The Iron Curtain Trail starts in the very far north of Europe, beyond the Arctic Circle, near the Norwegian town of Kirkenes. From there it makes its long descent through the rarely visited east of Finland - well over a thousand kilometres of woods, lakes, reindeer and welcoming locals. It is the perfect way to to explore one of the continent's last wildernesses. As you get closer to the shores of the Gulf of Finland inevitably civilisation starts to intrude not least in the form of the magnificent city of St Petersburg, the former imperial city of Russia.
