On November 1st, 2024, the Donaghadee Chunky Dunkers (DCD) Winter Challenge 2024/25 began: To swim alone, or as a team, a total of 35 km in open water, without a wetsuit or other aids by March 31st, 2025. We never doubted that we could do this!
35 km is the distance between Donaghadee in Northern Ireland and Portpatrick in Scotland. How hard could it be? Picture slightly manipulated by HI (Human Intelligence), since AI failed to do the job.
It turned out to be a challenge, indeed. The first week there was a storm, and we only swam 50 (!) meters at a time. When the weather calmed down, we swam a little longer, but when we swam 435 m in 7 degree celsius water on the 8th of November, it was really nail-biting, and Idun turned somewhat hesitant about whether this was a joyful hobby in the long run.
Progress reporting is an important motivator! We struggled in both November and December, but at the end of January things loosened up a bit, and we were able to swim 500 m without the nails biting too bad.
Research has confirmed that the human body adapts to the stresses of repeated cold swimming, including by converting some fat into so-called brown fat, which can easily be converted into heat when needed. After 3 months of effort, we began to feel that we tolerated the cold better, and now we swim nearly 600 meters without much trouble. But we get shaky! It’s not easy to talk after these swims!
After the last swim we thought an Irish whiskey made with Scotch whiskey would be just right. Tartan: Hamilton Grey.
We did it! It turned out to become a rather tough run-in. Knut was unwell for a week, and Idun was in Mumbai the week after (yes, she swam at Yuhu Beach, but fully clothed like they do it there, and DCD runs channel rules: Skin Only, i.e. only a swimming cap, swimsuit/pants and swimming goggles). In a couple of weeks we expect 2 badges to arrive by mail. The entry fee was 10 pounds per person, and we are happy to pay. The profit goes, as mentioned in a previous post, to charity. In total, there were 140 people registered from all over the world for this challenge. Maybe we drew a shorter straw than those who swam in Australia during the same period, but still.
DCD’s badge for 2024/25. We can’t wait to sew them on our beach bags! Photo: Martin Strain
Overall a great challenge, even though we almost gave up along the way. It took a lot of time to fulfill! But we haven’t regretted it, maybe with the exception of that one worst nail-biting swim. And now that we did it – no no, no regrets at all!
The best thing about outdoor swimming is to be in the nature! We have swum in rain and slush water, fog, wind, moonlight, sun and sunsets. Absolutely splendid!
We brought our bikes on the local boat, and this is a Sunday trip we can really recommend:
Take the boat from Trondheim at noon, cycle to Austråttborgen (with a swim around Bruholmen, as we wrote about in the previous blog post), swim in Jektvika on the way back and visit the Hannah Ryggen exhibition before the boat returns a little before seven in the evening. Definitely, this would have been a slightly better plan in the summer – when the sites are open…
Anyway, the bike trail is really great. And you will always know where you’re going – the tower profile of Austråttborgen is visible on the signposts!
Bicycle path sign with historical significance.
You ride along the fjord and wetlands, and partly inside a forest with lichen covered trees.
Atmospheric cycle path at Ørlandet.
On the way you will pass 3 bridges, and there are benches and birdwatching sheds along the way.
1000 years ago, Finn Arnesson (a liegeman for Olav Haraldsson) owned Austrått. Finn fought side by side with Olav the (soon to be) Saint in the battle of Stiklestad. His brother, Kalv, however, was on the opposite side, in the peasant army, and Kalv even became one of the saint Olav’s executioners. I wonder how interesting the family reunions at Austrått were in ancient times!
The most famous owner of Austrått is probably Ingerd Ottesdatter (Mrs. Inger of Austrått). She was a large landowner and held several regions in the mid-northern part of Norway. Mrs. Inger was in a long-standing feud with the last Archbishop of Nidaros: Olav Engelbrektsson. It was Mrs. Inger’s great-great-grandson Ove Bjelke who built the castle as we see it today. You can see the castle tower from the center of Brekstad, a fairytale castle!
Austrått, from Old Norse “aust” = east and ‘ätt’ = “direction” or perhaps property, was a center of power already in the Viking Age.
