2019-11-01 In The Moment

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on the shore, looking like a Viking throne. We didn’t
see any whales (they tend to be winter visitors), but
we watched as a pair of oystercatchers looped noisily
round and round, trying to get us off their beach. Who
could blame them: I wouldn’t want to share it either.
I didn’t want my final day to end. And it didn’t.
Sitting on the terrace at Hamn i Senja, I glanced as my
watch flicked from 2 3:59 to 00 : 00 and the sun remained
above the horizon. It wasn’t even close to setting.
Instead, it hung mid-sky, offering an extended golden
hour: warm, aureate, glowing. Its rays diamond-
spangled the water, glinting off the icy peaks and the
bright-white gulls playing around the archipelago.
No midnight fireworks, just the enduring light

• energising, invigorating and yet utterly still.

Getting there

A seven-night ‘Senja – An Arctic Island’ self-guided

walking trip with Inntravel costs from £1,345, including

half-board accommodation, route notes and car hire, but

excluding flights (inntravel.co.uk). SAS flies from Heathrow,

Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester to Tromsø via Oslo;

returns start from £120 one-way (0871 226 7760, flysas.com).

The phenomenon of the midnight sun occurs in the summer

months in areas north of the Arctic Circle, including northern

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Alaska. Due to the tilt in the

earth’s axis, which makes the North Pole face towards the sun in

summer, the sun doesn’t dip below the horizon.

On the Arctic Circle (66°N), the midnight sun lasts from around

12 June to 1 July. The further above this latitude you travel, the longer

the light lasts: in Tromsø, the sun is up from 20 May to 22 July;

in Longyearbyen, capital of the Svalbard archipelago, it’s light from

20 April to 22 August.

The result is more hours in the day to get active, take photos,

party: festivals are often held with events running into the wee

hours; kayak, hike and boat tours may depart late evening.

Recalibrate your body-clock to make the most of all that lovely light

• you’ll feel more energised anyway. Note, in mountainous areas,
  the peaks might obstruct the sunlight, so ask advice on the best
  midnight sun viewpoints. And pack an eye-mask to help you sleep!

A 60-second guide to

chasing the midnight sun

Golden hour stretches out

on Senja in midsummer

as the sun never dips

below the horizon.