This small town is synonymous in Norway with pollution, post-industrial decline and has verged on national jokehood. It’s fair to say a lot of similarly-maligned British places would sell their municipal souls to illustrate their tourism websites with pictures showing the kind of natural beauty enjoyed by Odda.

Although Odda's not unique around Hardangerfjord in its spectacular blessings of mountain, fjord and glacier (and all the outdoor activities associated with such delights), its industrial heritage  lifts it above being just another beauty spot. With the former carbide plant in the town centre symbolising its past, visitors at this time may well see Odda's future taking shape around them as the local authorities decide how best to make tourism, rather than industry, the town’s economic heartbeat.