Around 1200, a private chapel was built at Austrått. This church had a large, strong tower. The church with tower was part of the castle complex that Ove Bjelke had built between 1654 and 1656. In the main building’s portal you can see the names and family coats of arms of the previous owners carved in soapstone.
Austråttborgen is magnificent!
When we visited the facility in October 2021, it was closed for the winter, and also under renovation (they were replacing the roof). We therefore do not mention here the arcades inside the courtyard with their caryatids (columns sculpted as female figures – named after the basket-shaped headdresses worn by women from the city of Karyai in Laconia). And definitely not that the caryatids at Austrått depict the story of the wise and the foolish virgins, who respectively had and did not have enough oil for their lamps.
No, instead we let history be history and get ready for swimming. At Austrått it is incredibly right to swim in Jektvika, as we had heard, a pearl of a beach, which Ørland Municipality has upgraded with white shell sand. But where was this beach? We cycled to Austrått harbour and found a bay by the campsite, yes, we did. But it wasn’t that fantastic. Knut asked Google for help:
Don’t always settle for the first and best bay. Maybe it’s not the best at all.
Aha! There is a bay, Jektvika, a little further west. And yes – it is a very beautiful place!
Fine, white sand in Jektvika.
There is a sand volleyball court and benches at the site, too. Add crystal clear water:
… then there’s not much more to say (other than that a grill would be nice). And in October: Not a hint of a queue on the beach. Actually, completely empty. Strange thing, this wet, gray Sunday.
Another weird thing was the access platform on the east side of the bay. What is that? Balconies for theater performances in the water? Fishing spots? We definitely don’t recommend diving from here, it way too shallow:
Does anyone know what these devices are for? Not diving boards, apparently. Stage maybe?
But swimming in Jektvika? Yes indeed!
Turning home at dusk. Surely, we made it back to the boat in time.
We tried to escape the rain in Trondheim this Sunday in October. And by going to Ørlandet we did – almost. Ørland municipality is a short boat ride from Trondheim – just north of the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord. Bjugn and Ørland were merged in 2020 and the municipal center is divided between the Bjugn village and the town of Brekstad. The population is just over 10,000 – the fluctuations follow the activity at Ørland airport. From Brekstad you can take a ferry to the south side of the Trondheimsfjord (Agdenes).
The ferry to Agdenes seen from ‘the Field of Gravel’. Yes, it’s flat on Ørlandet.
The name Ørland comes from Norse ‘yrjar’ = gravel. The municipality consists of a peninsula with large gravel plains and otherwise a slightly hilly landscape with many islands, islets and skerries. Most of the Ørlandet peninsula is lowland, and will struggle hard if/when the sea rises. It is windy here! So much so that the ‘Ørlanders‘ are often referred to as leaning forward – it takes a lot to stand up against the wind.
On our way through the city center, we came across ‘Meieriparken‘ = the dairy playground. There is a lot of funny stuff in the old dairy, including this challenge: How to get through the barn without stepping on the floor?
This is fun for both children and adults!
Knut couldn’t resist and had to try. Here he is swinging, elegant as always. Idun had a sore back at the time, and didn’t join the game.
Splendid bike trail in Ørlandet.
Following a tip from Idun’s colleague Anita, we brought bicycles on the express boat. From Brekstad city center, there is a great bike path northeast towards Austrått. Try it!
One kilometer from Brekstad harbor lies Bruholmen (the Bridge islet). It floats freely at high tide, but is landlocked at low tide (is it called Bruholmen because there is a “bridge” out there at low tide?):
Bruholmen at high tide.
We arrived at Bruholmen at high tide and decided to swim around it. The seaweed soup was kind of awful:
Seaweed soup is not among our favorites.
But the water further out was crystal clear (12 degrees). Absolutely beautiful! We could even see the rocks on the bottom.
Clear as crystal.
Beyond Bruholmen there are wetlands all the way, a bird paradise! The area is a Ramsar site. This means that Norway has signed an agreement in the city of Ramsar (in Iran) that this wetland is protected.
We saw hundreds of geese ready to depart south. And a flock of crows: as the text does not say in the norwegian children crow song: ‘There were 10 crows sitting on the fence crowing’.
Crows crowing on the fence.
