Alex Nichol | Designer, writer and photographer from up North
Gradually migrating old blog content across to this new site... bear with me.
Photography
Otternes Bygdetun
About ten minutes ride from Flåm on the banks of Aurlandsfjord, I found a cluster of 18th century farm buildings perched atop a hill. It was a challenge to get...
Photography
Gudvangen
After doing the Flåm Railway, I caught a bus to the nearby town of Gudvangen about 20 minutes down the road, to visit the Njardarheimr Viking Village; an open-air museum...
Photography
Årdalstangen
After several consecutive 250+ mile days, it was time to give my poor arse a break, so I took a short ride to nearby Flåm to experience its famous mountain...
Photography
Vøringfossen
About 70 miles into my ride from Bondhus to Årdalstangen, I came across the colossal Vøringfossen; one of the most famous of Norway's incredible waterfalls. It thunders down one end...
Photography
Undredal
The next stop on my ride from Bondhus to Årdalstangen was Undredal, a cute little village tucked between the mountains on Aurlandsfjorden, just a short ride from the mouth of...
Photography
Lærdalstunnelen
If you don’t like driving through tunnels, you'd best avoid Norway. I must’ve done about 20 of them today, including this one: Lærdalstunnelen, the world’s longest road tunnel at 15...
Photography
Hardangerbrua
The first stop on my 240 mile ride from Bondhus to Årdalstangen was Kvernabekken Park, for a nice view of the Hardanger Bridge, an impressive 1.3km suspension bridge crossing the...
Photography
Eidfjord
The first destination on my journey North to Årdalstangen was the beautiful village of Eidfjord, on the shore of its namesake estuary. I had hoped to get some drone photos...
Photography
Borgund Stavkyrkje
I stumbled across this old wooden stave church in the village of Borgund, about 35 miles South of Årdalstangen. Although runic inscriptions date the building at 1150 AD, it was...
Photography
Bondhus
I rose early in the morning to start my 6.5 hour ride from Bondhus to Årdalstangen, and was disappointed to see the weather hadn't changed from the night before. The...
Photography
Bondhusdalen Glacier
After my overnight ferry from Hirtshals docked late in Bergen, I took a short ride South through the twisty valleys to the town of Bondhus, where I bunked for the...
Photography
Ribe Viking Museum
Before setting off from my guesthouse in Tønder to Hirtshalls in the far North to catch my ferry to Norway, I stopped off at the nearby Ribe Viking Museum. I...
Photography
Møllestien
It was going to be a tedious 230 mile motorway ride from Møgeltønder in the South, to Hirtshals on the Northern tip of Denmark, where I'd booked an overnight ferry...
Photography
Tønder
My first stop in Denmark was a little town called Tønder, just a few miles North of the German border. It's a cute little port town that flourished in the...
Photography
Møgeltønder
Just when I was beginning to think Denmark was a bit flat and monotonous (which it is), I stumbled across the little town of Møgeltønder a stone's throw North of...
Photography
Giethoorn
The first stop on my motorcycle tour around Scandinavia was Giethoorn, a chocolate box village in the Netherlands reminiscent of the Cotswolds, however famous for having no roads. Sony A7R...
Photography
Bremen
After a challenging start to the day, thanks to Dutch fishermen holding my ferry to ransom, I was relieved to finally cross the border into Germany and arrive at and...
Photography
Squirrels of Peasholm Park
We took a wander around Peasholm Park in Scarborough to meet some of the locals. The cafe there does little bags of pellets that the wild squirrels seem to love....
Photography
Laamu Atoll
It was my better half's 40th birthday this year, so I treated her to a week on a desert island in the Indian Ocean. After a gruelling eighteen months, we...
Photography
Chickens of Pickering
Most people said we were mad to go camping on the last weekend of October. They were probably right. But we did get to meet a few feathered critters at...
Photography
Monkey World Dorset
If you ever get the opportunity to visit Monkey World - the ape rescue and rehabilitation centre on the South coast of England - I'd definitely recommend it, although probably...
Photography
Jurassic Coast
If I hadn't driven there myself, I'd have sworn I was in the South of France. It was about 28°c outside, so we chose to spend the day roasting in...
Photography
The Road Home
I can't recall exactly where this was taken, but it was somewhere along the A66 on our way back from the Alpacaly Ever After near Bassenthwaite, Cumbria. The late evening...
Photography
Alpacaly Ever After
If there's a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than feeding a herd of Alpacas in the Lake District, I don't want to know what it is. Canon EOS...
Photography
Venice
After the first wave of lockdown came to an end, we took the gamble and booked a week in the beautiful city of Venice to satisfy our itchy feet. Canon...
Photography
Omaha Beach War Cemetery
My second stop today was quite overwhelming; no photograph I could take would ever do it justice. The American War Cemetery at Omaha Beach, where more than 9,000 servicemen are...
Photography
Mont Saint-Michel
Just when I was beginning to think the west coast of France was mind-numbingly dull (which it is, to be honest) it serves up Mont Saint-Michel, a tiny medieval island...
Photography
Rural France
I came across many cute little towns, villages and farmsteads on my ride from Occitanie in the South, to Normandy in the North of France; the country is filled with...
Photography
Château de Chambord
Château de Chambord is a distinctive French renaissance castle built for King Francis I in the 16th century. It was originally designed to serve as a hunting lodge. The current...
Photography
Millau Viaduct
The first 530 mile leg of my long journey home was pretty uneventful, except for the massively impressive (and just plain massive) Millau Viaduct, which is a marvel of engineering....