Type 23 frigate HMS Norfolk has paid a visit to the Norwegian port of Trondheim in preparation for a major NATO exercise.

Norfolk, along with other members of the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic, or SNFL, travelled from the balmy Mediterranean to the icy mountains of northern Norway in a week.

Their six-hour transit of the fjord was made exceptionally difficult by the blizzards which confronted them.

The six-day visit was designed to allow ships to prepare for Exercise Strong Resolve, but also allowed sailors of many nations to experience everyday life near the Arctic Circle.

With so much snow about, many took the opportunity to go skiing, with all standards catered for.

Strong Resolve is a two-week exercise involving around 40,000 service personnel from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries, based on the scenario of a territorial dispute.

The areas to be covered by the exercise include the Baltic, North Sea and Norwegian Sea, and this year part of the exercise will be ashore in Poland and Scandinavia.

Norfolk's involvement will be primarily in the Norwegian Sea, which is renowned for its harsh conditions. The warfare team on board the frigate can expect to be kept busy repelling air and submarine attacks.

When Strong Resolve is complete, Norfolk is planning to take a brief break in Bergen before resuming her programme.