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OVER a family dinner at home, I had a proposal for my teenage son. 

If I organised a road trip round north-west Norway, would he leave that ruddy mobile phone behind? 

A few months later and I’m driving our family of five on the Atlantic Ocean Road, ticking off Storseisundet Bridge from my bucket list. 

The name might not be familiar but you’ve probably seen the bizarre, twisty structure in photos — or perhaps in James Bond film No Time To Die. 

It is the longest of eight bridges on the five-mile highway, which connects a chain of tiny islands. 

Search for it on Google Maps and it looks like the road simply runs over water. 

SPLASH OUT

Costa del Sol’s biggest waterpark hotel with eight pools is 23C in half term

TURKISH DELIGHT

The perfect place for families – with waterslides, fairground rides and fun

To soak it in, almost literally, we stopped to hike along a coastal path and then over a pedestrian bridge, with the fierce ocean lapping just a short distance below. 

“Ooh, this is a bit Top Gear!” said my wife as we then continued our drive, through a succession of dramatic bends. She wasn’t wrong. 

Norway’s north-west coast is a seriously fun place to drive. 

We’d borrowed an electric Polestar 4 car, which was very much at home in a country where electric vehicles now outnumber petrol motors. 

It’s much sportier and roomier than our own family car, and packed with 007-style features. 

At one point the display flashed “Front radar blocked”, prompting my ten-year-old to speculate that the weapons system had been disabled.

Less excitingly, it was just dirt on an external camera. Audible speeding alerts were welcome, given most roads had a modest 50mph limit. 

The drive from Alesund to mountaineering capital Andalsnes includes a long coastal stretch, some epic bridges, sweeping bends and extra-long tunnels.

But with late-afternoon darkness and driving rain, it was a relief to arrive at our accommodation — a snug and cosy wooden cabin at Andalsnes Hytteutleie. 

Deer stew 

Next morning, my wife and kids enthusiastically tackled indoor climbing walls at the Norwegian Mountaineering Centre. 

We’d borrowed an electric Polestar 4 car, which was very much at home in a country where electric vehicles now outnumber petrol motors

Just next door was the entrance for the Romsdalen Gondola, a cable car which took us up through the clouds to the Nesaksla Mountain, some 2322ft above sea level. 

Relaxing in the Eggen Restaurant at the top, we were treated to views of the valleys way, way below. 

We feasted on local produce including fish soup, deer stew, Angus meat burgers and delicious apple juice. 

From Andalsnes runs the Golden Train on the Rauma Line, described as “Europe’s most scenic train journey”.

Instead, we used our glossy white Polestar to follow the route. 

Parking at the base of Trollveggen (Troll Wall) we marvelled at the tallest vertical rock face in Europe, a mighty 3,600ft. 

Soon after, we passed by the Kylling Bridge — the majestic railway crossing featured in Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. 

As we approached the village of Bjorli, we explored the banks of a fir tree-lined river, with a mountain backdrop and the ground beneath us covered by a sprinkling of snow. 

It was a scene so magical, I half expected an appearance from Father Christmas himself. Our onward journey to the city Molde, on the banks of a fjord, included a hassle-free ferry trip. 

When there, we based ourselves for a few days at the Kviltorp Camping site, staying in four-bedroom “sea house” overhanging the water’s edge. 

Over breakfast, fog peeled away to reveal spectacular mountains across the fjord. Just beautiful. 

At the Molde Salmon Centre we learned about the science behind large-scale fish-farming and then cooked a salmon dish in the large kitchen. For our MasterChef-loving kids, this was an unexpected highlight of our week.

Over breakfast, fog peeled away to reveal spectacular mountains across the fjord. Just beautiful

A trip to the Aker Stadium to watch local football side Molde FK — former home to Man City star Erling Haaland and once managed by Man United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, didn’t disappoint either. 

SHOP TO IT

Shoppers race to grab kitchen set scanning for just £6 with huge £50 off

MURDER PROBE

‘Murdered’ businessman found dead inside his own home just weeks after wife

We rounded off our trip back in Alesund, where an exhausting walk up 416 steps to Viewpoint Aksla is almost mandatory — and great for photos. 

I never did convince my son to leave his phone at home — but at least it’s now filled with hundreds of pictures of beautiful Norway. 

If you’re thinking about investing in the stock market today, you may be wondering whether it’s a better idea to go with the big names in the “Magnificent Seven” or to simply hold a position in the entire S&P 500.

