On Friday this week, my girlfriend and I went for a walk in the hills of Røra. The first goal of our walk was Finnheimen, which I have already written about (here), so this blog will be about the second section of our walk, from Finnheimen to Søråsen, which took about another 15 minutes.
Finnheimen on Leklemsvatnet is the starting point for this blog. This picture was taken on 2 May 2021, before the leaves were out on the trees.I have been to Finnheimen many times over the years but had never taken the trail to Søråsen. Today was the day that I would explore that path.
Most summers I take one or two walks to Finnheimen as it is a nice walk, but not too long a walk. This time we started our walk at about 4 pm, so a walk later in the day. The temperature was pleasant, about 15 degrees Celsius. There was light cloud and no wind. It has been cool the last week so we were not bothered by insects either.
The trail from Finnheimen to Søråsen.
One of the things that I noticed while walking this section of the trail was how wide it was. It has obviously been a tractor road at some time in the past, but the “road” seems to end at Finnheimen. Much of what we walked between Finnheimen and Søråsen would still be accessible by tractor, but one would have to come in from the parking area at Røflo, not the parking area at Lundsaunet where we parked today.
Here’s the map of the area. We parked at the red dot, Lundaunet, walked about 2 km to Finnheimen, then about 600 meters on to Søråsen, all trails marked with red lines on the map.At one point we came out into an open area where the threes had been logged a few years ago. This would be looking northwards, towards Steinkjer. Note the cloudy sky, which actually made it a pleasant walk.As usual, there is always a choice of where to go. We came from Finnheimen and were going to go in the direction of Fløåsen. Blue trails are relatively easy walking, but some of the hills can be steep.The landscape – some parts were open and swampy, other areas were heavily forested.In most of the open areas, and especially along the trails, the grass was kept at a suitable height for walking by these summer residents. We saw several sheep, but they were fairly scattered and stayed well out of our way.More choices. The route straight ahead leads to Søråsen. Off to the left would take you to Fløåsen.The trail to the left seemed to be kept in good shape by the summer residents. We did not take this trail. Perhaps another time.Søråsen.
In past centuries, farmers would put their cows up in the mountain pastures during the summer. Cows need to be milked every day, so young women would live up with the cows in the mountains. This sort of building would be what they lived in. Søråsen (which literally means the south hill) was an open meadow with a building in it. There was also an outhouse and a couple of picnic benches. There was no particular view from here except trees, mostly a spruce forest. Today the meadow would be kept open by the sheep that we had seen.
We sat at the picnic bench for a few minutes before returning the way we came.This stump indicated the goal of our walk, but it was almost completely surrounded by stinging nettles. Whoever put up the sign did so before the stinging nettles had grown so tall.
Søråsen was an interesting place to see, but it is probably not a place I would go to regularly. I prefer to have a view out over the landscape or come to a lake.
We used about 2 hours on our walk, so one hour each way, and had only a short stop at Søråsen. The walking was easy. There were no particularly muddy or wet areas. It was good to get out for a longer walk after we have had a rainy period. It was also good to get out with someone other than those I live with.
Today’s walk started with my son driving my husband and I to the parking area at Rostad where we started our walk. The goal of our walk was to pass two check-in points (30 points each) and get some fresh air and exercise for about an hour and a half. We usually go for our long walks in the morning, but today it poured with rain until about 3 pm. By the time we left home at 4 pm it had stopped raining. In open places there was a bit of wind. We wore hiking boots and rain jackets. It was often muddy on the paths and we had to walk carefully so that we didn’t slip. But it was good to get out for a long walk. It has been a while since the last time. Today’s temperature was about 12 degrees Celsius so for me a very pleasant temperature for walking.
The first part of our walk, from Rostad to Frøsen has been written about in a previous blog (see here). Though the previous time we took this walk, it was a warm, sunny evening, today was an overcast, gray day. I am just going to write about the section of the walk from Frøsen to Bjømnbråtte.
Frøsen is a bridge across a stream, which even after a couple of days of heavy rain and no water in it. This picture was taken on the previous walk at the beginning of June. Today the wooden boards were slippery as they were wet.This is what our weather was like today. The view from the path looking out to the fjord with Ytterøy on the left and Mosvik to the right and behind, both in the clouds. We didn’t experience any rain, but a lot of the walking we did was under the trees.This pathway we are on has information signs about historical events of places. This sign shows where Maria Mortensdatter (born in 1814) lived with her sister, Siri, after Maria’s son went to America. Maria worked the land and Siri went fishing. The house no longer exists.
