Wild Scandinavia is a new three-part series for BBC Two celebrating the stunning wildlife, dramatic landscapes and unique culture of the furthest northern reaches of Europe, made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced by PBS and Sveriges Television (SVT).
Across 3 x 60 minute episodes, Wild Scandinavia will immerse viewers in the realm of Norse Gods, of Odin and Thor. Each film explores a different captivating natural world - the hauntingly beautiful coast, the magical seasonal forests, and the volcanic and arctic extremes.
Narrated by Anglo-Swedish actor Rebecca Ferguson (Dune; Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One), surprising wildlife stories of lynx, puffins, orca and wolves, are told alongside the experiences of the extraordinary people living in and devoted to exploring this icy wilderness.
Breath-taking imagery reveals stories of survival, from the epic Norwegian Arctic, through mythic Swedish and Finnish forests, across vast Danish tidal shores and around erupting Icelandic volcanoes.
This series has filmed the Nordic region as never before - Fast FPV drone cameras chase a base jumper dropping into the fjords, while the latest high-speed camera technology follows giant sea eagles as they snatch fish from the water. State of the art camera traps reveal the lives of lynx, looking for love; and super-macro filming follows spiders living in volcanic hot springs – where one wrong step could be fatal.
Series Overview
Each episode explores a distinct Scandinavian landscape:
Episode One: Life On The Edge
Life On The Edge follows a coastal journey from the sheltered Baltic Sea to the Wild Atlantic Ocean, travelling north to freezing Arctic waters. In turns both cruel and generous, the sea can bring both life and death. Seal pups are born on granite islands left by the Ice Age, while mesmerising flocks of migrant birds visit the largest tidal flats on the planet.
Norway’s iconic fjords stretch up to 100 miles inland. These towering canyons are now where courageous base jumpers fly down plunging waterfalls. Europe’s largest eagles patrol the sea cliffs and their youngsters become pirates, stealing a meal in dramatic aerial combat.
Otters survive high in the arctic and feisty puffins return to snowy islands to breed. But with burrows in short supply, it’s a fight to secure a home. Pods of Orca and humpback whales feast on great shoals of herring in Scandinavia’s greatest wildlife spectacle, as scientist and photographer, Audun Rikardsen, tries to understand the relationships between them all. Where the land meets the sea, only the tough and the resourceful can carve out a life on the edge.
Episode Two: Heartlands
Heartlands reveals the magical beauty of Scandinavia’s forests and waterways through the turning seasons. Ancient Norse myth told of Yggdrasil - a great tree linking worlds. Still today, the great forests are an intensely interconnected world, where survival depends on the relationships you keep. Ingenious ravens work together to outsmart golden eagles to get a meal. Sámiherders rely on reindeer, and osprey swoop down to catch fish from lakes built by beavers.
Lynx were said to be the companion of the Norse goddess of love, Freyja. In the spring a wandering male lynx leaves his own scented love letter to passing females on a twisted pine, hoping for success.
Emerging from hibernation, a mother bear tries to teach her playful cubs – but climbing up is easier than down. By autumn bears need to pack on the pounds but must contend with wolves in their element.
Finally, with winter’s return Nordic skaters venture out on the first black ice of the season. Their delicate balance on the thinnest ice becomes a metaphor for us all, in our connection with the natural world.
Episode Three: Ice And Fire
Ice And Fireexplores the dramatic extremes of the Nordic territories – volcanic Iceland, the high tundra and Arctic Svalbard. Polar bears, arctic fox and musk ox must all survive in a world ruled by the great pendulum of sunlight – from total darkness to midnight sun.
Musk ox are built to withstand the dark polar nights and freezing blizzards, when the only hint of the sun are the dancing streams of the Northern lights. Back-country skiers embrace the Icelandic winter but a few creatures have found a way to sidestep to Sun’s absence, including surprising hot spring spiders.
The sun’s return kick starts the most dramatic transformation, heralding a hectic world under 24hour sunlight. Crazy courting Ruffs dance for mates and Little Auk chicks must complete flight school, while Glaciologists tap into the impacts of climate change, and musk ox struggle in the sweltering summer glare.
For some, winter is about resilience and scraping through until the summer feasts, but for others it’s the summer heat which brings the greatest danger.
Wild Scandinavia, a 3 x 60’ series for BBC Two and iPlayer, is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced by PBS and Sveriges Television (SVT). It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and Sreya Biswas, Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning. The Executive Producer is Rosemary Edwards and the Series Producer and Director is Tuppence Stone.
Interview with narrator Rebecca Ferguson
Q. What made you want to be part of this series?
I was brought up having a magical connection to nature. When later introduced to the world of BBC wildlife programmes it brought back so much nostalgia. Being asked to be part of this series therefore was a huge honour for me.
Q. Tell us a bit about growing up in Scandinavia.
When I was growing up, I always wanted to go exploring in the woods and become one of my favourite childhoods characters Ronja from stories by Astrid Lindgren. She was a true representation of Swedish and Scandinavian nature. I also loved to do another tradition of picking wild strawberries and threading them through strains of straw.
Q. Tell us about your personal passion for Scandinavia
It’s Raw and wild. It’s Pinecones, mushroom picking, cold, mythical mysterious. So many tales and stories come from the world of Scandinavia.
Q. Describe any personal experiences you’ve had with wildlife in Scandinavia
It’s hard not to have connections with nature. For me it’s about feeling connected to it and being a part of it daily. I was brought up in Stockholm then moved to the south of Sweden to a remote fishing village, meaning I got to explore such drastic difference in environments and temperatures.
