On remote mountains far beyond the Arctic Circle, there live a whole bunch of specialised butterflies, species that are, to me, almost mystical. About 16 species in all, the names alone are mouthwatering enough - Arctic Blue, Polar Fritillary, Dewy Ringlet, Norse Grayling and more.

However, with the world blighted by Covid-19 and its associated travel restrictions, and with myself suffering the consequences of tick-borne encephalitis, it was not perhaps the best time to ponder global travel. However, it was exactly what I felt I needed, so I decided on a 5350 km round-trip from Lithuania to the extreme north of Scandinavia to locate a number of these highly localised butterflies.