We were in doubt when we saw the use of road sticks by the trail. What is the point here (normally they are meant to tell the snow plowers at winter time where the road is)? Do they tell us that the trail does not go through the bushes? If there is a concern about ending up in the wetland, perhaps the sticks should have been placed on the other side of the trail? Does anyone know? The band of black dots in the photo below are geese.
No bicycling through the bushes!
We continued later to Austrått of course and had another swim, but we’ll save that for the next blog post.
On the way back we took a picture of Bruholmen at low tide:
Perfect Ramsar land!
On the way back we took the opportunity to pick sea buckthorn close to the trail. Sea buckthorn is a pioneer plant, which thrives in sand by rivers and coasts. The berries are orange, so beautiful colored that Idun just had to swing her bike in front of them.
Orange is the best color!
In addition to the splendid color, the berries are full of antioxidants and they taste good. So now we have sea buckthorn liqueur aging for Christmas. Although not in very large quantities (50 g of berries to be exact – it was more important to reach the boat back, they are not so easy to pick).
Stokkøya is a 17 km2 island in Åfjord municipality in Trøndelag, with 300 inspired inhabitants. The island was connected to land in the year 2000 via the 525 m long Stokksund bridge over the log-straight Stokksundet (stokk means log). At Stokkøya, facing west, lies the magnificent, 400 m long beach Hosnasand.
The pier goes west to Linesøya. In the background Hosnavika and Hosnasand beach.
At Hosnasand you will find Stokkøya Sjøsenter with its very special SUB architecture. Partially buried in the sand, with a dedicated use of color. Constructed by so much concrete it might have felt cold and unappealing, but it was surprisingly cozy. Well worth a visit!
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae) and SUB.
There were also vibrant colors indoors. Orange from hippophae and turquoise color from the sea?
SUB cabin (Sleep-Under-the-Ground) in vibrant colors.
As expected, we went to sea the same evening we arrived. A faboulous bath! The sky was wide, dark and infinitely more stars than we can see in Trondheim. The beach is both long and shallow, so we recommend wet socks to avoid freezing toes.
The next day we went out towards the Linesøy pier to find more suitable water depth. However, the coastline had no easy access this winter day.
Not easy to take a bath from here, obviously.
…but finally we found water.
Plenty of sky and sea on Stokkøya.
Sunday was snorkeling day.
Idun ready for snorkeling.Knut ready for snorkeling.
It took a while to pass the beach, but the water was fantastic; clear and beautiful.
For lunch it was time for a barbecue (the food at Strandbaren is really good). As you can see, we’re not the only ones who take ease on both barbecue and swimming seasons! We think both are equally naturally all year round.
Classic barbecue season at Stokkøya Strandbar.
The “aliens” in the water are just reflections from the window. The lazy photographer stood inside and took a picture of the other photographer…
Before returning home on sunday we took the obligatory little walk via Hosnastrand to Stokkøya Bakeri. On the way we found this special art, sadly enough made by trash from the sea:
Trash art.
And Stokkøya Bakeri? It’s run by a couple of very nice Italians!
Gli italiani si trovano a Stokkøya Bakeri.
At Stokkøya time is always right for cookies and wheat buns! And a bath…
About 10 km from the center of Trondheim lies Lian (from the Old Norse ‘hlið‘ = sloping hill or mountain side), as part of Bymarka. There was little activity here until the idea of a tram line emerged, probably inspired by the ‘Holmenkollbanen‘ in Kristiania (Oslo). Construction work started in 1922, but the rails did not reach Lian until 1933. And then things started to happen. The place quickly was taken into the heart of Trondheim’s residents. In the summer, this is a splendid area for swimming, fishing and camping. However, the fishing has been poor for a number of years, after rotenone treatment to remove fish parasites in 2017, but now (2024) it’s said to be good again (trout). What about winter activities, one might ask. Is there anything going on during winter time?
Preparing a bathing hole in 2024. You better switch sawing duty, so everyone gets warmed up. In the background, you can see Lian Restaurant, currently closed.
In the 1930’s, it wasn’t just skiing or ice skating on Lianvatnet (Lake Lian), there were also motorcycle and horse races on the ice. However, we haven’t heard any stories about ice bathing from ancient times. Has anyone heard about that? We want to know!
Motorcycle race on Lianvatnet in the 1930’s.