The trail from Rostad to Frøsen and onwards to Sleipvika is under the trees. At Sleipvika we came out to a road with several houses and farms.
At Sleipvika, I saw this typical older house from this area with two entrances into the house. One entrance would lead into an entryway and the living room and would be used for guests to enter the house. The other entrance would be used as an area to take off muddy boots and clothing before going into the kitchen. I remember seeing this painted stone a year ago. The pandemic had started and with many activities in Norway shut down, the slogan “Alt blir bra” (meaning: all will be well) was commonly seen everywhere. It looks like this stone has been repainted newly.The sky was menacing but the rain seemed to be in the distance. This field of grain was turning a beautiful yellow and cheered up the landscape as we walked by.On the other side of this yellow field was a cottage and access to it seemed to be this path cut through the field of grain. In the foreground is the gravel road we were walking along.We are halfway on our 5 km walk.We’ve walked around the farms and head across the stream and we have a steep hill to climb.We’ve started to climb. We saw a deer making its way along the edge of the field, but he must have heard our voices and suddenly he dashed away, heading across the sands of the beach you see in this picture.We have headed into the trees again, but the climb is steep and narrow.As it has rained for two days, the trail was muddy in places. I was very glad to have a railing here as the drop goes straight down probably at least 50 meters.Eventually we got to the top and here there was a picnic bench to sit on and catch our breath from the climb. The view is looking over Trondheim Fjord to Ytterøy.Bjønndalen is a narrow ravine that goes from the farms at Nes and Rotvoll, down to the sea. There wasn’t much water in the stream at this time of year.This tree, I think an elm, has fallen down. In this part of the forest, with steep slopes, the ground can get washed away under the trees and eventually they fall. It also looked like some humans had come along and cut it up, possibly to get it off the trail. This was the first time I had been this way this summer, so I don’t know how recent it was.Trees have long lives, but they don’t last forever.One more very steep and muddy section to get to Bjønnbråtte, a place which we go to at least once a week.Bjønn = bear. There is a story about the last bear in the area. Perhaps he was chased to here and scared over the cliff. The view from Bjønnbråtte.
The walk from Bjønnbråtte to our house is about a 20 minute walk and is a walk we do quite regularly. It is partly on road and partly in the woods and mostly away from traffic. Once we had gotten to Bjønnbråtte today, I felt that we were “almost” home.
We were lucky with the weather and timed our walk for the correct time of day. I enjoyed our walk a lot. We haven’t been out for longer walks much as we have had quite a lot of warm weather and the last few times we have been out there have been a lot of flying insects, which I don’t like. Today was much cooler, and I didn’t notice any flies at all while we were walking.
It also made a change doing the walk just the one way. It is simpler to be driven to a place and then walk home, than to arrange to be picked up when one is tired. We also wanted to do the steep climbs going up them, as they were as slippery as expected. I always prefer to do very steep climbs going up, rather than down, if I can choose.
Sunday’s walk, with my husband and son, was to a hilltop not that far from where we live. I like the walk to Storlia (The Big Hill) and it is a walk I like to do about once a year as the views are spectacular from the top. However, it is quite a climb and I suggested we do the walk today while the temperature wasn’t too hot and there was a bit of a breeze.
We parked the car at about 120 meters above sea level and the hilltop we were heading to is about 380 meters above sea level, so this was a walk with a climb. Some parts of the path are quite steep, but I’ve done this walk several times and was prepared for it. The view from the top is worth the climb and the weather looked like it would be a good day to do it.
It can always be wise to have a picture of the map on your telephone so you know where the major trails will go. We are at the point with a red arrow
We parked at Gammelplassen where there is a map of the trails in the area and sufficient place for several cars to park. We have passed a closed gate so one can expect sheep on the hill.
We are not that far from home, three kilometers to the bridge and one and a half kilometers over the bridge and through the woods to home. Note the ferns are growing well around the signposts.We have a two kilometer walk to Storlia on a red trail which means moderate difficulty with steep sections.