Q. Were there any standout or memorable sequences in the series for you?
Being a part of the whole story and seeing things that I would have never got the opportunity to see was such a treat. It brings me as close to it as possible. It’s so unusual to see it all first-hand and I got to be part of it adding my narrative which was magical. As an ocean lover, I particularly enjoyed the reproductive process of the synchronised star fish and watching the sea cucumbers feed on the algae and plankton from the seabeds.
Q. Did you learn anything new about Scandinavia that you didn’t know before narrating the series?
Yes! I couldn’t believe that they are still preserving fish the same way we did in the Viking times! It was fascinating to see that process.
Q. What do you believe is so captivating about this region?
The Landscape is the main characteristic, it’s sharp and harsh and the animals have had to learn to shape to their environment. The extreme difference between the North of Sweden with its angular landscapes to the south of Sweden with its rolling hillsides, orchards and apple trees.
Q. Do you have a favourite species from the series and why?
Yes! The White-Tailed Sea Eagle is my favourite species from the series. They are so majestic flying through the air. Their hunting skills of catching the fish is like watching a thrilling chase scene from a movie! It’s so highly skilled and chaotic at the same time.
Q. What do you hope viewers will take away from watching Wild Scandinavia?
I hope that they it will Learn about new environments and that it opens up their eyes to the beauty of this region. How different it is. Why it’s so different. How the people have had to adapt to the environment. The extremes of the seasonal weather and landscapes. I hope it makes people want to visit and to nurture and to care for our world even more.
Interview with Series Producer, Tuppence Stone
Q. What can you tell us about the series?
Wild Scandinavia is a series like no other, celebrating the furthest northern reaches of Europe. It will immerse you in the dramatic landscapes, the stunning wildlife and unique culture of Scandinavia – the land of Odin and Thor.
We bring you the natural wonders from the epic Norwegian Arctic, through mythic Swedish Forests, across vast Danish tidal shores and erupting Icelandic volcanoes.
BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit are focussing three spectacular hours of film-making on Scandinavia for the first time. This will give our audience a chance to understand and enjoy this region as never before, telling wildlife stories from a Scandinavian perspective.
Each episode explores a distinct landscape:
Life On The Edge: Life on the Edge traces an enthralling coastal journey from the sheltered Baltic Sea to the Wild Atlantic Ocean, travelling up the majestic fjords to freezing Arctic waters. Seal pups are born on granite islands left by the Ice Age, while puffins fight in the snow for a burrow in the Arctic. Pods of Orca and trawlermen chase vast shoals of herring and Europe’s largest eagles patrol the fjords where daredevil base-jumpers fly down sheer walls of rock. All these lives are intimately connected to the shoreline and each must deal with the unpredictability of this coastal world to prosper here.
Heartlands: Heartlands reveals the interior wealth of Scandinavian forests and waterways through the turning seasons. Ingenious ravens outsmart golden eagles for food, while Sámiherders move their reindeer to find fresh lichen. Rare lynx search for love, while moose and bears migrate through a landscape engineered by beavers. With winter’s return skaters venture out on the first black ice of the season. Their delicate balance on the thinnest ice becomes a metaphor for us all, in our connection with the natural world.
Ice And Fire: Ice and Fire explores the extremes of Scandinavia – volcanic Iceland, the high tundra and Arctic Svalbard. Musk ox and polar bears, and arctic fox must survive in a world ruled by the great pendulum of sunlight – from total darkness to midnight sun. We reveal the surprising hot spring spiders and invite you to little auk flight school. Back-country skiers embrace the Icelandic winter, while Glaciologists tap into the impacts of climate change. For some, winter is about resilience and scraping through until summer feasts, but for others it’s the summer heat which brings the greatest danger.
Q. Where did you film the series?
The series was filmed across Scandinavia – Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and also Finland.
Wild Scandinavia opens with a journey tracing the wildlife that makes a life on the edge - along the rugged coastline from the Baltic sea, through the iconic fjordlands and reaching north into the freezing Arctic Ocean. Our second episode weaves together the relationships that enable animals to survive the seasonal challenges in Scandinavia’s mythic forests and maze of waterways, and in the third episode we track the extreme swing of the sun across the Scandinavia’s Arctic – from the bleak 24hour darkness of mid-winter, where musk ox stand firm against the blizzard, and mesmerizing northern lights dance across the heavens; to the brightness of endless daylight and the frenzy of life.
Q. How long did it take to film?
The series was filmed over two and a half years. We began with our first filming in Jan 2020 tracking charismatic arctic foxes in Iceland. Then, after a break because of covid restrictions, we resumed in late summer filming stunning osprey, and completed the series in 2023.
Q. How did you chose which species to film for this series?
We were keen to show the audience the icons of Scandinavia – the intelligent Orcas in the arctic fjords , the mysterious lynx of the Swedish forests, but also the quirky – like the flamboyant ruffs – birds of the high tundra, where males play devious political games as they dance to attract mates, and the unexpected: our teams were the first ever to film wolf spiders that survive through the bitter Icelandic winters, where temperatures can drop to -20C, by tip toeing through the volcanic hot springs to hunt their prey.
Each episode has its own cast of characters, with intimate human stories which each reflect a very special connection with the natural world – from Sámi reindeer herders and Icelandic Trawlermen, to Nordic wild ice skaters and wingsuited base jumpers.
Q. Which species from the series was the hardest to film and why?
Filming puffins on the Arctic Island of Hornoya was a mission.
This unique seabird island is remote, lying just offshore from the northernmost coastline of mainland Europe. From late spring it is home to thousands of puffins, guillemots and gulls who return from winter on the turbulent, arctic ocean to breed. Our first attempt to film there was scuppered by Covid lockdown. When, after intensive months of paperwork, we finally set off the following spring, I fell ill with Covid and had to quarantine in Vardo on the mainland, while the other 2 crew went ahead. Everything they needed for 10 days was loaded onto the small ferry, and with the help of the local Norwegian army, hauled all our equipment through the deep snow to the lighthouse that would be their base for the shoot.