On a wet and grey December day in 2024, there was little else going on at Lianvatnet other than bathing in our bathing friend Taru’s swimming hole. Taru posts a video clip from her bathtub every day in Advent, like a ‘bath-vent‘ calendar. Tobatheornottobathe really wanted to be a part of that!
Peaceful atmosphere between Finnish and Norwegian bathers/ducks. Photo: Taru Uusinoka
Parts of Lianvannet are very shallow. Both Idun and Knut have partied and bathed in/by Helgelandshytta, and there it’s almost too shallow to swim. For Taru, who often bathes alone in her bathing hole, it is good to be in contact with the bottom, to be sure to get safely up again (good HSSE). That way, no bathing ladder is needed either.
‘There is a Rose at play)’. In Advent. At Lian. Photo: Taru Uusinoka
But as in Finnish television theaters on Norwegian TV in the 1970’s, the bathing couldn’t be all peaceful. One could hear both ‘fu*@‘ and ‘per&%#%‘, and in the end the axe was brought forward.
Finnish television theater in the 1970’s always ended with an ax. Photo: Taru Uusinoka
To reassure worried readers: Everyone came home safely!
…Little Boy, did you play Rose all by yourself? No good!
With its 600 inhabitants, Leka is one of Norway’s smallest municipalities, but that does not prevent an immense commitment to theater. Herlaugsgildet theater group was established in 1977, and they have set up the play ‘Herlaugsspelet’ for many years. But in 2024 it was ‘The saga about the Helgeland mountains’ that was the theme. We wanted to see that!
The path to Lekamøya (The Leka Virgin Mountain) starts from Solsem.
Tobatheornottobathe’s short version of the saga goes like this: King Sulis in Sulitjelma and King Vågakallen in Lofoten argued about who had the biggest kingdom. But there was one thing they agreed on, namely that the youths were difficult to manage. Vågakallen had given up his unruly son, Hestmannen (The Horse Man), and King Sulis had sent his 7 daughters to Landegode close to Bodø, so that they would be brought up by the wise and beautiful Lekamøya.
Lekamøya mountain looks like a woman with stretched arms and a shawl. Photo: Ole Hamnes, license: CC BY NC SA 4.0.
It didn’t work out very well, because the seven sisters just wanted to play and bathe, preferably with the Horseman. But his eyes had fallen on Lekamøya, and there was a lot of back and forth before he shot his arrow after her. The arrow went through Trollhatten which still has a hole through it, and at the same time the sun rised and everyone turned to stone. The color on the west side of Leka island is explained by the fact that Lekamøya dropped the bucket of mysost (whey cheese) in the same moment, and the stones were colored red.
On the way to theater in Frøvik. The mysost bucket on this milk ramp won’t blow away anytime soon.
The play ‘Lekamøya and Hestmannen‘ was quite well set up, with several references to Herlaugspelet. The outdoor stage is absolutely beautiful, located on a headland with water visible on both sides. The play had many scenes mentioning bathing, certainly a show to Tobatheornottobathe’s taste!
The seven sisters, here are 5 of them, appreciated bathing and all sorts of fun, especially if the Horseman was around.
This theater day in 2024, the weather was brilliant, almost too much for Tobatheornottobathe. Sunny and 27 degrees celcius… It all went as it had to go – there was a swim in the break!
At Leka, a bath is perfect when the theater has a break.
Just after the ice age, the sea level at the Trøndelag coast was up to 100 meters higher than today. At Leka you can find a cave 78 m above sea level, Solsemgrotta, formed by a fault that was excavated by the sea, while this was the beach zone.
Lekmøyhammaren and the hard choice: Turn left towards Solsemgrotta, or right towards Lekamøya?
In 1912, the cave was explored for the first time by 3 young men from Solsem. The cave is approximately 40 meters long, 5 meters wide and 8 meters high. Once inside, they discovered cave paintings in the dark part, the first cave art found in Norway until then. The boys behaved well after the discovery, by notifying the Science Museum in Trondheim. Later the cave was examined by archaeologists Theodor Petersen and Claus Hjelte. They made drawings of the cave and the cave paintings, and collected many objects for further investigation.
View northwestwards from the cave.
