Natural Beauty

It's a classic holuday - a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords - which Sarah Hardy decides is quite simply one of the most beautiful trips imaginable

It is east to understand why cruises to the Norwegian fjords are as popular as they are. These astonishing natural phenomena have to be seen up close and personal to appreciate exactly what all the fuss is about.

But it is not just the fjords - narrow strips of water in valleys carved out by glaciers during the last Ice Age - but the whole shebang that takes your breath away. By definition, the fjords are surrounded by towering mountains as high as they are deep. And with them come wonderful waterfalls, glaciers, weird and dramatic rock formations - and more. As they lead off from the sea, you also have wonderful coastal views.

Our week-long trip saw us sail out of Dover with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines - known, quite rightly, as the ‘friendly’ cruise line - onboard the Boudicca. With just over 850 passengers, it is a perfect size to navigate some of the narrower fjords, and has all the facilities you need to keep yourself nice and busy without being too overpowering.

I loved the main swimming pool on deck 6, plus the hot tubs, of course, and all the lovely sunbathing areas - there is certainly no squabbling over sunbeds. And add in several al fresco bars, and an outdoor restaurant which attracted us most lunch times with its fresh salads, great fruit desserts and laid back vibe.

The ship, which has 10 decks, also includes a casino, gym, games room, shops, and a theatre space where we watched the ship’s talented company perform most nights. I also loved the Observatory bar with its live pianist for both pre

Famous Flam Railway Line (Flamsbana)

Briksdal Glacier

and post supper drinks! It’s here, too, where you can enjoy a scrummy afternoon tea for just £8.95 a head; the only problem being that you then struggle with supper that evening as it is so delicious.

We often dined in Four Seasons, with its waiter service, and also enjoyed the self service Secret Garden Cafê, where you can dine pretty much all day. Food is of a consistently good standard, with plenty of choice.

I sampled the Atlantis Spa where a Thai massage helped my creaking back no end! But, for me, the best thing was just sitting on deck, watching all that scenery go by, and boy, is there a lot of it!

Our first point of interest, after a day’s sail north, was Lysefjord, a 26-mile fjord known for its enormous mountain formations and the slightly stomach churning 600m Pulpit Rock which people hike to and simply peer down from; it is not for the faint hearted.

We then headed further north for our first land stop at Olden, a simply delightful little place, as picture postcard pretty as anyone could wish. It’s from here that you can get to see the Briksdal glacier, one of Norway’s great sights.

It’s a shortish coach ride, about half an hour, from the port, and you then stride out the mile or two to the glacier itself. Despite what some out of date photos might imply, you can’t walk on it, and it is indeed, and very worryingly, receding up the mountain rather quickly. Melting, in other words. But is an awesome sight as it twinkles turquoise in the sunlight.

We then sailed on to Flam, another gorgeous town, famous for its twisting mountain railway which is a great way of seeing the scenery although, again, you need a good head for heights. Lots take the train which climbs up 1000m in about 15 miles, and then either cycle or hike down. I took a RIB trip, which included whizzing up and down Naeroyfjord (Narrowfjord), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and just 250m wide in some parts. A couple of porpoises came to say hello and I loved seeing boldly painted farmsteads pop up on any tiny piece of flat land that the mountain ranges might offer up.

And then we were off to Bergen, Norway’s second city and based around seven hills. There’s masses to see here from the daily fish market to the UNESCO World Heritage