The Magnificent Seven refers to some of the most prominent growth stocks in the world: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. Investing in these companies has yielded strong returns for investors over the years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 makes for a more balanced investment overall, as it gives investors broader exposure to the market while still growing over the long term. By having a position in the 500 best stocks rather than just the top seven, there’s much more diversification.

Which option should you go with today, if your focus is on long-term growth?

Image source: Getty Images.

The Magnificent Seven are magnificent, but they could be overdue for a decline

One way you can gain exposure to the Magnificent Seven is by investing in the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS -3.81%). The fund invests in just the Magnificent Seven and, thus, can be an easier option than investing in each stock individually. Since its launch in April 2023, the fund has soundly outperformed the S&P 500, rising by more than 165% while the broader index has achieved gains of around 64%.

Many of the Magnificent Seven have benefited from an uptick in demand due to artificial intelligence (AI) and have been investing heavily in next-gen technologies. However, many investors worry that a bubble has already formed around AI stocks and that spending could slow down, especially if there’s a recession on the horizon. If that happens, then these stocks could be susceptible to significant declines.

While these stocks have been flying high of late, back in 2022, when the market was in turmoil due to rising inflation and as investor sentiment was souring on growth stocks, each of the Magnificent Seven stocks fell by more than 26%. The worst-performing stocks were Meta and Tesla, which lost around 65% of their value. That year, the S&P 500 also fell, but at 19%, it was a more modest decline.

The S&P 500 is more diverse, but that doesn’t mean it’s risk-free

If you want to have exposure to the S&P 500, you can accomplish that by investing in an S&P 500 index fund, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY -2.67%). Its low expense ratio of 0.09% makes it a low-cost, no-nonsense way of tracking the S&P 500. Its focus is to simply mirror the index, and it does a great job of that.

The problem, however, is that while the S&P 500 will give you exposure to more stocks than just the seven best stocks in the world, how those leading stocks do will still have a significant impact on the overall stock market. And the Magnificent Seven, because they are so valuable, are also among the SPDR ETF’s largest holdings.

But even if you were to go with a more balanced exchange-traded fund, such as the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, which has an equal position in all S&P 500 stocks, that may only offer modest protection from a wide-scale sell-off. In 2022, the ETF declined by 13%.

You’re always going to face some risk when investing in the stock market, especially if your focus is on growth stocks, which can be particularly volatile.

What’s the better strategy for growth investors?

If your priority is growth, then going with the Magnificent Seven can still be the best option moving forward. These stocks will undoubtedly have bad years, but that’s the risk that comes with growth stocks. However, given their dominance in tech and AI, the Magnificent Seven still have the potential to vastly outperform the S&P 500 in the long run, and their gains are likely to far outweigh their losses.

A SINGLE UK ticket-holder has won the £25million EuroMillions jackpot, The National Lottery has announced.

The winning numbers for the Friday night draw were 06, 07, 17, 20 and 21 with the Lucky Star numbers 01 and 10.

1

It marks the second Friday in a row that a UK ticket-holder has won the top prize, and the fourth time this year.

Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “Wow, it’s been an exciting night for EuroMillions players, as a single UK ticket-holder has landed the amazing £25m jackpot.

“That’s two UK EuroMillions jackpot wins in the space of a week, after another lucky player scooped the incredible £26M jackpot in last Friday’s draw (3 October).

“Players are now urged to check their tickets and to give us a call if they think they are tonight’s lucky winner.”

Every EuroMillions ticket also bags you an automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker, which guarantees at least one player will pocket £1million in every draw.

The UK Millionaire Maker Selection winner is: TGXG94724.

The first EuroMillions draw took place on February 7, 2004, by three organisations: France’s Française des Jeux, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado in Spain and the Camelot in the UK.

One of the UK’s biggest prizes was up for grabs on December, 4, 2020 with a whopping £175million EuroMillions jackpot, which would make a winner richer than Adele.

Another previous UK winner who’s whole life was altered with their jackpot was a player who wanted to remain anonymous on October 8, 2019. They walked off with a cool £170,221,000.

Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Scotland, netted a huge £161,653,000 in the July 12, 2011.

Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Haverhill, Suffolk, picked up £148,656,000 after they played the draw on August, 10, 2012, while Jane Park became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she scooped up £1 million in 2013.

The odds of winning any EuroMillions prize are 1 in 13.

Everything you need to know about Lottery and EuroMillions