E45 Inlandsvagen. Our progress was hampered by 8km of road works were the road had been completely ripped up and 20km/hr was the maximum we could do without risk of destroying the caravan & contents.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 347 Cumulative: 19,432
After successfully navigating this we were then delayed for about an hour at a malfunctioning level crossing. Without a train in sight the barriers steadfastly remained down, and a bell rang incessantly, until engineers arrived to turn it off and open the barriers.
I had noticed on the Park4Night app what looked to be a good wild camp at a picnic spot complete with tables and a composting loo discreetly tucked away off the road.
En-route we stopped to take some photos just before we crossed into the Artic Circle.
The camping spot turned out to be as good as it was described and a peaceful nights sleep was had in beautiful surroundings.
Friday 27th July 2018
Friday saw us make another long drive up to an overnight parking area just south of Alta.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 305 Cumulative: 19,737
On a coffee break passing through the short stretch of Finland we were treated to a fine sight of reindeer trotting down the road.
We parked up near Alta but I don’t think either of us were happy with the feel of the place from the start.
After a couple of hours we made the decision to move on past Alta and we stopped the night in a layby by a large lake sharing with a German caravan and a truck.
Saturday 28th July 2018
Today we completed our quest to get to Nordkapp with a day to spare before the Sun begins to set again. On arrival, at a latitude of over 71°N, the temperature is an astonishing 25°C!
Towing Kilometres – Today: 254 Cumulative: 19,991
In early June 2012 Paul & I had to pay a toll to pass through the 6.8km Nordkapp Tunnel. At the end of that same month the tunnel was deemed paid for and the toll was removed.
We paid our 270NOK each for Nordkapp entry which includes 24 hours of parking. Each extra 24 hours costs 100NOK.
The sky is clear and the prospect of seeing the Midnight Sun is high! 🙂