Monday 13 June – Sundsvall to Robertsfor

Despite our best efforts, we simply could not get going this morning. Just “breaking camp” took ages, then the guy in reception wanted to reminisce. Needing some shopping we called at the first supermarket to find it wasn't – a supermarket, that is. We then spotted a City Gross, which is a chain of supermarkets but whoever decides on the layout must have a twisted mind because nothing is logical and we had to walk round three times to get our small list filled.

Right, there's a fuel station next door, one of those fully automated places; wouldn't talk to us. By now frustration was setting in so we just headed back to the main road and promptly found a Shell fuel station that worked. But even that one wouldn't completely fill the tank. So it was 12.40 by the time we eventually got on our way: just not our day.

Need to get some miles in, we're way behind schedule but fortunately the road is not busy although it's no longer motorway. Instead it's a 3-lane highway barriered off into single and dual track carriageways which alternate every couple of kilometres. No hard shoulder so if anyone breaks down in a single section we're all snookered, but fortunately that didn't happen and we were able to make surprisingly good speed. The scenery now started to become more of what we expected with views of the coastline and many inlets and rivers amongst the trees. Quite a lot of speed cameras around too although TomTom knows where they are!

No idea, it was just there in the middle of nowhere

Crossing one of the many inlets

A late lunch stop was followed by skirting the small city of Umea; very clean and modern looking, if anything a bit too squeaky clean but that's Sweden. Late afternoon we eventually decided we'd had enough so Bren investigated several potential stopovers; we've got books etc. but in fact there are campsites signposted every 10 miles or so, and we picked a likely looking one at a place called Sikea Hamn, near Robertsfor, which basically was just the local boat club with two campsites attached.

Only needing basic facilities, nevertheless we got the works again and settled down to a nice not-quite-waterside pitch (yep, midgies again). As I write this it's almost 10.00 pm and the sun is still streaming across the site, which makes trying to work out bedtime weird.

10.00 p.m.

Sunday 12 June – Sundsvall

The problem with sunset at 23.00 and dawn at 02.30 is that, despite all the blinds drawn and screens deployed, it never gets dark. This results in multiple visits to the little room............

True to her word, Bren was up early and after walking the dog went straight up to reception to get a laundry key, then got the first load on while Terry got the Full English Breakfast going – 'cos it's Sunday of course. Then service the van whilst Bren was going backwards and forwards. Fortunately the weather, though not at first sunny, played the game and the washing dried quickly, the sun coming out mid-afternoon to help. Mission accomplished, total cost SEK100 (about £10) to wash and dry three big loads, not too bad.

So thereafter a pleasant day, chatting with English neighbours who had “done” Noordkapp and were heading homewards – lots of useful information exchanged. Then a bit of internet catching up – we're currently using the free site network which is quite fast but won't let us “stream” Radio 2. Our “3” connection seems to be okay though, but that of course costs. Just before we came away Tesco announced that it's mobile subscribers could use their phones etc. at their existing rates. This also turns out to cover pay-as-you-go and both Bren and Terry have deals which include lots of free minutes, which seems to work too. Great, free phone calls home!

Jamie is being a bit naughty today, barking at anyone and everyone who comes past, and being really demanding. He also seems to be off his food a bit, although he never turns down a “treat”. We'll keep an eye on him but it's probably another of his growing-up things.

But meanwhile, Sweden. Despite not having seen very much of it so far, except for miles and miles of forest, we like it very much. The people we've met are all friendly (and all speak English!) and seem interested in our trip. We are however currently travelling through a more populous area and are told that this will change the further north we go. Tomorrow we will continue north with still a long way to Finland where we plan to visit Father Christmas in his home village – well it would be rude not to after all he has done for us in the past........

Saturday 11 June – Sundsvall

When we parked up yesterday evening we hadn't noticed that there were a lot of semi-permanent caravans, all apparently occupied by itinerant workers. Not really a problem but there was also a very large Irish family spread over 2 huge caravans and it seems they are all connected. Not that we don't like kids you understand but we counted at least a dozen ranging from toddlers up to late teens and what with all the toing and froing.......

