The gentlest classic in Lofoten: the old road around the foot of Mannen, linking two of the islands' most beautiful beaches. Shell sand, grazing sheep, turquoise shallows and, in June, the midnight sun sitting on the horizon at the mouth of the bay.
Before the tunnel, Uttakleiv and Haukland were linked by a narrow gravel road squeezed between the mountain and the sea. Today it is closed to cars, and it has become one of the loveliest easy walks in Lofoten.
Haukland is the famous one: a wide bay of pale sand and startlingly clear water, with a café, toilets and a car park. Uttakleiv, on the other side of Mannen, is wilder, with a pebble-and-sand beach, round stones polished by the Atlantic, and a view straight out to the open sea that makes it a favourite midnight-sun spot.
The path between them is flat and wide, following the coast below the cliffs of Mannen. Sheep graze the verges, oystercatchers shriek from the rocks and the sea changes colour with every passing cloud. It is perfect for families, and an ideal pairing with the climb up Mannen itself.
Out and back along the old road. Start at either end; Haukland has more parking.
From the Haukland car park walk to the north end of the beach, past the start of the Mannen path, and pick up the old road where it leaves the sand.
The road hugs the shore beneath the slopes of Mannen, with views out to the skerries and the open sea. Look for sea eagles over the ridge and eider ducks in the shallows.
The road ends at Uttakleiv, with its rounded stones, sand and mountain backdrop. Sit out the evening here in June, then walk back the same way.
Haukland is about 10 minutes by car from Leknes. There is a paid car park, toilets and a seasonal café at the beach.
The sheep belong to local farmers. Close gates, keep dogs on leads and leave no litter on the beaches.
Lofoten practical notes →
Two short summits above Lofoten's white-sand beaches.
Nearly 2,000 Sherpa-built steps to the view over Reine.
A cliff ledge above the wildest beach in Lofoten.
Straight up from Henningsvær to the view over the island village.
To a hut among lakes, then the highest peak on Moskenesøya.
The summit of the emptiest main island, over the Maelstrom.
Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their Creative Commons licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
