Our project to explore the UK and Europe by sail is now in its eighth year. We overwintered Ruby Tuesday in 2024/25 in Malmö in the south of Sweden and rejoined her in late April 2025.

After essential maintenance work, we sailed from Malmö, first over to Denmark to see the islands of Anholt and Læsø, before making the crossing of the Kattegat body of water between Denmark and Sweden. Unforecast strong winds and rough seas certainly made this a passage to remember. We then worked our way northwards up the west coast of Sweden exploring the archipelago north of Gothenburg, where we learnt all about sea-foraging. From Strömstad, we then took a bus and train up to Gjøvik, north of Oslo, to catch up with friends whom we hadn’t seen for a long time. We then made our way around the southern coast of Norway, fortuitously catching some favourable east winds, to the fjord area on the west coast.

The next several weeks were spent exploring many of the fjords in this area, including the ‘famous five’, the mighty Lysefjord, the scenic Hardangerfjord, the immense Sognefjord (Norway’s longest), and the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord (both UNESCO World Heritage sites). We were extremely lucky to have perfect sunny weather for almost a month, which is really the best way to see these spectacular fjords. The only downside was that there was very little wind, which meant motoring more than usual.

We were nervous about rounding various headlands which are notoriously risky – the Lindesnes in southern Norway, the Stattlandet, where the North Sea meets the Norwegian Sea, and the Hustadvika near Kristiansund, all of which are exposed to the vagaries of the Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, with careful timing to avoid bad weather, we made it around these safely.

The weather did actually turn in August however, and we were lashed by Storm Floris and other lesser ones. We could do nothing but sit these out in (relatively) sheltered harbours. Nevertheless, there were still intervals of good weather, and we managed to carry on ever northwards to visit various small coastal islands and the cities of Ålesund, Kristiansund, and Trondheim.

We finally made it to the island of Hitra, not far from Trondheim, where we had made arrangements to overwinter Ruby Tuesday.

This year was somewhat unique in that we followed as closely as we could a cruise that my great-great-grandfather had made by steamship of the Norwegian fjords in 1889. His ship had started from Edinburgh, sailed to Bergen and then on to Trondheim, visiting many of the fjords on the way. He had also made side trips to various places by stolkjarre, a type of horse and trap, seemingly specific to Norway. We are lucky enough to have copies of letters that he wrote back to his daughter Meg (or Maggie) in Scotland describing the various places that he visited on the way. It somehow added an extra dimension to our own trip knowing that an ancestor had seen the places and done many of the things that we ourselves were doing.

As in previous years, the following links take you to the individual blog posts of different legs of the journey:

1. Celestial mechanics, a Viking with bad teeth, and meaningful motorcycling
2. A cement town, a wartime evacuation, and unexpected winds
3. The best job in the world, a transvestite thief, and a sustainable sea harvest
4. A deep ocean trench, an egg-shaped boat, and an anthropological adventurer
5. Existential despair, cottage country, and a Norwegian culinary treat
6. Crossing the Skagerrak, a blind alley, and a dodgy radio aerial
7. Our first fjord, midsummer revelries, and a national foundation story
8. A long tunnel, a retreating glacier, and a preserved manor house
9. A Nordic Hanseatic city, letters from home, and a repaired radio aerial
10. Two royal statues, an iconic church, and a hotel with a view
11. Escaping the storm, a Devonian wonder, and a clenched fist
12. Alpine farming, behind a waterfall, and a renewed acquaintance
13. A rock concert, a town of roses, and a new song
14. Surviving Storm Floris, a notorious passage, and the Last Viking
15. Ancient Norwegians, the salted-cod city, and a deserted fishing village
16. Fading batteries, a crowning cathedral, and a harnessed waterfall
17. An invincible fortress, a faulty bridge, and a blood moon