With driving blizzards the crew saw few puffins and were confined in the lighthouse for days. I recovered, but the sea was too wild to cross, so I explored Vardo – where I learnt how this tiny fishing village had been a focus of violent witch trials centuries before. I visited the extraordinary monument to the many women and also Sámi men who were tortured, and many burnt to death for transgressing religious society on this windswept shore. It brought home to me just how tough life was in this furthest Norwegian outpost, thrown into chaos by forces from far away.
When I re-joined the crew, better weather allowed us to focus on the puffins, and the squabbling fights they have to determine who wins the best breeding burrows below the cliffs. With our super slow-motion cameras we were able to finally capture the surprising vicious tactics used – kung-fu kicks, a claw to the eye, locking on with beaks which set a pair of birds tumbling down the snow slopes. We captured just how much effort it takes a bird to secure a good burrow where they can raise a family. Also our images revealed new science to our puffin expert. An ID ring on one bird’s leg showed for the first time that it is females as well as males that are prepared to fight.
The sound and sight of puffins, amongst the thousands of guillemots wheeling over the sea was spectacular and uplifting, – even while these seabirds today are facing the severe impacts of climate change and warming seas, created a world away.
All in all, this shoot was an emotional journey, demanding resilience – but ultimately delivering new science and a surprising take on the normally cheeky puffin.
Q. What challenges did you face whilst filming this series?
Our greatest challenge was filming this series during covid, but through these challenges we made stronger connections with the film-makers in country who became integral members of our team.
From our freediving and topside camera teams working with us to film orcas and grey seals, to our base jumping camera operator and FPV drone pilot it was a very international collaboration.
Filming always throws up challenges, but to film the wild Nordic ice-skating conditions had to be exactly right. The ambition was to film skaters who seek out the first ice of winter – so thin it is transparent and you can see the lake below your feet. It’s called black ice, and bends as you skate across, throwing out eerie other-worldly sounds – which we wanted to capture on our microphones. But too much weight and the ice will crack, but to wait for strong ice – it becomes opaque and white. So only with local intel, could we react to the best conditions to get the images we needed, chasing the black ice and reveal the serene beauty of this skating.
Q. Were there any standout or memorable sequences for you in this series?
I wanted to showcase the Norwegian fjords within the series – they are such a vertical landscape, rising in places up to 1000m above the water, and as far below. Near Kjerag, on the southside of Lysefjorden, one cliff drops 984m almost straight down and has become one the world’s most iconic base jumping sites since it was first jumped in 1994. Working with expert film-makers and Norwegian wingsuiter Hege Ringard, we aimed to immerse viewers in what it feels like to jump and fly through this dramatic landscape. I could never take that step myself, but in our Wild Scandinavia opening episode you can.
Q. What do you think Rebecca Ferguson brings to the series, as the narrator?
We were very keen to have such a strong female role model to voice Wild Scandinavia. With her roles in Mission Impossible and Dune, it is great to collaborate with such an international star. Rebecca is Anglo Swedish, so was a perfect choice – with her intimate knowledge of Scandinavia and fluent Swedish the mythology and names included in the script felt so natural when she delivered them. She added an important authenticity to the series, building on our decision to work with the brilliant Icelandic composer – Biggi Hilmars, so that our views feel totally immersed in the Scandinavia wilderness.
Q. Are there any important conservation stories you wanted to get across this series?
In the opening episode the unpredictable nature of life on the coast has been exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Over the last 20 years, orca have followed the main herring shoals as they’ve shifted their winter base almost two hundred miles further north, a move coinciding with a 1°Celsius rise in average sea temperatures in the region.
While the Orcas can shift with the warming seas, many nesting seabirds are struggling, with massive decline in some puffin colonies as the parents can no-longer find the tiny fish they need to raise their young near their nesting grounds, but have to fly far further and their chicks suffer. Little Auks in Arctic Svalbard suffer the same new challenges.
Along the Norwegian coast the white-tailed sea eagles are a good news conservation story, once hunted to near extinction, they were protected in 1968. Their population has rebounded to over 6000 mature eagles, the largest population in Europe, and now even contributes to the restoration of sea eagle populations in Scotland and Ireland.
In the forests of Scandinavia, the loss of ancient forest to plantation monoculture makes the lives of wildlife and Sámi reindeer herders more difficult. In Sweden alone, lichen rich forests have decreased by over 70% in the last 60 years. The plantations have lower biodiversity, and fewer of the many lichen species the reindeer need to survive. This is further complicated by the changes in snow conditions, with earlier thaws and refreezing, which creates layers of ice which reindeer cannot dig through to find food.
In the third episode – Ice and Fire, we hear from a glaciologist Dr. Heidi Sevestre, about the rapid changes to glaciers in Svalbard, in Arctic Scandinavia. They are behaving strangely, after years of being dormant, they have been surging forward. As the arctic heats up, Svalbard is experiencing more rain every year, which erodes through glaciers, making them slip faster towards warming seas in this process known as surging. Timelapse images taken over months record this dramatic movement. With Svalbard warming faster than the rest of the arctic, this important research reveals what will happen in the rest of the world in the decades to come.
Q. Which is your favourite story from the series?
I like the love story of the lynx; the cheeky aerial chases of the sea-eagles – but I think my favourite has to be the battle for burrows amongst the puffins.