Our main reason for changing pitch, though, was we couldn't get level. So moved back up the hill a few rows and took an almost level plot with much better views.

Our plan today was to get the washing done, one of the main reasons for using a full-facility campsite. Unfortunately the “workforce” also used Saturday to get their cleaning done and despite having everything ready, we never managed to get access to the laundry. Despite deploying the awning, the weather wasn't reliable enough to chance hand-washing so it didn't get done. Bren resolved to get up early tomorrow and grab a key first thing.

Nevertheless we did get some chores done then spent the rest of the day relaxing. The sun finally made an appearance at the end of the day and the forecast is nice for tomorrow.

Friday 10 June – Sigtuna to Sundsvall

Although the day started bright and sunny by the time we were ready for a reasonable getaway the clouds were rolling in and there was dampness in the air. Plan today to carry on north but first we need a bit of shopping and fuel, which were almost immediately forthcoming before we rejoined the motorway.

We do not normally like using motorways but we've a long way to go on this trip and in fairness there are no other roads direct enough, so we just set the cruise control and enjoy the scenery. Not so much today though as before long we were in heavy rain which kept up on and off for most of the day. A quick comfort stop while we investigated a thumping noise – the hardworking windscreen wipers – and a little later a proper lunch stop at another of the multitude of picnic spots.

Beware b....y big mooses - sorry elk!

Having been on the go pretty well non-stop now for a while we felt like a break, coupled with the need to get some cleaning and washing done so an examination of the maps and guides threw up an ACSI campsite at Sundsvall which seemed to be quite attractive, although we had hoped to have got a bit further. So programmed TomTom, although we could have found it easily enough this time.

Right on the Bay of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea, we chose a spot overlooking the beach although it wasn't really warm enough for that........ Instead the usual hot cuppa whilst we set up then after tea relax for an hour or so. We've booked for 3 nights.

We're now well above 62 deg north, so are closing in on the Land of the Midnight Sun; sunset tonight is 22.45 and sunrise 02.58. So we've deployed the screens to give us a little blackout, although they'll probably be needed anyway as the temperature is set to plummet. Thank goodness we're on electric hookup so can keep the chill off. We've also spoken to an English couple who are on their way south having given up on their trip to Noordkapp - too cold apparently.

Thursday 9 June – Jonkoping to Stockholm

A nice bright sunny start, if not the warmest but as, latitude-wise, we're already north of the Orkney Islands we must expect cooler nights! But it sooned warmed up and following our usual start we got away just after 11.00. A gas bottle had run out a couple of days ago and as Sweden is not quite awash with LPG stations, we picked one from the MyLPG app on our route at Linkoping and set up TomTom. Just as well because we'd never have found it otherwise.........

Topped off, it was back on a quite busy motorway headed for Stockholm, and we settled down once again to enjoy the scenery. We've managed to find a nice setting on the cruise control which doesn't mean we're forever slowing down/speeding up as we encounter trucks and it seems quite good on fuel consumption. We've noticed that fuel is a similar price to the UK by the way.

Swedish Air Force

A latish lunch in a nice picnic area just off the motorway; these appear quite regularly and are well signposted. Then after a perusal of the campsite books continued our journey with a plan to make for a stellplatz type place north of Stockholm. Unfortunately our timings coincided with rush hour in Stockholm and, coupled with a truck breakdown and road works, it took us over an hour to cross Stockholm. We had already decided not to stop here, the Rough Guide not showing us anything of enough interest to break our journey, so once again TomTom took us to our overnight stop.

Main street

Lutherian church

Ancient rune stones

Sigtuna turns out to be the oldest town in Sweden and was first to mint coinage. It was once upon a time a major trading centre and received the Kings patronage. Nowadays it is little more than a marina but has an attractive main street built in traditional Swedish style. After tea we took Jamie out to explore and to give him some exercise, something he hasn't had much of today. Then at 10.30 the man came round to collect his money! Drat, thought we'd got away with that!

