Ålesund - 4 July 2018

Geoff

I walked for a mile up the road to buy milk from a Co-op I'd identified on Pocket Earth but it was no longer there. Still, the walk did me good. 

We were on the beautiful Atlantic Road immediately. It comprises causeways and stylish bridges which join a string of small islands together, making a continuous route. It's very attractive and is best driven slowly in order to take in the views on either side of rocky islets and ultramarine sea. 

We stopped a couple of times for photos. 

We left the 663 road to meander along the very quiet coast road to the village of Bud. With a stop for lunch on the way, we headed for Molde where we joined the queue for the ferry to Vestnes, a half hour journey. The distant mountain views were lovely. 

Our destination for the day was Ålesund where we aimed for the large camperstop on the quayside. There are spaces for 40 odd vans but it looked pretty full as we drove between the two rows of parked vehicles. We struck lucky, however, as there was just one space at the far end. It's a very nice spot and it's a beautiful evening, marred only by a woman not far away who hasn't stopped talking for the last couple of hours. 

Amanda

So the Atlanterhavsveien was impressive, with its series of bridges connecting the little islands but, as I have read in other blogs, we have seen and crossed bigger and more impressive ones further north. Apparently it has been used in several ads, and there are a number of videos on youtube. The sky was overcast for us. We had a couple of stops along the 8 km route to wander and view from various angles, one being at the interestingly constructed information centre. It seemed to be built into the rock, and its roof formed part of the concrete circular walkway which wove its way round the rocky mounds.

As we moved on, following the coast to Bud, and then on down to Molde, the weather really improved, so that by the time we were on the ferry crossing to Vestnes we had brilliant blue sea and sky and sunglasses were needed to enjoy the magnificent views of the fjord.

At Ålesund we have again been incredibly fortunate to have secured the last place in the town's Bobilparkering, where a 24hr stay, with electric, loos, showers and services, costs just over £20 just 5 minutes walk into town. We had time for a walk around before supper - eating sitting outside for the first time! We have a lovely sea view from where I am typing this, still sitting outside, and still wearing sunglasses at 9 o'clock. 

I think that we have covered about three quarters of the route from Lofoten to Bergen in the five days since we set off, with plenty of enjoyable breaks on the way, and mainly good roads without too much traffic. The driver has, of course, done brilliantly. We now have about 250 miles of the E39 left, including a couple of ferries, and, according to the AA 7 1/2 hours of driving, and 5 days to do it in. So with that, and the lovely weather, we are feeling quite mellow and relaxed.