Q. What do you hope viewers will take away from watching Wild Scandinavia?
I hope our viewers will feel visually connected to this incredible area, which is so close to us in the UK, yet still really wild. The ruggedness, the intense weather and dancing northern lights hopefully will draw our viewers in a world which feels closely linked to ancient giants and Norse Gods. We wanted to weave together stories of stunning lynx, glorious white-tailed sea eagles, wolves and bears - all creatures of myth and folklore, but at the same time reflect modern Scandinavians and their contemporary relationship with nature. Hopefully feeling a stronger connection to these wild places will nurture a desire to protect our natural world.
Episode One: Coasts – Life on the Edge
Wild and unpredictable, Scandinavia’s coast is one of haunting beauty and dangerous extremes. A journey around this captivating shoreline encapsulates thousands of islands, mile-deep fjords, powerful currents and the largest tidal mudflats in the world and plays host to some of the greatest wildlife gatherings on the planet.
Our journey begins off the Swedish coast in the cold Baltic Sea where every spring a thousand grey seals haul out onto a remote granite island to give birth. The pups only have 18 days with their mothers before they are abandoned to survive on their own. They gorge on their mother’s super-rich milk to build layers of blubber. In their short time together, mums and pups must deal with freak storms, freezing seas, ice-covered rocks and aggressive male seals as the pups race to transform from fluffy babies to sea-going youngsters.
Further south, the rocky Swedish coast gives way to the constantly shifting Danish shoreline and the largest tidal flats on the planet. Every spring, the arrival of vast flocks of migrant waders transforms these mudflats into a vast open-air restaurant as millions of birds follow the tides and probe the mud for worms and shellfish to refuel before continuing their journeys north to the Arctic.
To the north lies Scandinavia’s most iconic landscape, the Norwegian fjords. A mile deep, these ice-cut canyons and sheer cliffs are the playground of base-jumper Hege Ringard. The latest FPV drone technology and ‘on-board’ cameras allows us to fly with Hege as she plummets at 100mph from clifftop to fjord shore.
Where the narrow fjords meet the open sea, giant lions-mane jellyfish hunt using their venom packed, 30-metre-long tentacles. Stunning underwater macro-photograph reveals these extraordinary creatures and the surprising hitch-hiking fish that somehow resist their stings and use these deadly tentacles as a refuge in open water.
Further north is the stronghold of a Scandinavian icon, the white-tailed sea eagle. The latest high-speed camera technology follows these giants as they soar on 2.5m wings and stoop to snatch fish from the water surface. To make ends meet, inexperienced young eagles try to pirate food from one another during acrobatic aerial chases.
Offshore, trawler captain Kjarten Gudmundsson battles the wild seas around Iceland in pursuit of cod, which are most abundant in ferocious winter conditions. Cod thrive in their millions in these Atlantic waters because of the impact of the Gulf Stream. This powerful current of warm, nutrient-rich water keeps the Norwegian coast much warmer than expected from its latitude and means even far above the Arctic circle the sea never freezes.
On the remote Lofoten islands, the unique Gulf Stream climate allows local fishermen to preserve their catch of spring cod by hanging them out to air dry on huge wooden racks that can hold over two million fish. It’s a technique from the time of the Vikings. Underwater, the seafloor is busy as colonies of sea cucumbers sift the current for plankton, and starfish gather in huge numbers to spawn. In these northern fjords, we also used drones to film the most northerly population of otters as they hunt along the sea ice in these rich waters and are harassed by hungry sea eagles looking for an easy meal.
At the top of Norway, the warm Gulf Stream collides with the freezing Arctic ocean. These surging waters force nutrients up to the surface, underpinning Scandinavia’s greatest wildlife gatherings.
The tiny island of Hornoya hosts tens of thousands of seabirds as they come to land to nest and raise their chicks. Several thousand puffins squabble over ownership of nest burrows. They might look comical, but puffins fight dirty with eye-gouging, feather-pulling and all-in wrestling all part of their strategy to win and defend a burrow.
Beneath these northern waters the greatest gathering of all happens every winter as billions of herring migrate into the more sheltered fjords. These shoals attract families of orcas that work as a team to corral the fish into tight balls then use powerful tail flicks to stun the fish. Recently, humpback whales on their migration between the Arctic and the Caribbean now divert into these fjords to eavesdrop on the orca’s hunting calls before muscling in on the orca’s hard work to gulp down thousands of herring in a single mouthful.
Scientist and photographer, Audun Rickardsson gives us a unique view of the orca’s lives, both by swimming alongside them and by attaching radio-trackers onto their fins so he can follow their movements as they track the herring shoals and to see how these magnificent hunters are adjusting to climate changes in these northern seas.
Episode 1 producer and director and series producer Tuppence Stone shares poignant stories and observations from filming: Puffins and Witches
It was a whiteout when I arrived in Vardo – a small settlement clinging to the arctic coast in northeastern Norway. It’s the crossing point to the offshore island of Hornoya – where we were set to film a seabird spectacle – tens of thousands of puffins and guillemots, that arrive to nest each spring. But covid had interrupted my trip, while the crew went ahead, I was stuck in Vardo, isolated with the desolate March weather.
In my isolation I explored Vardo’s bleak history – notorious for the Norwegian witch trials in the 1660s. I had read a bit about them but wasn’t prepared for what I found as I set out to visit the town’s memorial.
I was alone in a blizzard, no other soul was visiting. Drift ridges were made crisp by the howl of the wind. Each footstep disappeared as I approached the memorial – a stark black cube with a hint of light within.
