Peak-ture perfect Norway

I always wrote Norway off as cold, dark and a bit serious. But now I have gone from a first-timer to someone who can't wait to go back.

Half the country is made up of mountains — and the rest is divided among forest, river and lake. There are national parks where you can climb, hike, fish and sail all day without seeing another soul and despite planning your time, manage to see only a fraction of what it has to offer.

You could spend hours staring at a map and end up none the wiser — the country is so long and narrow (bordering Sweden, Finland and Russia in the far north) that you have to decide which bit to focus on — and that's not easy.

All credit to hosts

You need a plan and for that I have to thank my hosts, Helge and Morten, two Norwegian brothers-in-law who run a customised travel service, Ziniry.

They are keen photographers and thoroughly knowledgeable. Most importantly, they want you to do things you would never normally try. Which is why I find myself agreeing to climb a mountain, Kyrkja ("the Church"), more than 6,000 feet high. But the view from the top made it all worthwhile — a panorama of peaks, about 60 in all, surrounding me in all directions. It was difficult to believe I had flown in from London only a day before. Helge met me at the Oslo airport and we boarded a Cessna for the flight to my first hotel, the fairytale Per Gynt Garden, 270 kilometres northwest of Oslo near Vinstra, in the valley of Gudbrandsdalen.

On the ground, the first thing you notice about driving in Norway is that there aren't many people on the road and the landscape is free of billboards and man-made detritus. Per Gynt Garden sits high above the valley, a collection of ancient wooden farm buildings dating back to the Middle Ages.

There's no better place to soak up the true spirit of Norway. The present owner, Christian Mikkel Dobloug, has spent a fortune restoring the 17 buildings in the farm complex with slate and grass roofs and creating 19 atmospheric rooms — each one completely different.

Although they are packed with antique memorabilia, all the plumbing and heating is new. Windows on two sides overlooked fields in the valley below.

Mikkel is a foodie. We dined on asparagus, reindeer steak and rhubarb, and after a bottle of excellent refreshment, I was persuaded by Helge to climb a mountain.

It was an hour and a half's drive through spectacular mountain scenery north to the village of Otta and then west to Lom, where we stopped for breakfast at a very good bakery.

I was ready for anything. Eventually, we turned south into the Jotunheimen National Park. Parking outside the isolated motel, I met guide Kjell Nyoygard, who has climbed more than 60 peaks.

It was time to begin. I dug my heels in (literally) and followed Nyoygard across the snowfield, making my way up on to a ridge.

Before the final ascent up what looked like 500 feet of roughly stacked granite boulders, we stopped for lunch. Out of his rucksack Kjell produced some mini wooden planks and arranged a picnic — delicious!

After a combination of scrambling and careful footwork, the views made it all worthwhile. The atmosphere is so unpolluted that I could see for 50 miles.

Delightful dinner

We didn't arrive back at Lom until 9.30pm but it was a beautiful evening with plenty of light and walkers sitting outside Fossheim Hotel, enjoying refreshments. After my trek, I was starving.

The chef was excellent and dinner quite an event: crayfish soup with scallops, followed by reindeer with roasted wild mushrooms. Dessert was a concoction of local strawberries in a sour milk pudding.

I have no recollection of the journey back to Per Gynt but I slept like a log in my Royal bed.

Next day, Helge persuaded me to go riding. High above the hotel was the Sylseter riding centre, a popular centre for exploring the Rondane National Park.

Trek and trout

I rode up narrow paths through windswept moorland, passing rocky bluffs and a series of small lakes, on to a high plateau. After a couple of hours, we reached a sheltered spot, and Morten, who owned the riding school, grilled local trout over a fire.

I offered him my horse and enjoyed strolling in the silence down to the stables. Back at Per Gynt, Karen, a local naturopath, gave me a relaxing massage. Chilled out, I clambered into bed for a siesta. Dinner was in the candlelit, wooden-panelled dining room, seated at the impressive oak table — ox filet and strawberry sherbet.

Next morning, I was driven to the local airstrip in an ancient Volvo, which had once belonged to the royal family.

Once in Oslo, I ate lunch on the terrace of the Ekeberg restaurant overlooking the harbour. Oslo is in the middle of redeveloping the waterfront area, with the spectacular new Opera House the focal point.

That afternoon I took a boat trip around the harbour and down the Oslo fjord, past islands dotted with holiday homes.

That evening, having stowed my bags at Hotel Continental, I dined with Helge and Morten at the Palace Grill, which doesn't take bookings and seats only 23.

We started with oysters, moving on to turbot, pigeon and elk: a memorable meal. Ten courses cost around £100 (Dh601) per person.

Next day, I just had time to fit in a trip to the Munch museum before a stroll around Aker Brygge, the new waterfront shopping area.

Four nights, magical scenery, splendid meals and a big mountain — I can't wait to go back.