While walking uphill, I often stop to either look at the view or take pictures. Today I was mainly looking at the wild flowers that were blooming, many of which can be found in the wild areas of my own property. Taking pictures is a good way to get a pause while walking up steep trails. On looking at the pictures afterwards, I realize that it may be difficult to actually see the plant, however you will see the combination of plants that grow in the wild here.
Today’s walk starts on a gravel road then climbs the hill, often on a trail that must have originally been a tractor road, probably made for harvesting the trees. Today the trees in this area are quite tall and it is many decades since they have been harvested.
Looking back down the trail after climbing for a bit. The others are ahead of me. I always like an excuse to stop in the middle of a steep section.
I’m no expert with plants but here are some of the common ones I saw on today’s walk. I have tried to find the Latin and English names as well as the Norwegian names.
Vaccinium vitus-idaea is a member of the heather family. Called “tyttebær” in Norwegian and “cowberry in English, it produces a red berry that makes a nice jam to eat with meat. For those who live in North America, it would be used instead of cranberries.Ranunculus repens is a member of the buttercup family. It is called “krypsoleie” in Norwegian and creeping buttercup in English.Geraniaceae, sylvaticum is a member of the geranium family. It is called “Skogsstorknebb” in Norwegian and crane’s bill in English. It is a very common wild plant in our area, growing along roadways and open meadows.There was a little water in the stream, but we haven’t had much rain recently so there was little flow to the water. May and June have been dry months this year.Alchemilla family. This is a very common plant and I found it difficult to figure out exactly which plant this is. In Norwegian it is called “marikåpe” and I think it is called “Lady’s mantle” in English. It grows as a weed in our lawn and is difficult to remove. Along the edge of a road, it is a pretty plant with very large leaves. The thistles were just starting to bloom.I’m not sure what these blue flowers are, but they are a pretty blue when there are lots of them.
The top of the hill, and the goal of the walk is at the edge of a nature reserve called Skavdalen. This nature reserve was created in 2017 to protect old forest and covers 1012 decares (about 250 acres). (My source is only in Norwegian.)
The top of Skavdalen nature reserve which covers 1012 decares of old forest. Here there were primarily spruce trees. On the forest floor there are cowberries and blueberries.We reached the goal of our walk. It was time to check in and get 40 points. There is a picnic bench to sit on and enjoy the view while one rests before heading downhill again.The view from the top is the reason for the walk. Even on a cloudy day, the view was spectacular. This picture is taken looking west with Mosvik center on the right and the island of Ytterøy on the left. We are at an elevation of about 380 meters above sea level.The western half of Ytterøy with Levanger in the background.The eastern half of Ytterøy with Verdal and Levanger in the background.Looking towards Straumen where it looks like it is raining. The agricultural area is Utøy.
Today we gave ourselves a longer walk by also going to the post labelled “Inderøy’s Geographic Mid-point”, which is located in Tungdalen. It was about 700 meters from the trail we had taken up to Storlia, so we decided to find it as well. Though the trail went downhill at first, much of it was on a relatively level elevation. We entered Skavdalen nature reserve and with only one missed marking, found the post on the hillside.
The path to the geographic center of the municipality of Inderøy is not very well-travelled. This is a new post this year and it is still early in the season.Here we entered Skavdalen nature reserve. We are walking along a narrow valley with a small stream at the bottom, though there was no great amount of water in the stream at this time of year.We found it eventually, on an old tree, up a slightly muddy slope.
Then we turned around and headed back to the car where we were all glad to sit down. We had been walking for about 2 hours.
I like to take the walk up to Storlia once a year, but I did not feel the need to go to Inderøy’s geographical mid-point again, though it was interesting to do it once.
Today’s walk was short and in the early morning, at about 8 am. My husband and I had been food shopping in Straumen and we chose a short walk to get some fresh air and exercise before breakfast and before getting down to work.
The starting part of our walk was at Sundneshamn which is about 2 km from the center of Straumen.
On the left is the name as is used to be and on the right the way it is written today. The top picture is actually a painting which was painted about 1900. The lower picture is taken from the hill in Straumen. The large white building would have been the store and Peder Saxhaug’s residence.
From the information sign: “Herman Løchen at Sundnes was the driving force for steam shipping on the Trondheim Fjord. When steam shipping became a reality in 1856, he had a wharf and warehouse constructed here, in addition to a general store.
