Northern Lights

Hi pinkannie I cannot give you the answers you need about how slippery it will be in Iceland, what I can tell you is, I live in the Outer Hebrides and I see the Aurora Borealis, the problem is you cant predict accurately when you can see it, some web sites are helpful, but it is still a bit hit and miss, hope this is helpful

Hi pinkannie, I can only tell you second hand of my step daughter's recent trip (only two weeks ago) to Norway to see the Northern lights.

As she and those she travelled with all have their original knees I don't have any information about how easy difficult it would be for you, I'm sure as you say you could get some sort of stick to aid you. I believe the snow is of the crunchy type though it was so cold where she was it just doesn't melt and she actually visited an ice hotel whilst she was there. She has also been to Iceland not to see the Northern lights but on a previous trip in the summer months and apparently it is also an amazing place.

This post is just to say that she saw the lights, she came over last week-end to show us the photos on her phone, they look truly amazing. She tells me it was an almost religious experience for someone like herself who doesn't believe.

Hope you get the information you need from someone else to enable you to arrange your trip, because the experience, I am told, is well worth it.

We saw the lights on a cruise with Saga.....brilliant. We were provided with those clever grippy things you fit to your boots and walking poles with sharp points. I am great at going 'base over apex' but with good sturdy boots on with the grippers I was very stable. Yes it can be very icy underfoot - but as long as you take care its well worth the risk!

I didn't need to go to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. We lived in North Cumbria when my children were little. I was letting the dog out before going to bed late one winter evening, when a display was just beginning. I woke the children, wrapped them up warmly, and we stood in the garden to watch. It was amazing. The atmospheric conditions must have been just right. I have seen them since, but never as good.

You were very lucky hildajenniJ! It is all about being in the right place at the right time - difficult to do but further north you go.......it does increase the odds a bit.

" clever grippy things you fit to your boots "

Snow chains from Amazon.

Many thanks for the replies - been on grandparent duty this weekend so have not had a chance to get back sooner. I suppose a cruise could be a possibility but I guess I'd still have to risk the ice and snow although the spikes to go on shoes seem a possibility. Must admit we have never really considered cruising - not sure I could cope with posh dinners etc! Glad your daughter had such a good time Terribull, I guess if the snow is the crunchy fresh variety I might be able to cope with a stout stick and walking boots with good tread and possibly the spikey things. I might well investigate the north of Scotland but would probably need an organised tour as don't fancy driving or fly/driving that far. Thank you for all your replies - it has given me a bit more food for thought and half the fun is in the thinking and planning.

There is no guarantee you will see anything, but I think those who study the sun's phases of activity can get some clues about when the sun is becoming more active which increases the likelihood.

Northern Norway is quite a lot further north than Iceland. It might increase your chances.

It appears to be about an 11yrs cycle and is quite high at the moment.

solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml

My cousin went a couple of years ago pinkannie and she had the use of a sleigh type taxi which was arranged for three of them with a driver,made for a comfortable & safe outing all arranged via their hotel.

Next Sunday we start a 12 day cruise up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic Circle and hope and expect to see the Northern Lights, although you can never be sure. We are going on one of the Hurtigruten ferry/cruisers that stop at every port to load/unload cargo/passengers. I think the boat is like a glorified Brittany Ferries ferry, the catering is all Norwegian and they are meant to be great fun, although not for those who like to cruise in luxury.

There are also real cruise liners going that way as well. They may be better for someone not steady on their feet.

We went to Iceland a few years ago but the weather was only suitable for seeing the Northern Lights on one evening and the show was very thin. The bus took us straight from the hotel but the vantage point was rough under foot and, of course, very dark.

Will definitely look up Hurtigruten cruises - we don't do posh so wouldn't really want to do a luxury cruise! I' m definitely not unsteady on my feet - just worried about how slippery it might be. The sleigh taxi sounds pretty good too - I quite fancy swishing through the snow wrapped in furs - well perhaps not furs!
Hope you have a fabulous time Flickety B and see lots of light shows. Let me know what it was like when you get back.
regards Annie

Hurtigruten is brilliant and not at all posh. Parents in law did a Northern Norway trip with them a couple of years ago and loved it. When I've been in Norway in the winter I wear (as do most Norwegians) the shoe grips and they work perfectly on ice and snow. I've worn them in every type of snowy weather (crunchy, slippery, melting etc.) and never had a problem. Get them in the UK before you go though as they very expensive to buy in Norway.

My DS has been to Iceland twice but the best Aurora photographs he has taken have been from a few miles from his home in the north of England.

Everything in Norway is expensive!.......Yaktrak (?) methinks is one of the names......some are more like wires and others use an arrangement of studs. Just make sure they fit well on whatever you are going to have on your feet.

Another time we saw the Aurora was when my son, who was about 9 , and I were out walking the dog. We stood and watched in the darkest spot we could find. The display was beautiful but very brief. The next day in school he told his teacher. The teacher didn't believe him. I think we must have been the only two people in the town to witness it, as nobody I spoke to saw it either.