Overhalla – ToBatheOrNotToBathe

Salmon or Train? Yes Please!

Bertnem bridge in Overhalla municipality, Trøndelag.

What on earth can bridges be used for on an abandoned track? This is a question most people find no reason to ask. But when a railway bridge crosses your part of a salmon river – then it’s an interesting problem to discuss during the late late hours of the night. The solution for Bertnem bridge over Namsen River was: Place some train wagons on the bridge and use it as a hotel!

Be aware of trains at Øysletta. However, this train is not moving.

The 52 km long Namsos Railway between Grong and Namsos opened the 1^st of November 1934, after a construction period of 12 years. Passenger traffic was shut down in 1978, while freight transport of grain took place until 2005. Today, you can cycle with a dressin on parts of the stretch, both by Namsos town and by Bertnem Bridge in Overhalla municipality.

The Namsos Railway. Formally closed in 2021.

In order to actually be allowed to put four carriages on a railway bridge, a good portion of ‘Trønderly‘ optimism and stubbornness is required. It took Torger Haugen 5 years to get the permit, but the result is well worth the effort. The stunt costs NOK 55,000 per year in bridge rent, but since that includes bridge maintenance it may not be extravagant. And the ‘Namsen Salmon and Train Experience‘, has really become something special!

This is what it looks like when four railway carriages and a railway bridge are transformed into a hotel. The hosts (2023) are Elizabeth Hamsund and Torger Haugen.

The Bertnem Bridge is barely two hundred meters long and crosses the Namsen – one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. Here you can fish from the railway bridge! Price per kilo of salmon from this salmon adventure is not low, but if you put in a little extra, you can be rowed in the river by your own salmon guide, with an almost guaranteed catch. However, we started our ‘Salmon Experience‘ the day after the end of the 2023 salmon season, and our salmon experience therefore consisted of dinner made from wild salmon, which was both tasty and enjoyable.

Among the 6 guests this evening were representatives from the former rock band Prudence, the Pe-Torsa revue and of course Tobatheornottobathe’s own band. Culture was therefore very much in place at the train, and the evening turned out both long and pleasant.

Parts of the performance can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/zyaWbJF9Eo9qJqag

Before eating wild salmon above Namsen, a bath in Namsen is highly recommended. Below the Bertnem Bridge you will find easy access to the river. The water is clear and nice (and drinkable, according to the host – if wanted). A pleasant bath, not at all cold this first day of September. But be aware that there is a camera on the train sending a livestream of this bathing area!

A ‘*Train and Bathing Experience*‘ in Namsen is just right!

After the bath you can relax in or between the train carriages, where nice outdoor areas have been created on the railway bridge.

And if it gets too boring as the train is standing still, a QR code resulting in train sound is displayed outside the sleeping compartments. That was very confusing indeed! Sitting there, on folding seats from the 60’s, with train sounds from your mobile, while you enjoyed the view of Namsen, the brain didn’t like the fact that the sound indicated that the train was moving forward (as it usually does), while the eyes saw that the movement was going across. Of course, Namsen River runs perpendicular to, and not along the bridge.

Knut enjoys the view of Namsen – ‘*Queen of the Rivers*‘.

A bath-train-salmon adventure at Namsen can be both fun and strange.

P.S.: For the season 2024 all salmon fishing is prohibited. We really hope that’s not the end of this train adventure!

Grande Canari

The Namsen is Central Norway’s largest river and defines large parts of Northern Trøndelag, we are talking about the Namdalen region. The river is over 200 km long, with an average water flow of 285 m³ per second. From the source in Børgefjell (southeast in Nordland), the water goes via nine power stations before it joins the sea at Namsos.

The name was from old Nauma, hence Naumdalen/Namdalen valley. It is uncertainly explained, but may come either from ‘naust‘ = boat house or ‘navis‘ = boat. The ending -sen comes from Norse ‘sær‘ = sea/lake, i.e. the river from Naumsjøen.

Namsen has long been known as one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. In 2020, 28 tonnes of salmon were caught in Namsen. In addition to the anadromous strain (salmon that spawn in the river but otherwise live their lives at sea), there is also an indigenous species that never goes out to sea: Namsblank. The Namsblank is genetically very different from other salmon species. It is much smaller, and spends its entire life in the upper part of the Namsen river.

Unfortunately, the stone below will get no new marks in 2024, since the salmon fishing has been shut down!

Salmon memorial for catches over 20 kg at Grande Canari. No Namsblank here.

Grande farm, with its 862 acres, is the fourth largest farm in Trøndelag (third if you ignore the area owned by the Norwegian Defence Authorities). After 300 years as a priest’s farm, it changed to a new era in the 19^th century as a salmon farm. This adventure was started by English ‘salmon lords‘. By Grande farm, Namsen is wide, quiet and shallow. There are several ponds and islets here, and a rich bird life. What can you call such a nice area? Grande Canari, of course!

Grande Canari. River bathing doesn’t always have to be scary.

We wanted to go swimming at Grande Canari! It is super easy, just drive past the golf club and you’re there. However, you have to accept that the road standard is sometimes not always at its best.

Tighten your bra, take out your dentures…along the whole bloody way!

A bath at Grandi Canari can be just right – even if the water is shallow.

Sælkhylla

Overhalla municipality in Namdalen, with almost 4,000 inhabitants, is one of the larger Namdal municipalities in terms of population. It was a special name for a municipality, you might be thinking, which ‘hall‘ are we talking about? But the name has a completely natural explanation. After the national assembly, Namdalen was divided into two parts, and the upper half of Naumdølafylke was called ‘œfri halfa‘ (“Upper half”) in Norse: Overhalla simple as that.

It is lush in Overhalla, with a lot of agricultural and timber production.

Overhalla was populated a long time ago. In the municipality, archaeologists have excavated remains of settlements from 1000 BC, a number of burial mounds, burial stones and other finds, including the Hunna sword. Of old stuff, however, Ranem church from 1187 is the most eye-catching. The church burned in 1899, but has been beautifully rebuilt with a wooden roof and tower.

Ranem church in the Romanesque style is built of local stone, both quarry stone and marble.

Tobatheornottobathe has become very interested in waterfall bathing, but it is not always easy to find suitable pools below them. And especially in Namsen, as it floats quietly and nicely mile after mile. We really wondered if the ‘Queen of the Rivers‘ herself had a bathing secret or two for us. The question was: Are there any fun swimming spots here? We got a tip about ‘Sælkhylla‘ or ‘Sellægshylla‘, about 10 km from Ranemsletta, on the south side of the river.

We don’t know what the name means, but this bathing post is at least well signposted.

Sælkhylla is a great place! Here you can swim carefully in the small bay within the rapids, or you can go onto the rocks.

The height of water determines how far out you reach, but we made it to the nearest reefs at least.

Sælkhylla. Certainly not a waterfall, but rapids can be fun, too.

Then there were discussions. We didn’t have any wetsuits with us, and the conclusion was that we shouldn’t try to float through the current.

But – we found a nice jacuzzi, perfect for a bubble bath!

Sælkhylla – a funny place: jacuzzi with a built-in shower.

However, some caution should be taken. It is said that a girl drowned here a long time ago, and the body was found in Namsos 3 weeks later. Be careful!