Twenty Four Hour Opening: A Guide to the Norwegian Fells by Alf Alderson

I first visited Voss as a student many decades ago, en route to Norway’s highest peak Galdhøpiggen, and swore to return to this lakeside town once day since unlike Galdhøpiggen it offered bars and restaurants in which to enjoy some R&R after a few days in the hills.

But I knew it would be some time before I could do so as I’d need the kind of funds not available to a student (myths of beer at a fiver a pint in Scandinavia are, unfortunately, based on fact) – however, I didn’t expect it to take the best part of 25 years…

First Leg of the Walk

Still, here I was, standing on top of 1410-metre Lonahorgi in early July, way above the town, enjoying the kind of living that would have seemed as unfeasible as time travel when I was a raggedy arsed student.

I’d awoken late in a soft and comfortable bed in the estimable Fleischer’s Hotel in town, taken breakfast at my leisure, collected all the gear I needed for a day in the hills and ambled out in the late morning for the first leg of my walk.

No rush…because you just don’t need to rush at all in midsummer Norway – when there’s close on 24 hours of daylight to enjoy you could start this walk at six in the evening and still be back before dark.

The Heart of Fjord Country

And the start is hardly strenuous. Pick your way across the railway footbridge (the highly efficient train service that runs through Voss will also take you into the heart of fjord country, by the way – highly recommended) to the funky little red cable car, hop aboard and your first few hundred metres of ascent are accomplished without breaking sweat.

It’s well worth taking time out at the top station to enjoy the views over Voss’ deep blue lake of Vangsvatnet and south across the rolling fells (a word of Norwegian origin that we’ve co-opted into our own language, by the way) towards the Hardangerfjord region before eventually getting down to the actual business of purposefully placing one boot in front of the other.

This, fortunately, is not too strenuous – certainly not in terms of gradient since the route follows a well graded dirt road initially, which may not sound especially wild and Nordic, but it does give you the advantages of easy route finding and easy viewing of the scenery opening up around you.

Rolling Whalebacks

The Norwegian fells will feel familiar to anyone brought up on the hills of Britain, especially if you’ve spent much time in the Cairngorms. Rolling whalebacks dominate the horizon, with just the occasional crag here and there to break up the skyline; small tarns and lakes glitter in the sunlight; and the upland breeze soughs through low lying shrubs and grasses in a manner that would be hard to imagine a few months later when this whole landscape will be deep in snow.

The tramp up to Lonahorgi is easy if quite long, and well waymarked with red ‘T’ symbols even where it wanders off the dirt track (as it often does) so in anything other than fog or low cloud its child’s play to find your route. The altitude is modest too, at a mere 1410 metres, but you’ll still be clocking in around 600 metres of ascent and descent, so don’t get too complacent…

Immense Panorama

But the beauty of this walk is not so much the challenge as the views and the sensation of wide open spaces and freedom that it offers. From the summit of Lonahorgi an immense panorama opens out, and includes the Jostedal glacier and the peaks of the Jotunheimen region, both of which I’d visited on my first foray into Scandinavia all those years ago.

Keen walkers – as most Norwegians seem to be – can enjoy hut-to-hut routes that will take you for days if not weeks through these truly magnificent and unspoilt vistas, but for now, for me, the only way was down – to that £5 beer…

Practicalities

Summer is obviously the prime time for walking in Norway, with long hours of daylight and plenty of sunny days. Indeed, unless you’re used to walking in snowy conditions spring and autumn are best avoided since there’s still plenty of snow around in spring and it can start to fall again as early as September on the higher peaks.

If you want to spend more time on the fells consider a hut-to-hut tour. The routes are well signposted, the huts are invariably well equipped and it’s a superb way to immerse yourself in the splendours of Scandinavia’s high country.

FAST FACTS
Location of Start/End: Voss cable car station
Length: Approx 14km
Time: 5 hours
Type of Terrain: High open fells with well marked footpaths/dirt roads
Difficulty: Moderate
Accommodation/Pubs: The best bet is Fleischer’s Hotel, a Norwegian classic that has been hosting British visitors for over a century.
Map: Stølsheimen-Nærøyfjorden 1:100,000 – not as detailed as OS maps but adequate for this walk.

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