Snow in the Lofotens

Leknes in the Lofoten Islands looks marginally more appealing with a layer of snow on it :-)

The home page of my intranet site at work has updating images from the webcams embedded in it, so that I can follow the weather there. Snow fell for the first time late last week.

The images below are "live" rather than "still":-

Svolvær (above) is the main port for the Lofoten Islands, second stop for the Hurtigruten after tiny Stamsund, and the only place in the archipeligo where you can buy cheddar cheese. Most people arrive and leave the islands from here. At about 17:30 UK time the Hurtigruten arrives: two huge blasts from its horn rattle windows and echo off the cliffs behind the settlement. An hour or so after docking, the mighty ferry will head off towards the Vesteralen islands, and the bustle on the quay will be replaced by silence, and the odd squawk from a gull.

Leknes (above) is the commercial hub of the Lofoten islands, a single gravel street with shops down either side, and the place you pass through most if using public transport to get around, since most bus routes start and stop from the bus station here. Not a huge amount to see , but a useful place if you need clothing or a haircut. Leknes seems to have a small airport. If you are travelling through by bicycle, Leknes has a small shopping centre with a posh toilet upstairs with hot and cold running water.

Kabelvåg (above) hosts my favourite webcam, and not much else. The settlement here is one of the earliest in the Lofoten Islands; it sees a major influx of tourists in the summer looking for rorbuer accomodation for a week or two, and apart from a few craft shops, a good museum, and the Gallerie Espolin, there's nothing much to it. This view is looking out towards a small mountain called Vagakallen, 942 m above sea level.