On pure white sand, my young daughter is building a sandcastle. In the water, snorkellers in wetsuits are on the lookout for jellyfish and sea anemones. Further out, surfers take to the sparkling waves.

Soon we’ll be licking an ice-cream in the clear bright sunlight. The tableau feels wholesome. Innocent. Like the summer holiday beach scenes of my childhood. Maybe it’s the peace and quiet. Maybe it’s the light: rinsed clear of pollution. Maybe it’s the slight chill behind the warmth of the sun.

It would be surprising if there wasn’t a certain coolness in the air. We are, after all, more than 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. We are at Skagsanden beach, on Flakstadøya, one of the Lofoten islands off the north west coast of Norway.

From the shoreline, we can see the undulating Flaks

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