“When Løchen died in 1876, Lornts Saxhaug continued the management of the general store and the steam ship wharf. However, in 1913 his son, Peder M Saxhaug, bought it all and had a bigger house built for the store and as a residence. Additionally, a bakery, a petrol pump and sale of building materials was located here. His son, Steffen, succeeded him and ran the business until 1981.
“In 1971, Felleskjøpet (a cooperative organization for farmers) set up a warehouse here and took over the management of the fertilisers and animal feed that arrived by boat. Goods were also shipped from here. Kari and Per Saxhaug took over the property and continued the management of the shop until 1987. They bought the warehouse from Felleskjøpet and managed this just as long. The quay facilities are today privately owned.”
Today it is mostly the quay that is used as well as the small boat harbor.
The small boat harbor at Sundneshamn, looking towards Saxhaug Church (you should be able to find its steeple in the background.Middle Norway Wooden Boat Workshop – this is at the main quay at Sundneshamn.SDS Hansteen at the quay.SDS Hansteen has been fixed up nicely. The tourist information calls it the world’s oldest steam sail ship.SDS Hansteen
As we started on our walk, we had the inevitable signposts.
Sundneshamn in the background, with the warehouse right behind the signs. We are going towards Jægtvolden, the local hotel, but we aren’t going quite that far, so we probably walked maximum one kilometer on our walk, including wandering around the quay.We climbed a short hill and came across this small building with its grass roof. Wild flowers on the roof were unusual, though the flowers can be found all over the place in Inderøy. They are a type of pansy.At 8 am on a Saturday morning it was very quiet here. We walked by a few houses and some summer cabins. The view is looking towards Levanger.We then headed into a wooded area.Somebody had been building a tree house.If you weren’t sure where to go, there was a sign to give the correct direction.But first a walk out to the fjord. The white building in the background is Jægtvolden Hotel. We didn’t walk that far.Back to the main path and there was our check-in point, with the sign tied to a spruce tree. This was our turning around point and we headed back to the car.The smaller wharf at Sundneshamn.There are farms in the middle of the picture and behind that is route 755. To the right is the center of the village of Straumen. To the left is Utøy and home. There have been quite a lot of new homes built on the hillside. At the top of the hill is a small hotel, Husfrua Country Farm Hotel.
We enjoyed the short walk, but we were wanting our breakfast so a half hour walk was sufficient. In the summer months, it is often quite enjoyable to go for a walk around 8 am, when the world is still peaceful, the sun is shining brightly and the temperature is still relatively cool. Enjoy your own walk today.
Yesterday evening, my husband and I went for an hour’s walk. It was a warm evening for us, at about 26 degrees Celsius, even at 7 pm. Where we live, we often get a two-week period of lovely, warm weather in May and sometimes it can get quite warm. This year our warm weather is also lasting into the beginning of June. It has been up to 29 degrees in the shade at our house.
As I have mentioned before, Rostad is a large property in the Utøy area of Inderøy. We again parked here and headed in a slightly different direction than when we went to Kvernhusmuren.
We headed off through the old main gates of the mansion to the road that leads to the fjord.
In the old days, access to this property, which has a large mansion and is also a farm, would have been by water. So we follow what is today a tractor road accessing fields, that would have given the residents two hundred years ago access to a quay. Certainly the tree-lined road would have been impressive.
I think these were elm trees, though there may be different types of trees. Closer to the fjord there were also pine trees lining the road.These were pine trees, but there are large gaps between the sections of trees as if many have died over the centuries. The dandelions are mostly finished blooming and are sending their seeds flying in the breezes.Now the road heads into the trees and swings down to the right.This information sign gives you an idea of what the quay would have been like in 1875.
All of the information signs on this walk can be found online, so you may want to follow this link to get a better view of the picture. The quay was built in 1823 and was in use until about 1950, when I presume the current road for motorized traffic was used more than the quay for boat traffic. Among other things, the quay was used to bring coal to the farm. The coal would have been used for heating, especially in the winter. I notice in the old pictures, that there weren’t nearly so many trees back in the 19th century. They would have been cut down for building or for firewood.
