Bradt Travel Guide: Svalbard

The updated Bradt Svalbard guidebook, now in its seventh edition, remains the only detailed, standalone guidebook from a major publisher to this evocative high Arctic archipelago. Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and Jan Mayen collectively constitute Europe's wildest frontier. In this remote destination, perfect for ecotourism and adventure sports, the Global Seed Vault safeguards plants in case of environmental disaster, there are 4,000 snow scooters for a population of just 2,500 and reindeer graze beside icy roads, keeping a wary eye open for polar bears. AUTHOR: Gillian Gloyer is a travel writer who has written two Bradt guidebooks: Albania (one of Bradt's top-selling titles, now in its seventh edition) and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Updating Bradt's Svalbard guidebook represents a departure, particularly as the countries where Gillian has worked hitherto are more likely to have goats than polar bears. Nevertheless, hailing from Scotland renders her well-prepared, as the country's high mountains have a sub-Arctic climate, and she often gasps at the northern lights though her mother's kitchen window. Having travelled around mainland Norway many years ago, by bus, train and ship, and experiencing the midnight sun in the Lofoten Islands, she has been champing at the bit to head farther north still and fully explore the riches of Svalbard. 50 colour photos, 12 maps