I entered the cube and saw that the source of light was fire, five wind-blown flaming jets, emerging blue from a steel chair with tips dancing orange. The flaming chair sat within a rough-hewn concrete ring - evocative of logs stacked around a pyre, teased by whisps of snow blown into the cube. Above seven huge oval mirrors looked down, as if judging the condemned, reflecting the gruesome installation back to my eyes over and over, while through the darkened glass I saw the snowscape and crashing waves of the Arctic Ocean. I felt powerfully connected to the victims, unwittingly put in the position of the crowd who witnessed such horrific witch burnings.
Outside there was a second curious structure – like a large pale, bony fish. This fabric building was taught and suspended, caught within a solid frame of silvered beams, which looked like the fish drying racks of tradition here. Stormy skies and the weak winter sun wrapped around this evocative and haunting place.
Along its length the fabric was pierced by small square windows looking out, but when I entered inside, the sensation was entirely transformed. The heavy metal door was forced closed by the wind. Inside the fabric structure was black. Hanging along this thin corridor were bare bulbs, each by a small window letting in the outside - the sunlight, the view. 91 bulbs - one for each of the 91 people who were executed for witchcraft on this shore. Alongside each is a name and a simple description of their crimes – transformation into cats, flying, stealing wine, corrupting others to witchcraft, dancing with the devil.
Walking down the corridor, Sölve Nilsdotter, Kristi Sørensdatter, Else Knutsdatter burnt for sorcery. Through each tiny window, a view onto the swirling snow, the crashing waves on the shore. Just as each perspective is unique, no two lives destroyed were the same. From 1600-1692 witch-hunts persecuted Norwegians and Sámi, especially women.
This space is not sealed from the outside. The fierce winds whip up through the slatted floor, the bulbs sway, the walls flex, almost breathe, distorting the noise of wind and sea. Together these two spaces created the most evocative and powerful memorials I have ever witnessed.
A few days later, as I left Vardo harbour, I crossed the same waters where many accused witches were subjected to an abominable trial of guilt. They were thrown, bound, into the sea for God’s judgement on their crimes. The sacred water would embrace the innocent and they would sink. Any that floated were being repelled by the water as evil. One third of those executed were subjected to the water ordeal, they all floated.
Finally on Hornoya, I was surrounded by chattering birds, full of life. Great flocks wheeled above me - a winged community making the most of this tough but rich coastline. My mind focused on filming once more, but puffins will always be linked with witches in my memory, as history and natural history merged in Vardo.
Episode Two - Heartlands
At Scandinavia’s wild heart lies an ancient land shrouded in myth and legend. Norse sagas tell of a mighty sacred tree - Yggdrasil. Its trunk was at the centre of the cosmos, its branches reached up to heaven, and its roots extended into the underworld.
Great forests are still at the heart of Scandinavia, cut through by a labyrinth of waterways. The billions of trees that thrive in this coldest and northernmost woodland are part of the vast Boreal forest that fringes the arctic and wraps around the globe.
The Heartlands is an enchanted world of dramatic seasonal change, from the depths of winter to the warm riches of summer. To survive here, both its people and wildlife have formed unique relationships with the forests, creating a balance that has evolved over millennia.
Winter is the toughest time of year - A knife edge between life and death. In the “Tykky” forests, bowed spruce stand like Ice Giants of Norse legend. Freezing, moist air encrusts these fairy-tale trees in layers of ice crystals. Heavy snow insulates them from the cold and natural antifreeze protects their tissues.
Those that live here must find their own way to survive the harsh winter. Clever tricks and partnerships work for some. Unable to feast on a frozen carcass, raucous ravens create a commotion that attracts a solution to their problem - the golden eagle. Equipped with a strong beak and talons it’s able to break open the precious meal which it shares with the ravenous ravens.
The lives of indigenous Sámi people have been deeply interconnected with that of the reindeer for centuries. We follow one Sámi family as they guide their herds in search of the most prized winter food - energy rich lichen, mostly found in forests over one hundred years old. Sadly they are becoming more scarce. Over seventy per cent of Sweden’s age-old forests have been felled in the last sixty years.
With the arrival of spring, love is in the air. Flamboyant male black grouse fiercely battle on an open forest clearing known as a ‘lek’. Competing for mating rights to the drab-looking hens. One champion fighter, known as the ‘King’, flaunts the biggest scarlet eye combs and elegant lyre tail feathers. He takes on a series of vicious fights to assert his dominance, his prize – to mate with over half of the females on this lek.
Spring heralds a time of magnificent transformation. Water is liberated from the mountains, creating some of the world’s most spectacular waterfalls that fill hundreds of thousands of lakes. Migrant birds arrive from afar and moose migrate in search of new pastures.
Lynx, Europe’s biggest and most elusive cat, roam vast territories looking for love. Males will travel up to 30 miles a day, leaving a trail of fragrant messages on distinctive trees in the hope of finding a partner. A quest that has become more challenging as forests have become increasingly fragmented with human expansion.
Brown bear cubs emerge from hibernation dens to explore their verdant woodland home. Their diverse diet gives them an important role as forest gardeners – spreading seeds. Mum tries to teach them which plants they can eat, but the cubs are more interested in climbing trees – an important escape from dangers on the ground.
The summer months bring longer days, but it’s during twilight hours when the forest’s most industrious resident emerges. The beaver, is Scandinavia’s largest rodent, over a metre long. Felling trees and building dams, he dramatically transforms the landscape. The architect of this maze of secluded rivers and lakes that sustain a rich diversity of life.
An Osprey dad take advantage of one beaver lake to catch up to ten fish a day for his gluttonous chicks. He’s raising them solo, as their mother left for Africa as soon as the chicks could fly. Soon they will all have to make the four thousand mile journey south to spend the winter in warmer climes.
With the arrival of autumn, the most fundamental relationship in the forest is revealed - fungi. These are the visible signs of an extensive underground fungal network, which runs through the shallow, acidic, cold soil. Sharing nutrients with the trees, the fungi are crucial to sustaining the great boreal forests, without them, it could turn to treeless tundra.
