Alex Greenwood, KE Adventure Travel's Head of Development, explains her life-long love of the Lofoten Islands and Scandinavia.

"I have been back many times to the far North of Norway and hiked all over the region. Lofoten, however, remains one of the most mesmerising places of all. Here are some of my reasons why I find the islands so special, and I know you will too"

1. The Lofoten Wall

My first view of the Lofoten Wall, an impossible line of stark peaks shooting straight from the sea, will remain with me forever. Clear your SD card, get your camera ready. Every time I approach the islands, I can't stop taking photos. My first time, in pre-digital days, I used over 3 rolls of films in one hour.

2. The midnight sun

The midnight sun will confound and bewilder and delight you because the light is something so beautiful and so unearthly it's as if a Norse god is arriving from the Asgard heavens. All day and all night. The islands shimmer in 24-hour daylight from the end of May until early July. Take off your watch and let normal daytime become meaningless...

3. Cod - the ubiquitous fish

Cod may seem a bizarre third moment. But this is a fish that defines the islands. From the savage history of a community that risked all to fish for it, to the wooden drying racks that dominate every settlement, cod is ubiquitous. I haven't forgotten my first taste of lutefisk (salted dried cod) and you won't either.

4. Rorbuer in Reine

Reine features in every article about Lofoten for a reason. It must be one of the most stunningly placed villages in the world. Add to that staying in my first rorbuer, another Lofoten classic, sleeping in wooden houses on stilts next to the water. We woke up surrounded by water and mountains and, of course, air-dried cod on the racks.

5. Birds -Arctic terns & sea eagles

My first arctic tern colony featured an actual encounter as one feisty bird dive-bombed my friend's head (note: wear a thick hat). An incredibly evocative but boisterous experience. My first ever sea-eagle was, of all places, sitting patiently at the Reine to Leknes bus stop.

6. Lofoten beaches

Unbelievably white, fringed with turquoise sea, surrounded by those impossible peaks - again, and completed deserted, my first beach was Fredvang followed closely by Kvalvika Beach - cue, another 1000 photos.

Special mention too for the sculpted head at Eggum, and post-beach chill out at Klatrekafeen in arty Henningsvaer.