Reconnect in Norway: From Cheese-making to Sami Crafts, Step Back in Time to Learn Traditional Skills in the Fjords

One of the key ways to reconnect with a simpler, pre-digital way of life is by learning about traditional cooking and food creation methods, and today on your Reconnect in Norway trip you will have that chance, plus you'll get to eat the end product! First stop is a visit to a local farm where they produce delicious, award-winning cow's cheeses. Sample some varieties while learning about the age-old cheesemaking process before popping into a nearby bakery to try some of Norway's delectable takes on this staple, which goes so well with cheese.

Then after a local lunch it's time to turn from 'turf' to 'surf' on a guided foraging trip along the fjord shoreline to collect shellfish and seaweed. If you're feeling brave then you can even take a bracing dip in the sea yourself. Take the fruits of your labour back to the hotel and the chef will cook up a delicious dinner overlooking the sea using your supremely fresh ingredients.

You have a relaxed morning at the hotel, and another chance to take that dip, before a transfer towards Trondheim and a local restaurant set in a beautiful location where you can learn and make traditional Norwegian recipes such as meatballs and fishcakes before enjoying a local craft beer and aquavit (local moonshine) tasting. You then have the perfect opportunity to work off any excess as you walk the final five miles of the famous Gudbrandsdalsleden pilgrimage trail into the heart of the city and to the Nidaros Cathedral. The Gudbrandsdalsleden Trail has been the main walking route from Oslo to Trondheim since the Middle Ages, when pilgrims flocked to Nidaros Cathedral to pray at the tomb of King (later Saint) Olaf, one-time King of Norway who died in 1030. His canonisation was a major spur to the conversion of many in Norway from worshipping the old Norse gods to Christianity. Approaching the cathedral through pretty countryside and then along the banks of the Nidelva River is very special.

After visiting the cathedral and tomb, make your way to your hotel in Trondheim before a night in a city famed for its restaurants specialising in Norwegian cuisine. We will recommend the best of a good bunch.

Today is all about another type of reconnection in Norway, this time with nature, in the beautiful Dovrefjella-Sunndalsfjella National Park a couple of hours from Trondheim. You will be transferred two or so hours from Trondheim to Oppsal and leave your things in the hotel before heading on to Dovrefjella-Sunndalsfjella National Park where you can enjoy a lovely long hike with a guide to see herds of what are among the last remaining wild reindeers in Scandinavia. Better still, you should hopefully see an even more spectacular species - the musk ox - which died out in Europe during the last Ice Age, but which was reintroduced from Greenland in the first half of the 20th century. These enormous shaggy beasts were one of the stars of the BBC Seven Worlds One Planet series, and alongside the reindeers a reminder of the sort of scenes and quarry our long distant hunter-gatherer ancestors would have witnessed in Scandinavia. You'll need to bring proper hiking boots and technical hiking gear for this hike.