The Arctic Line: Norway by Rail

Norway’s railway is a slow, lovely way to understand how far north the country goes. The line from Oslo climbs over the Dovrefjell plateau to Trondheim, then continues into the Arctic on the Nordland line, a day of forest and fell where the sea suddenly appears on the left. The point is not speed. The point is a window, a coffee and a lot of white.

Tomás knows these lines well and arranges the timings so that the best light falls on the best stretches. He would also pick the season for you. September to October brings the first snow and the colour on the birch, along with the northern lights in the dark of the evening. December is the real polar night and a good time to visit Tromsø for the lights, but the days are only a few hours long. March has deep snow and quickly lengthening days. Each is good; none is the same.

What he changes for you is the amount of doing. Some people want the dog-sled and the fjord cruise; others want a sauna, a book and a seat at the window. He would build this journey around a restorative pace, with a few set pieces and a lot of empty afternoons, and he would book the Lofoten hut for the whole stay, so you can unpack once.

The honest trade-off is the aurora. Nobody can promise it. It depends on solar activity and on cloud, and a clear night is a bonus, not a certainty. We give you three nights in Tromsø and an experienced guide, which makes a sighting likely in the season, but it is still a bet with the sky. If you need a guaranteed result from your holiday, we would suggest something else. If you are happy to wait outdoors in a warm coat for the sky to do something, this is a calm and strange trip.