It has to start somewhere

This is the first entry in my blog or rather this is the latest first entry in my blog. As I had never done one before there were a few test runs but now that I think I have got the general idea and the layout is adequate this will be the last of the firsts, hopefully.

What's the trip and who is Fluffy? I'll start with the latter, Fluffy is a small penguin that I have had for a number of years and he accompanies me not everywhere but on the more major journeys. Memory is going but I think he arrived when I was working as a residential social worker and would occasionally go away for a week at a time on residents' holidays, he is not a complete substitute for my own family but a little reminder and now he comes with us on family holidays and other trips. Over the years he has been photographed in various locations, the Colosseum in Rome, playing Pooh Sticks on the original bridge, sat beside the smallest statue in Stockholm (just his size) and one of his favourites, sitting on the front of one of the Le Mans cars in the pits at the famous 24 Hour race. A well travelled penguin.

Where am I going? The germ of the idea came to me last year. I do like travelling and I like the idea of going to the "edges" of areas. A few years ago Sarah and I did a nine day road trip driving first to John O'Groats and then down to Land's End and back. I remember the feeling I got when we crested the hill nearing Duncansby Head to see the Pentland Firth to the left and the right of us as well as in front. This was the end of mainland Britain, you could go no further without using air or sea transport. Land's End by comparison was a bit of a disappointment as it has been over commercialised but we were still at another extreme point, next stop (if you chose to take it) was America.

In Denmark I walked along the beach in freezing temperatures with horizontal snow and sleet (thank you Niels Peter, and yes, I really do mean that!) to stand at the end of Skagen where the Kattegat and Skagerrak meet. A truly magical place despite the inhospitable weather we encountered on my first visit.

The idea of this trip is to reach the northern most point of Norway which is a bit further than previous drives so could be a bit more of an adventure. Where this point is can be open to debate depending on the criteria you wish to use. I could keep it relatively simple (!!) and say where I can drive to but that still leaves two possibilities. I can drive to Nordkapp but this involves driving through a tunnel as Nordkapp is on an island so the most northerly point of mainland Norway and so also of Europe that can be driven to is further east near Gamvik. From what I can see from the research I have done it looks like Nordkapp is much more commercialised and at the moment I'm not sure whether I will be choosing to go to just one or the other or both.

That's the first entry which hopefully set the scene, later I might add a few more details.