Last Days of the Lofotens

16/10/2025

Our lovely clear day was over and we woke up to more wind and rain. We left our island in the harbour and moved onto another paid parking area so that I could work with the benefit of electricity.

Skreda Rest Area

On the way we had to stop for nearly an hour as we waited for a lead car to take us past the roadworks in the tunnel that joins the islands of Vestvågøya and Flakstadøya. We’d been aware of the potential wait and had timed our arrival badly. From a distance we saw the queue of vehicles entering the tunnel but by the time we reached it the last cars had gone through. The woman manning our end of the roadworks had turned the signals to red. She was still cheerful, despite standing around in the rain, and suggested we just park up in the rest area rather than waiting in a queue.

Seaside Caravan Parking

Our next stopover was on a tiny string of islands which carry the main road (E19) down to Å at the tip of the Lofoten islands. It was another fairly new motorhome stop; you can tell that a lot of business are starting to invest in providing services for our way of travelling. This stopover had services, but no bathrooms, much more like a traditional aire. The cost was a bit cheaper but still Norway prices at 300 NOK for low season.

The views from the parking were amazing, although the peaks opposite us only made themselves visible every now and again as they swam in and out of the mist. On a lovely day I expect it is glorious. On a wet day it was dramatic and moody.

In the wet weather we hunkered down and, with little else to occupy us, I did a little work. Paul attempted a bit of fishing while I worked but was chased back in by the poor weather. I only ventured out to look at the info for payment. There were a variety of options listed and I decided to pay by Paypal. Someone came around later that evening and knocked on the door anyway. He explained they hadn’t go their systems sorted out yet so he didn’t know who had already paid.

A walk around Olenilsøya

The following morning was still pretty wet and blustery but things did ease off by lunch time and the weather was a more acceptable damp and breezy. Paul packed up his fishing gear and we set off for a walk around the small island of Olenilsøya. I left Paul at a promising fishing spot, reached by a treacherous clamber over rocks to the shore, and I continued along to the lighthouse at the far end of the island. I walked back along the ridgeline, giving Paul a wave as I went past back to the van to continue my work.

It was Paul’s most successful day of fishing. He arrived back with a couple of large pollack and one mackerel. He then continued to fish from the edge of the parking area, catching two more very large coley. We had a freezer full of fish fillets. When the chap came back around to collect money laughed as he asked whether Paul ever stopped fishing. It was already dark!

A visit to Å

The following morning we drove down to the village of Å at the far end of the main road through the Lofotens. The weather was still pretty dire but good enough for a walk around the pretty fishing village which is probably most well known for it’s one letter name, a name it shares with many other villages in Norway as it just means ‘small river’.

We sampled baked treats at the famous bakery in Å which was due to close for the season at the end of the week. The village is quite popular and there were a few other people parked in the large parking area above the village. The fishing museum was open but we weren’t really in the mood to visit although we sneaked a peak inside.

Ferry from Moskenes

Back at the van we considered what to do next, we had been intending to stay the night here and catch the ferry back to the mainland in the morning, but the weather was so foul it felt like a waste of time to hole up in the van for another afternoon. Instead we drove back to the ferry terminal at Moskenes. Getting a ferry from here can be difficult in high season, so much so that you can pay a fee to book the ferry rather than waiting in line. When we turned up we were first in the queue and by the time the ferry arrived there were just a handful of private vehicles and a few lorries.

The sea was obviously rough after a few days of strong winds and the ferry was over an hour late arriving. This meant the whole of the crossing was in the dark. A night time ferry journey is not much fun, we had no views to occupy our time for the three long hours of the crossing. With the lumpy sea making the ship lurch and wallow it was too uncomfortable to do much. We were happy to arrive and disembark ready for the next stage of our journey.