Remains of many different animals were found, a total of 1,868 bones. From catching and hunting, they found shells from clams and snails as well as bones from seals, cod, flounder, herring, black bream, gray grouse, puffins, vultures, sea eagles, goshawks and rock doves, but also livestock bones from cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The cave has clearly been used for a long time, from the Bronze Age (1800 BD) to the Viking Age (1000 AD).
View westwards from Solsemgrotta, towards today’s farmland.
The use of the cave has been much debated. We have many caves in Norway that have been used as shelters. Solsemgrotta, however, has a difficult access. The path up to the cave is today a rocky trip, but was of course shorter in older times, when the sea level was higher.
The entrance to Solsemgrotta is closed today, to preserve the art. Access only with a guide.
The problem is the slope from the cave entrance. There is a steep drop of 3 meters into the cave before it flattens out, today equipped by stairs and ropes. In older times you must have needed a ladder and/or ropes, which would have been very impractical with children. The conclusion is therefore that the cave must have been used for rituals. The remains of two people are explained by the fact that they were brought there after their death.
The cave entrance is steep, no place for children. The cave cannot have been a residence.
We were at Leka island to see the play ‘Lekamøya og Hestmannen‘, and in that connection guided tours to Solsemgrotta had been set up. It was a great tour, with a good guide. So far, only 10 caves with rock art have been found in Norway, all along the coast between Namdalen and Lofoten. In comparison, thousands of petroglyphs have been found in open air, all over the country.
The cave painting on the east wall. Copy of archaeologist Claus Hjelte’s drawing. It is not allowed to take pictures inside the cave.
The cave painting on the east wall in Solsemgrotta depicts 13 people, one of whom is holding a large solar cross. 9 of the figures are clearly marked as men. Of those who lack male attributes, there are two who have obviously important functions: One holds the solar cross and the other holds a torch. According to our guide, the non-male figures were first categorized as ‘castrated men’, not as women (!). This probably says more about women’s position in the early 20th century than women’s place in the Bronze Age society. Was there an interest in mass castration of men in the Bronze Age? Were the women invisible in the early agricultural society?Tobatheornottobathe is in no doubt, and concludes that the portrayal of women has never been uninteresting, not even in the Bronze Age.
Rullavikstranda at Solsem. Sem comes from Norse ‘Sæeimr’ = Home by the sea.
Unfortunately, Solsemgrotta has no pool, so bathing inside the cave is impossible. At Leka, however, there are bathing places everywhere, and of course we took our cave bath at Solsem. Down by the sea we found a beautiful bay, Rullavikstranda, with fine sand, but decided to jump from the not quite finished floating jetty. It’s wise to look around a bit before swimming, as we discovered a jellyfish where we first wanted to jump in. It is best to swim outside the range of the jellyfish, also at Leka.
You can jump right in if you want to, or wade out from the beach, if that’s your thing
In the far northwest of Trøndelag lies one of Norway’s smallest municipalities: Leka. It is well worth a visit!
From a distance, Leka looks quite ordinary: a few islands scattered across the sea with a modest mountain sticking up. On further investigation, however!
The story of Leka started 500 million years ago, when the American continental plate (Laurentia) and the European one (Baltica) drifted against each other. In the collision, the ocean floor plate Laurentia was pushed under Baltica, but a piece came loose and was turned on its side. This piece is today Leka! 60 million years ago the plates began to drift apart again. A rift arose between what later became the Atlantic Ocean and the Mid-Atlantic ridge. However, the rifting occurred west of Leka, and therefore we have an island in Trøndelag that actually belongs to the American continental plate. Let’s hope they don’t ask to get it back!
Very interesting geology at Leka!
The yellow-red mountains on the west side of Leka were a mystery for a long time, but in the 60’s researchers found the explanation. The island consists of all the layers from the old seabed crust, turned 90 degrees. Here the layers are so thin that by walking for a few hours you should be able to see all the layers from 7 km down into the mantle to the top of the former seabed. The beautiful colors come from serpentinite and olivine. Fascinating! And this natural ‘exhibition’ of all the rocks (a complete ophiolite complex) is the reason why Leka was chosen as ‘Norway’s Geological National Monument‘ in 2010.
The rocks on Leka do not provide much benefit to the vegetation, and the soil is poor. View north towards Vega Island.