This is where the quay used to be. It is now a picnic area.In the foreground are the remains of the foundation for the quay. Now there is a little beach here. In the background in the picture is the island of Ytterøy.We are now leaving the Rostad property. We cross over a stile that is made from stones and wood.“Remember to close the gate”. Though there were no animals out in the fields here, there could be grazing cattle.This house is called Råvika and would originally have been a crofter’s farm. Today it would be a leisure property and is painted in white.Råvika was probably established in 1665 and would be one of the oldest crofts in the area. It is interesting to contrast the picture from 1855 where the house and barn are connected and there are few trees on the hillside with the previous picture of what the house looks like today. There have been a few changes in the last 170 years.Our trail leads in front of the house at Råvika which stands in an open area and we are then heading into the woods. Being in the woods was nice on a warm summer evening.The path became rougher in the woods and we had to both climb up and down the hillside.This tree was being lit up by the sunshine, but seems to have broken in the wind. There were open areas as if there had been some logging of trees.Quite a few trees seem to have been blown over in the wind. Does the wind cause the damage first, or is it logging that opens up areas so that the trees are more susceptible to strong winds?Our goal for the walk.The goal was this bridge which seem to cross a muddy area. We have had quite a bit of dry weather so there was no stream visible today.
Having reached our goal, we turned around and headed back to the car the same way we came. It was nice walking in the shade of the trees, but the climb back up the hill across the open fields was a bit warm for me. We used about an hour for this evening walk.
We could have continued along the path and gotten home that way. It is only about 4 km from here, though there are two steep climbs. But we decided to head back to the car and take it home with us.
I hope you enjoyed this walk. I would encourage you to find a wooded area and go for a walk yourself.
Today’s walk took the three of us up quite a steep climb to where there was a large pine tree on the top of a hill, with an elevation of about 120 meters above sea level. The three of us were agreed that it was nice to do the walk once, but it wasn’t interesting enough to do more than once.
One of the things that I appreciate about a walk in the woods, is getting to a place where I can get a good view, preferably over water. We had a lovely sunny day, so there should have been some good views, if there weren’t so many trees.
We parked the car near the main road between Vangshylla and Mosvik and then went into the woods and immediately began to climb up a path which is narrow, but dry.
This is looking back the way we came and on the right you can see the slope that we have zigzagged up.Looking uphill. My walking companions have already disappeared around the corner.This section of the trail has less slope, but we are still gently climbing. Note on the tree to the right two different methods of marking trails: the red blotch of paint and the red and white plastic tie.The forest was very pleasant to walk through on a sunny day, though we did get quite warm on the steep sections.We headed off to the left to the big pine tree (Storfurua).
I had read in the local newspaper that this trail that we were following today was relatively new and this is the first time that it has been on the list of Inderøy walks. As we climbed higher there were indications of improvements to the trail to make it easier to climb.
Flat stones had been placed strategically to make steps in the hillside. Somebody had done some work here to make access easier.Then there was a section with a very heavy rope so that one could pull oneself up the slope. I wouldn’t want to do this part of the trail just after a rainfall.Though one could glimpse Trondheim Fjord through the trees, there wasn’t really much view with such tall trees.The goal of our walk ended at a large pine tree. But there was no particular view out over the fjord.The view was looking up at the tree. I have large pine trees in my yard, and though this one might be taller and bigger, I wasn’t impressed at this being the goal of the walk, especially after the very steep climb. But that is my personal likes for a walk.
The information about the walk indicated that one could continue along the marked path and do a circle tour back to one’s car, partially on a road. I didn’t really want to go down the steep parts that we had come up so we continued onwards.
The red plastic stick seemed out of place in the woods. We normally have these along the roads in the winter so that drivers and snow plows know where the edge of the pavement is. However this picture also shows what the vegetation is like in this area.Here is where the path we have come along, seen straight ahead, meets a gravel road. We went back to the car by going down this road to the right in the picture.Finally, a view of the fjord, but we are back to the busy paved car road and we were shortly back to our car.
We used about an hour for this walk. It was listed as 3 km, round trip, but when sections were such steep climbs, we don’t walk very quickly. Even the gravel road down to sea level was steep.
We got the exercise we wanted but we were glad to sit down when we got to the car. Next week will be a different walk.
