Henningsvær is the fishing village that turns up in half the photographs of Lofoten, and for once the pictures do not lie. It sits on a cluster of small islands at the tip of a long peninsula, joined to the main island by a pair of bridges, with brightly painted houses, drying racks for stockfish, a busy harbour and a backdrop of jagged peaks across the water. On one of the islands there is a football pitch, laid out on the rock and surrounded by the sea, which became famous after drone photographs of it went around the world.
The village grew on the Lofoten fishery, the great winter cod fishery that has drawn fishermen to these islands for over a thousand years. Every winter, the skrei, the spawning cod from the Barents Sea, come to the waters around Lofoten, and in the old days thousands of fishermen came from all over northern Norway to catch them, living in the rorbuer, the red fishing cabins on the shore. The fish were dried on wooden racks to make stockfish, which was exported to Europe, and the trade made Lofoten rich. In late winter and spring, the racks in Henningsvær are still hung with fish.
Today the village is also a centre for artists and climbers, with galleries, cafes and climbing schools, and in summer it can be busy. The road out from the E10 follows the shore along the base of the mountains, with tight bends, narrow sections, and a few single-track bridges, and it ranks among the most beautiful short rides in Lofoten, especially in the evening light. Traffic in summer is heavy, so take it slowly and be patient.
The weather in Lofoten changes constantly, and it can be wet, windy and cold even in July. But the light, when it comes, is extraordinary, and the midnight sun from late May to mid-July means you can ride and walk at any hour. In winter, the northern lights are common.
Henningsvær has cafes, restaurants and shops, and Kabelvåg and Svolvær, about fifteen to twenty kilometres away, have fuel, hotels and all services. Kabelvåg is also home to the large wooden church known as the Lofoten Cathedral, and an aquarium and museum about the fishery.