Wednesday 8 June - Copenhagen to Jonkoping

Awoken by the alarm clock (just in case!) we opened the blinds to a dull and cloudy morning, although it wasn't cold. We need to try and get back on schedule so after the usual we headed out for the crossing to Malmo in Sweden. There are ferries but we chose to use the modern tunnel/bridge as it costs pretty well the same; €108.00 each way!! (They do say that once it has paid for itself the toll will be reduced; not in our lifetime!)

Then it was follow TomTom onto the motorways with a sort of destination of Stockholm, having decided after much advice to go north through Sweden, along the eastern coast to Finland and Norway, returning south through Norway. Needing Swedish currency we called into a superstore looking for a cash machine then making some small purchases to “break” the huge SEK500 notes the machine gave us.

After that it was simply set the cruise control and enjoy the scenery. In fairness, we could have been anywhere in Europe, that is what motorway travelling does for you, but we really needed to make up some mileage. A lunch stop and refuel broke the journey until late afternoon approaching Jonkopling we'd had enough and the sun came out, so we started looking for an overnight stop. Not quite got the hang of the info to hand we saw an interesting sign seeming to indicate a camping spot adjacent to, presumably, a swimming lake so thought we'd have a look.

Lovsjobaden Camping is just that, a delightful spot where we were given a sunny pitch right by the lake and settled down to a nice cuppa then later tea. But have you spotted our mistake yet?

MIDGES. As the sun went down they appeared so get the sprays etc out. Jamie couldn't understand why we wouldn't let him out. Fortunately it cooled off rapidly and the little blighters disappeared but not before leaving a small legacy!

Tuesday 7 June - Copenhagen

A later than planned start, probably due to being parked under a tree so that the sunshine didn't wake us. Not to worry, our plans today were a visit to the city of Copenhagen. The map the site owner gave us, together with advice, clearly showed we could “do” the city on foot, with just a little help from public transport at the start and finish, so after breakfast we settled Jamie down with plenty of water, shade and ventilation and set off.

Everybody of course wants to visit The Little Mermaid and the best way for us was a 20min walk to the water-bus which then took us along the harbour right to the far end of our exploration. This was clearly the best, and cheapest, way to see the old harbour front, much of which has been or is being redeveloped, retaining the old charm and character where feasible. There is a lot of modern construction going on too, but thankfully it is being restricted to the edges where it is obvious old industrial buildings have been demolished. (Unfortunately most of the photos we took suffered from reflections, making them unuseable. Sorry.)

Debarking a few minutes walk from the “attraction” we were immediately overwhelmed by dozens of tourist coaches and hundreds of tourists all headed for the statue, given to the city by a benefactor in the early 1900s, of the character from one of Hans Christian Andersons fairy tales, the Little Mermaid. Coupled with the souvenir sellers, cafes, coffee and ice-cream stands, it was quite a circus – but the actual statue? Can you see her?

See the white dot in the middle?

Not being totally surprised, we took our photos then headed back towards the city centre. There is much beautiful architecture to see, much of it nowadays resurrected as musuems and art galleries although the Royal Apartments are impressive, complete with patrolling guardsmen.

Starting from one of the large open squares, we then spent an hour wandering along what is said to be the longest pedestrianised street in the world – don't know about that as it has to cross a couple of main roads. But strolling in the hot sunshine was very pleasant as it was not too crowded, most tourists being ferried around by coach. We eventually came out at the other main attraction for Copenhagen, the Tivoli Gardens.

Lego stores everywhere

It turns out that this is pay-to-enter and although for around £20 each it looked a worthwhile visit, we really only had an hour to spare when it needs a day. Reluctantly we left it for another time and headed for the Central Station and a bus back to the campsite. A helpful driver put us on the right bus and only 5 mins later we were dropped off quite close to “home”. Interestingly, due to the way the public transport system works, our 5 min bus ride cost us exactly the same as our 45m water-bus ride earlier in the day!

Local hostelry

We were quite impressed with Copenhagen and, as the guide books say, you can cross the entire centre in half an hour. Consequently it's easy to explore.