Rostad is a large property in Utøy in Inderøy. The walk my husband and I took on a holiday Monday was almost all on this large property. Much of the information along the trail has to do with the information about this property. However, in this blog I am only going to describe the walk itself. Another blog will be written about some of the history of this property.
Here is a map of the area we were walking in. We parked at P. We took the right-hand dotted red line down to the water, then went along to the right until we came to Kvernhusmuren, We then continued along the path until we could take a short path to the left, then up the tractor road to the stadium. Then continued along the road back to the car. We used about an hour.We are 5 km from home, but we drove to the parking area. Walking one way would be fine, I no longer like walks of 10 km.It was a warm sunny morning and the first part of the trail took us through the woods. The property of Rostad is a farm as well as a school, but there are lots of forested areas.We have now come to the first intersection. We have come from Rostad and are going in the direction of Undersåker. “Snåpveien” means a short cut and takes you to Rostad Quay.We continued through the forest, with wild flowers growing in the open areas.I’m not sure the official name of these flowers. I call them wild violets. They grow in my garden as well. They like a sunny, open area.At one point we came out into the open and are following a tractor road down to a small beach. In the distance on the right is Mosvik and on the left is the island of Ytterøy.We came to a small beach.There was a new boat house and a small boat at the high water mark. We went a few meters back up the road we came along before heading off to the right.Along this part of the path there was an old elm tree that looked a bit dead, but when one got up close one could see that there was still life in the old trunk with new shoots coming from the trunk. In addition there were many baby trees in the surrounding open area.There is still life in the old tree.Our goal is in sight. There used to be both a sawmill and a grain mill here.My walking companion is heading down to the small building with the grass roof which is almost on the beach.Here is the remains of the mills that were here. The wall was built with flat stones without any mortar. The stream that supplied the power to the mill is on the far side.The stream that would have once powered the sawmill and the grain mill.The beach here is a bit rocky.We have now continued along the path towards Undersåkerand here is a little bridge that crosses the stream that goes down to the old mill.This bridge crosses the same stream farther uphill. If one continues straight ahead one would come to Undersåker, but we chose to cross the bridge and go left so that we got back to our car.The first time I crossed here many years ago, it was just a log bridge that was very slippery. This new bridge with railing was much nicer to use.We can see some farm fields. We will now follow a tractor road up to the football stadium and our car.The walking is easy when it is a tractor road that is used constantly to get to the fields.It’s called a “stadium” in Norwegian and is used for playing soccer, which is called “fotball” in Norwegian. When bantam leagues are playing they can have several games going at once here.We are back to the main building on the property, but that will be a different blog. Our car is nearby.The leaves are out on the red beech tree. The leaves on most of the deciduous trees have just come out in the last week or so.
We had a lovely walk on a sunny day. We used about an hour, but I stop a lot to take pictures. I think on this walk I took about 65 pictures. I love having a digital camera on my smart phone so that I don’t have to think about the cost per picture. This is a walk I will do again this summer. I hope you have enjoyed the pictures.
“Næss” is a very common surname in Inderøy. An alternative spelling is “Ness”. One of the major farms in the Straumen area of Inderøy is called Næss and so there are quite a few places with “Næss” in the name, including this forested hill in between different housing areas in Straumen. “Berg” is a mountain or rocky hill.
I regularly go for walks with a girlfriend who lives in Straumen, and we often include climbing this hill on our walks. However, yesterday, I took the walk with my husband and in the opposite direction from what I normally do. That made it a bit more interesting too.
This is the top of Næssberget and from here you can go in three directions from this intersection in the woods. To the left one comes out at a housing area. To the right one comes out to a small harbor on Borgenfjord. If you continue in that direction another 2 km you can get to a farm called Bossnes. We came from Sandvågen which is behind me as I took this picture.
The post box will contain a book to write your name in to say that you have been here. Because of the pandemic, fewer people write their names in these books that are scattered in many popular walking areas.
The information sign is about the vegetation in the area. The map shows the area called Næssberget and we are in the forested area indicated by green. This is a limestone based soil which gives a rich soil and a thick spruce forest. The yellow rectangles are houses and the dotted lines are where the trails go.
