LOVE FROM LOFOTEN

Your cover story aroused vivid memories of an epic trip I made to the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Fuelled only by the impetuosity of youth, and armed with a trusty tent and Interrail card, I set forth, arriving five days later in the far north of Norway by a combination of ferry, overnight trains and long-distance buses. My

intrepid labours were rewarded by my first sighting of the magnificent Lofoten wall, the chain of incredible peaks that remind one of the backdrop for Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – which will remain with me till my dying day.

Being midsummer, the sun never set during my 10 days there. After a few days of camping I hired a rorbu, a small fisherman’s cabin on the quay in Svolvaer, ate freshly caught fish every day, read profusely, and, before mobile phones, felt blissfully cut off from the “real world”. I certainly believe I found my own little piece of heaven that summer.

STEVE GREEN

The city is very walkable and I would recommend a visit to the Swiss Transport Museum for the young and not so young at heart – you can spend hours looking around and you get 50 per cent off with a Swiss Travel Pass. I suggest walking there

and getting a paddle steamer back. Another “must do” on a fine day is the round trip to Mount Pilatus – ask at the booth opposite the railway station and they will tell you how long the wait is for the cogwheel train.

KATHLEEN HUDSPITH