For a male brown bear, autumn is a crucial time to pack on the pounds before winter sets in. A dead reindeer provides a protein-rich meal. But he has to defend it singlehandedly against a pack of ten wolves. He may be bigger and stronger than any wolf, but they have team-work and tactics. Known as Odin’s warriors they chase him into the woods.
The return of winter completes the seasonal cycle for life in the Heartlands. But there are some who have been looking forward to the return of the ice – Nordic skaters take to the frozen lakes across Scandinavia. The delicate first ice is exhilarating to skate on and makes the most extraordinary sounds. But the unpredictability of the ice reveals that the natural world exists in a delicate balance, impacted by human pressures and a changing climate.
Episode Three - Ice and Fire
At Scandinavia’s furthest limits, lie remote frozen worlds. Much of the far north spends winter in darkness, with temperatures plunging as low as minus thirty degrees. Only the dancing northern lights, serve as a fleeting reminder of the sun’s existence. After the long polar night, the sun finally returns, igniting a transformation in the landscape, and heralding the arrival of thousands of migrant visitors. In this brief window of warmth and light, the north bursts into a cacophony of life.
In northern Iceland, the Hornstrandir peninsula sits just seven miles below the Arctic circle, but such distinction is lost on the lonely foxes that patrol the shoreline. Their survival lies on a knife’s edge, scavenging between the tides through winter, a female fox patiently awaits the return of summer and her prey.
In Iceland’s highlands, the sweeping wind and gentle chatter of three friends are the only sounds to break the snowy silence. Bryn, Thorey and Birna embark on a skiing expedition to the highlands every year. Crossing hundreds of miles in a single weekend, they are reliant only on each other to navigate the often-treacherous landscape, but the journey is not without reward. The hot springs of Landmannalaugar are a welcome sight to the travellers, these warm natural waters are even thought to have healing properties.
They aren’t alone here… hidden amongst the mosses of this thermal oasis, an ingenious spider enjoys a life uninterrupted by the cold. Laugakönguló, Iceland’s pool spider, evades the usual fortunes of their species – a winter spent dormant, underground - thanks to the constant warmth provided by the hot springs.
Every so often, the forces behind this geothermal paradise make themselves known. The volcanic power of Iceland’s molten heart is unchallenged, even by winter. The ash clouds that unfurl from the most explosive eruptions can block out the sun for months, even years.
In Svalbard, only the sun can grant a reprieve from winter. As March turns to April, the sun’s reappearance ignites a dormant lust in usually solitary male polar bears. Tracking down a female by her footsteps takes some time, and they don’t always welcome a male’s arrival. Ladies take some convincing before they accept the advances of their persistent admirers.
Male ruffs seem more interested in outdoing each other than winning a mate. On Northern Norway’s Varanger peninsula, they dance for hours on their own tiny tundra patch, which they vigorously defend from competitors. Males with white ruffs are genetically distinct, trading subservience for unfettered access to the lek, but playing wingman to a territorial male allows them to get close to females, just enough to make their move.
As the sun’s strength grows in the North, the landscape becomes awash with colour and melting ice. Billions of gallons of meltwater spill into the ocean. Much of this water comes from glaciers, and in recent years, they have been losing more than usual. Scientist Dr Heidi Sevestre sounds the alarm for the health of this Scandinavian outpost, and the arctic more widely.
Muskox in Norway’s mountains know all too well that it’s warmer than usual. With some of the thickest fur in the animal kingdom, these ice-age giants swelter under the glare of the summer sun. The oppressive heat doesn’t stop them from testosterone-fuelled battles that play out over summer, often so brutal that they prove fatal.
In Svalbard, the constant calls of little auks sound out across the rocky hillsides all summer. As the sun’s strength begins to wane, fogs roll in and begins an exodus of migrant visitors. Little auk chicks must hurry to fledge before the first frost takes hold. Time is running out.
Series Researcher Russell Barnett shares poignant stories and observations from filming: Watching the Northern Lights
If there’s one thing that Scandinavia is known for, it’s the Northern Lights: spellbinding curtains of shimmering greens, purples and reds, dancing in the sky above snow-draped mountains. They’re a phenomenon I’ve dreamed of experiencing ever since reading Phillip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ as a child.
In Scandinavia the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, have long fascinated the indigenous peoples of the region. Finnish folklore tells of a fox sweeping its flaming tail across the snow, sending ice crystals flying into the sky. To the Sámi people of northern Scandinavia, the lights are associated with the spirits of the dead. Now, however, we have a better idea of their true origin.
We’ve only had a scientific understanding of what causes the aurora since the beginning of the twentieth century, and even now scientists are continuing to learn more about the exact chain of events that brings about these magical displays. So strap yourselves in; here’s my very simplified explanation.
93 million miles away, the Sun is constantly releasing electrically charged particles, forming a solar wind that heads towards us at incredible speeds. The Earth’s magnetic field acts as a giant shield against this bombardment. It deflects and accelerates the particles towards the poles where they crash into atoms of gas in our upper atmosphere. Each of these collisions creates a tiny spark of light, so when we see the aurora we are witnessing billions upon billions of microscopic explosions all at once. The different colours come from the various type of gas involved, with oxygen producing green or red lights and nitrogen forming purple or blue.
This was my first experience of the aurora, in Iceland’s Westfjords. We were driving just outside a town as the faint glow over the mountain peaks caught our eyes. Pulling over and getting out of the car, we had to squint to check if we were seeing aurora or just clouds. Gradually, the wispy shapes evolved from washed out green-grey to a stronger lime-green colour, confirming what we were seeing. I’d been told the Northern Lights rarely look as impressive in real life as they do in finished photographs, taken with modern cameras, far more sensitive to light than the human eye. But it wasn’t the magnificent light show I was hoping for.