In the open areas under the spruce trees, white anemone and ferns grow. Here is a fern just unravelling its fronds.We started our walk in Sandvågen and the path on the right can be used by wheelchair users, though it only goes part way up the hill. Ahead is a small boat harbor on Borgenfjord and at the right you can see one of the new apartment buildings that have been sprouting up in this part of Straumen.The trail up the hill from Sandvågen is wide and easy to follow.We came from the right and are going to continue straight ahead to Røsethavna, half a kilometer of walking away and mostly downhill.This is old forest with fallen trees and old bird houses. Can you find the bird house in the picture?At this point the trail downhill gets very steep and there are stairs and a handrail. I usually walk up these stairs which is really quite a climb. It was pleasant to go down them this time.Half way down the hill there is an information sign about several different types of mosses that are found in this area.So I turned around and looked at the mosses on the ground behind me. Moss survives very well in shady areas, but like it where it is quite moist. These are on the slope as we went downhill.Røsethavna, with a small beach and a place to tie up a boat. This is part of Borgenfjord and Steinkjer municipality is in the far background.. It was very quiet and peaceful here on a Friday morning.The cove at Røsethavna at low tide.Choices, choices and you better know where you actually want to go. “Fjæran” is a beach at low tide. There are a lot of trails in this areas often leading to different housing areas.The path up from the small harbor to the housing area. Note that the leaves are out on most of the trees now and the grass on the field has just sprouted and showing green. Warmer temperatures and several days of rain encourage plants to get growing.Næssberget from the northwest. Røsethavna is to the left past all the red buildings.
We walked from Næssberget to the yarn shop and then through the residential area back to our car and so avoided climbing up the hill. This was a very pleasant walk away from the busy shops on a Friday morning.
Today’s walk was just a short stretching of our legs on a drive. However this was one of the Inderøy walks this year and we got points for taking it.
“Tjønna” in Norwegian would be best translated as “tern”, or a little lake. Mosvik has a lot of lakes and many of them would be good fishing lakes. This one has been improved with a picnic area and places for people who use wheelchairs to go fishing. If you want to fish in lakes, you have to have a fishing card for the area you want to fish.
Information on one of the signs says that a fishing card for this lake costs NOK 20 and is good for 4 hours. Children up to the age of 15 and the handicapped can fish free.
Entrance to the built up area around the little lake.This is a short walk of only 400 meters around part of a small lake. There are three places for fishing, otherwise it is quite swampy close to the lake.There were quite a few picnic benches and several places with roofs.More seating area, with the mandatory grill place to the left. You can see the little lake in the background.This is an easy walk and suitable for wheelchairs. It is the North Trøndelag Sports Club that has sponsored the work here.One of the fishing places, adapted for wheelchair users.The path has been put far enough away from the lake to be solid.In several places there were wooden benches to just sit and enjoy the view over the lake.On the far side of the lake, there is another open grill place with its own picnic bench and supply of firewood. There was still a bit of snow left on the ground. We are at over 200 meters above sea level here.This is where the water leaves the lake and heads to another larger lake, Meltingvatnet. Note how there is a very sturdy grate in the stream. This is to prevent the fish in the lake from leaving.Here the water is flowing downhill.We got to the goal of the walk.The third fishing spot. You can see where we started from on the opposite side of the lake.Though there were pine and spruce trees near the lake, we are at over 200 meters above sea level, so it is neither warm nor a long growing season here. Many of the trees looked quite stunted.Back at the parking area, there was a place to put garbage. There are many cabins in the area and this would be where they could deposit their garbage.Humans too have bodily needs which require the use of the little red building.
Tidevannsstien (The tidal water path) was built in 2009 and is on the south side of the sound that connects Trondheimsfjord and Borgenfjord (sometimes called Børgin). Trondheimsfjord is to the west and Borgenfjord is to the east. Borgenfjord is a very large body of tidal sea water about 10 km from north to south and between 1 and 3 km wide, so the amount of water that flows through this sound is considerable. The sound itself has an S-shape and the current will be much stronger on one side than the other in the bends. It is not advisable to take a boat against the tide. Most boat traffic on the sound would be at slack tide, when there isn’t as much current.
The name of the municipal center, Straumen, refers to the strong current that flows between these two bodies of water. There can be up to 1 to 1.5 meters difference in the water level on either side of the sound which creates a very strong current which tries to even out the difference. This is one of the strongest currents in Northern Europe. The water flow changes direction roughly every six hours. The average speed is between 7 to 9 knots (about 14 km an hour), but the top speed can be much faster.
