I plan these sorts of trips too far in advance – to the point that I started thinking about changing money in to one of the four currencies I’ll need four months ago!

My upcoming trip to Norway is getting dangerously close now. Two weeks from now, I will already be on the way.

Here is a brief summary of my itinerary for the Norweigan Road Trip:

Outbound Journey
Travelling  via France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and then taking the ferry to Norway.

  • Friday 27 July – Cirencester to Boulogne-sur-Mer: Taking the 08:25am departure from Dover to Calais. 180 miles to Dover then – switching to metric while on the continent – about 30 km from Calais to Boulogne.
  • Saturday 28 July – Boulogne to Antwerp: Going via the most Northern part in France, Bray-Dunes. I will probably get lost and/or stuck in traffic on the Antwerp Ring. (Getting lost is part of the fun!) Approx 230 km.
  • Sunday 29 July – Anwerp to Duisburg: Travelling via Baarle-Hertog, a town which straddles the Belgian/Dutch border. Covering around 210 km to get me in to Germany. On a Sunday, there should be very little traffic on the continent (in terms of freight at least).
  • Monday 30 July – Duisburg to Münster: A short (100 km) journey up the Autobahn.
  • Tuesday 31 July – Münster to Itzehoe: 329 km on mostly unlimited German Autobahn, to arrive in Cirencester’s twin town in the evening.
  • Wednesday 1 August – Itzehoe to Kiel: Detouring via Schloss Eutin and the U-Boot Museum on Fehmarn, an island joined by bridge to the mainland. This detour doubles my milage for the day to around 252 km.
  • Thursday 2 August – Kiel to Kristiansand: Leaving Kiel after breakfast. 445 km of motorway to get me to the Port of Hirtshals, then taking the 17:00 ferry to Kristiansand – arrival in Norway at 19:15.

The Journey Home
Returning on the ferry to Denmark, over the bridge to Sweden, another ferry to Germany and then back through The Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Corrie will be in the car with me as far as Hamburg Airport – then she’ll fly home and I’ll do the final few days of driving alone.

  • Sunday 5 August: Kristiansand to Odense: Taking a lunchtime ferry to get in to Hirtshals at around 4 – then driving about 320 km to Denmark’s third largest city.
  • Monday 6 August: Odense to Copenhagen: Travelling via Egeskov Castle & Gardens, this 204 km trip takes us over the Great Belt Fixed Link bridge (Storebæltsbroen).
  • Tuesday 7 August: Copenhagen to Glemminge (nr. Ystad): Travelling to Wallander’s hometown in Sweden, going over the Øresund Bridge. 100 km journey.
  • Wednesday 8 August: Glemminge to Warnemünde: Going to visit the Wallander Film Studios before taking a 7 hour ferry journey from Trelleborg (Sweden) to Rostock (Germany). 71 km to Trelleborg then about 5 km to Warnemünde.
  • Thursday 9 August: Warnemünde to Wilster: Calling in to either Itzehoe or Hamburg on the way, before I drop Corrie at Hamburg Airport – then driving to Wilster (near Itzehoe) for my overnight stop. Maybe around 250 km.
  • Friday 10 August: Wilster to Venlo: A day on the motorway, covering 515 km to get to the Dutch border.
  • Saturday 11 August: Venlo to Zierikzee: I’ve done the journey from Venlo (or rather nearby Duisburg) to Cirencester in one day before – but this year I’ll break the journey in to two and will detour via the Dutch island of Schouwen-Duiveland to stay in Zierikzee – so that’s about 200 km to cover.
  • Sunday 12 August: Zierikzee to Cirencester: My final day of travelling! 226 km to Calais then 180 miles to Cirencester from Dover.