The next day we travelled by boat to our remote filming location in search of Arctic foxes. There was no human infrastructure around us for miles, providing the perfect conditions for aurora watching. Each evening we set alarms to remind us to check the skies outside. After several cloud-covered nights, we pulled back the curtains and gawped at what we saw.
This time, the show was already in full swing. We stepped out into the cold underneath a wide beam of continuous green light, stretching from one horizon right above our heads to the other. Over time this beam split up into several thinner lines that danced in waves like a meandering river. Witnessing such a strong display of the Northern Lights in such an isolated place was a surprisingly spiritual experience. It’s easy to see how both ancient peoples and modern authors have equated the lights with the supernatural. But for me, it was a great reminder of the hidden beauties of the natural world.
Since the Northern Lights occur in a circular band centred around the magnetic North Pole, it’s easy to work out the best places to see them. The most famous location in Scandinavia is the coastal town of Tromso, in northern Norway. Here, aurora tourism is an important local industry and countless guided excursions are available. Iceland is also a fantastic and reliable location to see the Northern lights, with tours heading out from the capital, Reykjavik.
But in truth, anywhere in northern Scandinavia offers the potential for aurora and some of the most stunning locations are far off the beaten track. Getting out of the cities and away from light pollution is key to seeing the lights as clearly as possible. It’s also important to pick your timing; clear, cloudless nights between September and March are best.
Unfortunately there is never a guarantee of witnessing the Northern Lights, but combining a suitable location with the right time of year and at least 3-5 nights of clear skies should give the best possible chance of success. They may not lead you to a city in the sky like in Pullman’s book, but for me it was an unbeatable experience that will always stay with me.
More from the team
Assistant Producer Billy Clapham shares his observations of embracing the Scandinavian Outdoors
Embracing the Scandinavian Outdoors
The Scandinavians are known for their prosperity, beautiful design and liberal democracies, but perhaps most of all- their happiness. So much so, that the simple Danish word ‘hygge’ has become a global phenomenon in recent years. Roughly translated as a feeling of comfort and wellbeing, the rest of the world strived to emulate that certain Scandinavian-ness. You would be foolish for pinning a nation’s happiness on one word. But for many Scandinavians, happiness is not centred around hot chocolates, warm socks and scented candles. Instead, it’s a Norwegian word that comes to mind: ‘Friluftsliv’ - open air living
Facing the biting cold, being immersed in spectacular nature and literally throwing yourself into Scandinavia’s extremes, is what friluftsliv is all about. An invigorating concept we explored with locals in ‘Wild Scandinavia’.
Embracing the freeze
Winters in Scandinavia can last for 5 months- with some regions not seeing the sun for weeks on end. While the hygge fans may be tempted to never leave the fireside, Oskar Karlin relishes winter. For winter’s cold brings endless adventure. Setting out on the bus from his city centre flat in Stockholm, he uses weather forecasts, live satellite images and specially designed maps- that he’s made himself- to find the holy grail of Nordic ice skating- ‘Black ice’.
Named for its often dark appearance, ‘black ice’ is the name for brand new, unspoilt and super-thin ice, which has a distinct sound as it bends under the weight of a moving skater.
Oskar recalls: ‘ The sound from the ice when it’s quite thin sounds very strange. Almost like laser beams. It’s the sound from another world…it’s almost like watching the Northern Lights, but with your ears.’
Too thin and the ice will break, but too thick and the ice will become old, bumpy and of poor condition. Only 3.2cm thick, is just right.
Oskar will skate up to 100km a day on this glorious yet precarious platform. It’s a fine balance - something the Swede’s have just the word for. ‘Lagom’ - not too much, not too little- just right (Swedish)
For Oskar, skating brings such evocative rewards, he keeps returning to the ice.
‘Sometimes when there’s a little bit of water on the ice, it feels like, you’re skating in the sky, because the reflections are incredible!'
Natural Highs
Norway has the greatest concentration of fjords in the world- twisting ocean canyons with sheer cliffs rising up to a thousand metres. Hege Ringard is not satisfied with simply hiking to the top, for her, real happiness comes with total immersion - just one small step off the edge. Her preparation is simple: ‘I clap… My body and my brain is working together, and the clap is like a little wake up thing… and then I jump.’
Hege is a base jumper and wingsuiter, part of the thriving community of base jumpers who take full advantage of the fjord landscapes and explore new jumps every year. Weather forecasts can tell her a lot about what conditions to expect, but she’ll also watch how the winds affect the torrential waterfalls, to double check it’s a good day for jumping. Freefalling down the cliffs she describes the feeling: Slowly the wings will fill up with air, it’s like this soft, sweet motion. It doesn’t feel that fast actually…It’s like an enjoy the view kind of thing… and get off the mountain.
Natural Livelihood
For Margret Fjellstrom and Daniel Viklund, friluftsliv is not a past-time, it is their way of life. The northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and nearby Russia, make up Sápmi- the ancestral territory of the indigenous Sámi people. Beginning centuries ago, reindeer herding is still how many Sámi make a living today. All year round Margret and her family guide their reindeer to the best grazing grounds. For them, riding roaring snowmobiles through metre thick snow in temperatures plummeting below -30C is just another day on the job.
Margret says “When I see the reindeer, it’s grazing outside and it’s good condition, it’s like a big love story. You get all tickly in the body and you’re smiling. It’s the best feeling. You know, when you’re in love, really in love that’s the feeling.”
