In Search of The Northern Lights - Day One

4 March 2014

Writing Life is fun but I thought I might take a break from it for a few days and tell you about my trip to Iceland instead. Whilst I was away I kept a log of our travels and I don’t see why I shouldn’t share that with you. In a day or so I should have some pictures to go with it. And what pictures they are – Iceland is a truly fabulous place, in every sense of the word. So let’s start at the beginning ...

DAY 1 : MONDAY 24 FEB 2014
I’m off to Iceland in the company of my wife and two of her friends. In fact it was all their idea (a girl’s outing) but I managed to get myself invited along. We’re going to try and see The Northern Lights (it’s supposed to be one of the best seasons for doing so) but we’re going to take in a lot more besides along the way. I’ve looked at trips like this before but they’ve invariably involved an Arctic cruise, Spitzbergen, polar bears and walrus. Carefully placed adverts in a birding magazine or the colour section of my weekend newspaper have looked fantastic but they’ve always cost the earth. So when Dee told us we could get 5 nights in Reykjavik, a trip out to look for the lights, a nature tour and a whale-watching expedition all for less than £500 I thought I’m having some of that!

Even Barry (our regular taxi-driver) was impressed. When we told him about it on our drive to the station he whistled through his teeth Blimey! That’s good! It seems that he and Trish have wanted to go for years. When we get back, we’re lending them the brochure ...

So, a train heading north up the East coast and an overnight stop in Glasgow. Dee has booked us four seats at a table and we’ve all brought something to contribute toward lunch. We pass Durham and its resplendent cathedral in welcome sunlight as we sip our glass of Sauvignon Blanc - a great start (the girls do things in style, I discover). Berwick slips by in sunshine too, and despite the attractions of the view, I’ve progressed onto reading my chosen book for the trip. It’s THE ORPHEUS DESCENT by Tom Harper and I’ve already got one eye open for the review I’ll need to write for Book Talk when I get back. Our three and a half hour journey is over before we know it.

Glasgow is not at its best, grey skies and wet streets. But we haven’t come to admire it, merely to borrow it for the evening. There’s talk of a lively Italian restaurant (Sarte’s?) but we just need something quick so rather than tramp through the rain, we settle for next door and Wetherspoons. It’s cheap, convenient and adequate – and that’s the best you can say about it. (What was I saying about style? Maybe that comes later.)

We check out the airport bus stop and head back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day ...

Join me again soon for DAY 2 when we hit Reykjavik and go out looking for lights.