The name Leka is uncertainly explained, but may come from ‘to leak’, i.e. from the streams on the island. The municipal coat of arms pictures an eagle’s claw and refers to a well known eagle catch, which took place in June 1932. Svanhild, aged 3 ½, disappeared while playing, and over a hundred persons were involved searching for her. In the evening, Jentoft Svendsen, Leif Andersen and Karl Haug climbed up to an eagle’s nest, as they had noticed that the eagle was behaving differently than usual. To get up, Jentoft had to stand on the shoulders of the others, and just below the nest he found Svanhild with her dress torn but otherwise in good condition. They were sure that the girl could not possibly have climbed there on her own. On the other hand, ornithologists have claimed that the eagle could not have lifted her, since she weighed 12 kg. And thus the discussions have continued for almost 100 years! Tobatheornottobathe thinks it looks very steep in the mountain, and finds it hard to believe that she could have climbed there by herself. But sure? No.
The eagle’s catch in Hagafjellet. It must be a fit 3-year-old who climbs half the rock face here (to the tip of the arrow)!
Leka municipality consists exclusively of islands, and there are bathing spots almost everywhere. We had hired a van to use as a tent, and stayed at the ‘bobil camp’. There you can book a place based on your desire for either proximity to water or a view. Not hard to guess what Tobatheornottobathe prefers?
Tobatheornottobathe will always choose to sleep by the water if possible. But how come this choice is different from a view? Seriously? Isn’t this what you might call a panorama?
Since parking 5 meters from the sea, there was bathing going on both morning and evening at Leka. A bit tricky to climb down the rocks, but clear water, and the bay was warm and nice to have a swim in. By Sunday morning, however, the weather was windy, and the water suddenly had turned brown. Not disgusting of course, so far out to sea, but not as beautiful as the day before. Things like that happen, but all the baths were nice, because at Leka for sure, a bath is always right!
At the far end, north-west of Namdalen lies an eldorado of an archipelago called Vikna. It’s really nice here! The number of islands and islets (6,000) is more than the number of inhabitants (4,500), so there are all possibilities for fishing, boattrips, paddling and swimming.
Vikna, view towards the Dalafjellet wind power plant.
At the far end of Yttervikna lies Frelsøya (Salvation Island), a relatively low island with some marshes, lakes and hills cut by coves. ‘Who was saved here?‘ one might ask, and the answer is quite logical: Anyone who has suffered shipwrecking on the open sea, or perhaps hit the reefs further out, where the waves break all year round. For example, the English cargo ship ‘Zurich’ sank off Frelsøya in 1899, with the captain as the only survivor. He was found on a raft of planks.
Vik in Vikna with a view towards the open sea and ‘fallgarden’, the dangerous reefs that have caused many shipwrecks.
From the wooden material that drifted ashore from Zurich, Peder Kristiansen erected a new house on Nordneset, Frelsøya, in 1906. The house on Nordneset was demolished in 1968, and the wood was later used again – in a new building at Ramstad. Reuse at its best!
Frelsøya; the outermost island with the phallus. Knut was much more excited about the potency here than Kuløyfallosen’s appearance.
There have never been more than 3 farms on Frelsøya: Brusneset (depopulated 1949), Krambuneset (depopulated 1959) and Nordneset (depopulated 1968). All other settlers were fishermen who did not keep animals.
Krambuneset anno 2024. A holiday paradise!
Despite a modest population base, neighbours weren’t always buddys at Frelsøya. Court records from 1593 state that ‘Joen Frelsøen has to pay half a ‘daler’ in fine because he cut his neighbor’s hand.‘ This happened at about the same time that Niels Eriksen Frelsøe was imposed a similar fine ‘because he hit Hågen Frelsøe twice in the head with an ax hammer‘. Exciting neighborhood!
The neighborhood at Krambuneset is a bit better in the 2000s than 400 years earlier. Thanks for the loan of the cabin, Mona Kristin and Svein Gunnar!
We were lucky enough to visit Idun’s sister Jorunn, and her husband Berner, who owns parts of Frelsøya. This implies pleasant time together – and a morning bath every day. Thank you for the trip! A morning bath is just right almost anywhere on Frelsøya.
Ref: ‘Viknaboka Gards- og ættehistorie‘, Bind III av Bjarne Borgan