It’s increasing warmth that is actually making Margret’s life harder. Margret says “You can have 3 seasons in one month. That’s never happened when I was growing up. The skills that I learn from my father about the weather is not working any more. With the new weather and the climate change it’s really really hard to predict where should we go for the best grazing on the lichens this year.”
Winters are becoming less predictable, with periods of warmer weather and rain locking the reindeers favourite food under solid impenetrable ice. Unstable snow conditions also make travelling by skidoo harder- but Margret and her family have added a new tool to their arsenal: drones. When skidoos lose the herd, a drone can easily catch them up above the tree tops. Broadcasted from the drones inbuilt speaker, sounds of dogs, cars and sirens are all used to help get the herd back on track. But apparently it’s the scream of a tasmanian devil that really gets a reindeer going.
While Hege and Magret may live out their Frilutzliv in the extreme, many more Scandinavians express their Allemansrätten – Everyman’s right…. to roam. Allemansrätten – Everyman’s right.
With the exception of private gardens, all Scandinavians have the right to explore their wilderness enshrined in law. In Autumn families forage for abundant mushrooms, with the bright yellow chanterelles a firm favourite, but the best spots are tightly guarded secrets.
Finding Freedom
Strapping a ski to both feet and towing a heavy sled of emergency supplies and safety gear is a normal weekend to Brynhildur, Thorey and Birna. Home to less than 375,000 people, the island of Iceland, has plenty of wilderness to wander through.
Bryn says “I really love bad weather, there’s something healing in it… it’s just you against the elements. It’s great.”
But Brynhildur and her friends have a clear aim on their back-country adventure. Making the most of Iceland’s volcanic forces - they head for the country's famous hot springs.
Birna says “You’re a bit tired after the challenge during the day, and it is the most amazing feeling.”
Bathing in geothermal pools is a national pastime for Icelanders – and as a working mum, it’s a place for Brynhildur and her friends to relax, connect with nature and each other. Perhaps this is perfect happiness - a little bit of outdoor hygge in the Scandinavian wilderness.
Episode 3 producer and director Poppy Riddle shares poignant stories and observations from filming
Tracking down Wolf Spiders in Iceland’s hot springs
The idea that wolf spiders might be active in winter in Iceland’s hot springs, started off as a hopeful hunch, based on an old scientific paper I had found. We knew that they were present in Iceland’s hot springs during summer, and according to the paper, they had been found hunting and even waddling around with egg sacs in January at a hot spring in Romania … but no Icelandic scientist was able or willing to guarantee that they didn’t go into a winter dormancy - as these spiders do everywhere else that they live. I was warned it was likely we wouldn’t see any at all. Everybody in the team took a bit of convincing that this potential story was worth the costly risk. But if we found the spiders it would be the first time that they had ever been filmed like this… so, we took the plunge and booked our flights.
After a week quarantining, we travelled all day across the strange lunar landscape of the highlands. Getting to the remote lodge in Landmannalaugar was a serious challenge. Only vehicles with extra suspension and oversize tyres known as ‘super-jeeps’ can cope with the deep snow and extreme offroad terrain of the highlands in winter, but even with those enormous tyres we kept getting stuck in hidden ruts beneath deep slushy snow – each time having to pile out and get towed out by the much lighter escort vehicle, without whom we wouldn’t have made it!
We finally arrived at the lodge in darkness. We couldn’t resist immediately getting into the hot springs, and no sooner had we begun swimming in the warm shallows than the local ranger and lodge manager, Dorí, pointed up at the sky at the dancing lights of the aurora. It was a magical start to the shoot, and we took it as a good omen for our spiders.
Even still, the next day as we waded through the warm waters looking for signs of the spiders, I felt my anxiety rising. I had put to the back of my mind the fact we hadn’t spotted any webs across the mossy banks when we had been swimming, but I crossed my fingers and headed upstream, towards the source of the hot springs. Finally, near the stained mineral rocks and thick algae mats where the water was bubbling up, I spotted a small web bejewelled with water droplets. Once I had seen them, I couldn’t unsee them – they were everywhere, coating every strand of moss in a thick mat all around us. I lifted up one of the mineral stained rocks and five spiders ran out in different directions towards the clusters of tiny black flies that I had also managed to miss… but I had my eye-in now, and it seemed as if the ground was heaving with spiders and flies. Relief spread over the team, and we began assembling our field-set that would allow us to capture these spiders on macro lenses, only inches above their hot-water home.
These wolf spiders were tiny - happily fitting on a 5p and well camouflaged in the muddy mosses. Working from a set allowed us to keep the camera above the water line and provided us with 360-degree access to the spiders, ensuring we were able to capture all the angles we’d need, as well as get our lenses close enough for the very tightest shots. The spiders needed to behave naturally for the sequence to work, so we also had to make the set feel like home. It was quite tricky to replicate the conditions of the hot spring, and Tuppence, John and I had spent many hours poring over the set design plans when we were back in the office, with no real guarantee it was all going to work! A car battery powered a pump, sending hot water through an array of hoses and flowing across the set, keeping everything nice and warm for our tiny stars… but working in the steam came with its own challenges including foggy lenses and a wet camera! John didn’t seem to mind; it was probably quite a treat to sit in the warm water whilst the air outside was -7 degrees!
Only five days into filming, the very forces that create Iceland’s hots springs made an appearance and cut short the shoot… as we received news alerts that a volcano in the Southwest was due to erupt and there was a possibility that the airport would have to close… so we packed up and hightailed it out of the highlands, to ensure we made it home. In 2022 we returned to Iceland to complete filming, finally capturing a hunting sequence, before returning the spiders to their normal lives, blissfully unaware of their impending stardom in the Ice and Fire episode of the series.