The tidal water path is about 300 meters long and leads to an open area below the housing on the slope. My husband and I took this walk on Monday, the 10th of May after doing an errand in Straumen. The sun was shining and we wanted to have a walk and this one wouldn’t take too much time. We got a slightly longer walk by parking on the north side of the bridge, crossing the bridge and then following the path. We returned to the car the same way that we came. The first picture was taken at 11:22 and the last picture was taken at 11:49, so we used only 27 minutes on the walk.
You can see in the map in the bottom left-hand corner the shape of the sound. Trondheimsfjord is to the left and Borgenfjord to the right. The bridge crosses st the narrowest point and the sound is about 100 meters wide at this point.
The first bridge over the sound was opened in 1861. Before that people had to take a ferry across. The first bridge had to open to allow ships to go through. You can see (though not very clearly) a picture of the old bridge in the information sign above (second picture on the left). In 1958 a second bridge made of steel and concrete was built and in 1987 a pedestrian path was added to the bridge on the western side. In 2007 the bridge was given protected status.
The parking area serves many purposes but this year it is the starting point for two walks. We are going to do post 30, Tidevannsstien.As we cross the bridge one can see some of the housing of Straumen. The tide is high on this side of the bridge and the water is flowing very swiftly toward me, especially on the right-hand side of the sound The crane on the right-hand side of the picture is where they are building a new nursing home which will be run by the municipality. An old one was torn down and a new modern building is under construction. I may be a resident there at some time in the future, though hopefully not for 15 to 20 years.The bridge as seen from the south side. The upper railings are painted blue and the under supports are painted white. The bridge is 202 meters in length and the main span is 72 meters. The sailing height is 12 meters.Information about the bridge can be found on both ends. Built 1958, added to in 1987 and protected in 2007.Borgenfjord is in the background and extends about 10 km to the left. The top sign, 50, gives the speed limit in kilometers per hour. The middle sign (though it is a bit faded) says that traffic on the bridge has right-of-way at intersections (after the bridge). The lower sign , 755, tells the route number. Road number 755 goes from Røra (east end of the route) to Vanviken (west end of the route) and is the road that goes over Skarnsund Bridge near us. You can also see the current racing under the bridge. High water would be at 11:56 so shortly after this picture was taken.Anemone nemorosa (“hvitveis” in Norwegian) is a very common flower in Norway. It blooms before the leaves come out on the trees, so that it gets a lot of sunshine. It can carpet large portions of the forest floor in open areas.Here is a bench and table to sit and enjoy the view. As usual, there is a place to grill. We are looking across the sound to Straumen.The information sign tells us that we are at “Nessetangen”, so one side of the point that sticks out into the sound. This area of Straumen is called “Sund” (sound), so there is Sund School, Sundsand, Sundsnes and Sundsøya. The birds on the information sign are one type of seagull and the grey heron both of which can be found here.Looking back towards the bridge. You can see the path that we have been walking along.A birch tree has a beautiful shape when it grows in the open. This one will be shedding a lot of pollen to bother those (like me) with pollen allergies. It may be another week before the leaves are out. Birch trees require a lot of water, but this one will have access to lots.The sign “5” means that boat traffic may not go faster than 5 knots. The reason for this low speed has to do with the amount of birds found in the sound. We have a lot of eider ducks that are here year round. We saw only two pairs today and none of them were close enough to get their picture taken. It is soon nesting season. I speculated on how fast the water was travelling, but I’m sure it was doing twice the speed limit for boats.The goal of our walk, a small shed with picnic tables and benches inside. The inevitable grilling unit on the extreme right of the picture.There is a large park area here between the houses and the shoreline. There is lots of space to spread out on the grass in warm weather. This information sign gives information about the park area which has been made by volunteers. The picnic tables and benches have also been made by local volunteers. The bird that is pictured is a cormorant, which can be up to 2-3 kg with a wingspan of 130 – 160 cm. The otter can also been seen here. The fast moving current provides a lot of food for ducks, birds and otters.StraumbruaThe name of the parking area. I didn’t know it had a name before.
We had a sunny morning for our walk. One could make it longer by continuing along the shore and coming to Sundsand, our local sandy beach. However, we just wanted a short half hour walk and returned to the car to head home again.
