Why storm watching on Norway’s west coast should be on every adrenaline junkie’s bucket list

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“Well… no one said storm watching would be easy,” my companion stated with a wild look in his eye, having simply plunged as much as his knee in an unexpectedly deep patch of snow. I turned and nodded, however my thoughts was elsewhere, too preoccupied with how precisely to make it up this hill with out rolling again down once more.

“Right or left?” I signalled again to him earlier than forging forward, too keen to attend for a response. Time to select up the tempo. The wind from the close by shoreline was turning from breeze to gale, and the thick layer of cloud over head was turning into a deeper, far moodier shade of gray.

Not the archetypal vacation, I’ll admit, however right here on Norway’s west coast, the place the nation’s deep fjords meet tough and roaring seas, storm watching has been rising in reputation for thrill seekers and nature lovers.

Ask any one of many nation’s residents who dwell throughout the west coast’s uncovered islands, they usually’ll inform you storm watching is a frame of mind. An opportunity to destress out of your every day life, absorb some wonderful views and expertise nature at a few of its wildest. Just don’t overlook your wellies.

Head out through the winter months they stated, so it appeared we’d timed our journey to perfection. Our aircraft touched down amid heavy snowfall. “The heaviest in 20 years,” in line with one native I bought chatting to after arriving in Bergen, Norway’s second-largest metropolis and a very good leaping off level for storm watching actions given its location on the west coast.

We had plotted a route north, travelling up the shoreline. The plan was island-hopping by way of postal boat, mountain climbing throughout heather-strewn craggy rocks, assembly wild sheep for the primary time and foraging within the rain by way of sodden peat bogs in opposition to a backdrop of distant crashing waves.

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With Bergen a 40-minute drive from the location of two deserted wave energy stations in Vik, within the municipality of Øygarden, we detoured right here first. Positioned on a peninsula, the crops beforehand generated electrical energy from the big coastal waves that might crash down by way of a funnel within the shoreline.

Rather paradoxically, nonetheless, they have been destroyed by a large storm simply three years after being inbuilt 1985. Today, firms like Øygarden Opplevelser can get you up shut by way of a RIB boat if climate permits, however on choppier seas you possibly can nonetheless catch a glimpse on foot.

Our journey took a flip for the surreal the subsequent day after catching a ferry to a small island referred to as Hille. With the solar setting not lengthy after 4pm in January, it was pitch black after we arrived, and rain began to fall proper on cue. We have been greeted by Eva and Svein, the one two individuals residing on the island other than John, Svein’s dad, and their border collie, Bill.

Usually a summer season vacation spot, they agreed to open the glamping dome for the night time given its very best location on the seafront for storm watching, however with Storm Isha approaching they braced us for a windy night time forward. Very windy. Eva defined they’re quickly to interchange the glamping with a panoramic home so individuals can go to year-round.

The two-minute journey to the dome, which was glowing within the distance like some far-off igloo, was by way of a monster quad bike fastened with a small trailer. It chugged us slowly over ice-encrusted hills as an excited Bill ran forward and I ready my thoughts and physique for the upcoming mad sprint to the surface scorching tub in nothing however my swimsuit.

A bottle of the wonderful domestically brewed cider gave me the Dutch (Norwegian?) braveness I wanted to make a bolt for the bathtub, my look accomplished by a yellow fisherman’s hat that I’d strapped on in a determined try to maintain the rain off.

Lying again amongst the recent tub’s heat bubbles the nippiness quickly light, leaving me to benefit from the moonlit silhouettes of the encompassing fjords. It took some convincing to get me out once more into the chaos of the storm and the booming winds that shook the dome all through the night time, retaining me awake with visions of us blowing out to sea like some big tumble weed.

Another ferry and bus took us additional north to the Solund archipelago, residence to 1,700 islands, islets and skerries the place, wrapped in padded storm fits, we headed out for a guided storm watching hike throughout big grassy boulders.

This a part of Norway is thought for its nature and inside minutes we noticed a sea otter scrabbling up the rocks simply metres away and an eagle hovering overhead. On the cliff edge, we have been on the mercy of untamed winds that propped you up one minute and knocked you down the subsequent.

We took refuge in one of many public strolling huts discovered dotted round Norway’s panorama, which have log fires to dry off from the wild climate.

I began the next day island-hopping in a postal boat earlier than being taken out with locals, Kjell and Jordy for a ‘wild sheep safari’. In addition to performing as storm watching guides, they have an inclination the sheep throughout winter to ensure they’re wholesome and fed and organize woolly meet-and-greets with vacationers. This was the primary time I had encountered a wild sheep and I used to be not anticipating them to be so sociable.

Our ultimate cease was on the uncovered island of Fedje, the place 25 storms apparently raged in a single month throughout 2022. “Fedje is hardcore,” as one native put it. Okay then, a testing finale. We set off to forage for sea truffle, a vegetable that grows in tufts alongside kelp in tough water and tastes so much like crab.

We crossed soggy peat bogs and thick patches of heather, climbed down ladders, up boulders and throughout one precarious picket plank to achieve the shoreline. There the island’s lighthouse was lit by a golden haze within the distance, the North Sea waves rolled fiercely in opposition to the rocks; and I lastly felt calm amid the storm.

Travel necessities

How to get there

Flights from London Gatwick to Bergen with Norwegian begin at £73 return.

Where to remain

Bergen Børs Hotel

This grand lodge in Bergen’s outdated inventory alternate constructing has classic-contemporary rooms and an awesome bar that serves cocktails and native beer.

Hille Glamping

This semi-transparent dome affords nice views and is furnished like a lodge suite with a double mattress, comfy chairs and a desk. From £299.

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Solund Apartement Hotel

This lodge within the centre of Hardbakke has 11 flats with their very own kitchen, toilet eating and residing space. Doubles from £134.

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