ICELANDIC SAGA

Hi everyone, how's tricks, or "Hae, hvad segirdu?" in the local lingo, although everyone speaks PERFECT English and we haven't used ANY Icelandic to date.

We had an excellent 2-night crossing from Shetland, after an overnight crossing from Aberdeen and a day in Shetland awaiting next ferry. This has given us a thirst to stop over for at least a few days on our return trip.

We have had a blowy and wet 10 days so far. The weather pattern is supposed to be the edge of the Gulf Stream meeting with the Arctic flows: or is that the Faroes? The guide books say we can get all 4 seasons in one day; we are still awaiting the other 3. Anyway, the terrain sure is exposed to the weather. Mostly volcanic, we are now experts on lava fields and have even inspected the inside of a large crater (extinct). Of course there are also bubbling mud pools and 100 degrees water/steam coming up all over the place. This in turn makes for hot tubs and outdoor pools in just about every little hamlet. Mmmm. Added to which there is a surfeit of waterfalls and the word 'geyser' originated here with the original 'Geysir'.

We landed on the east coast (opposite side of Iceland from Reykjavik) and have taken the main (only) circular road around the perimeter (1,000 miles roughly), working our way anticlockwise. Now, that is rather typical of the Webbs since all the guide books describe everything in a clockwise direction, but I cannot tell you right now just WHY we set off in that direction. There are tracks to the interior, but they are strictly 4WD usage. In fact many coastal roads are the same: at last we have found somewhere that justifies these gas-guzzling monsters - even the school buses are 4WD here.

We have of course detoured from Route 1, trying to avoid gravel tracks although this is not always possible, causing one crack and 2 chips in the windscreen so far. Our 4-ton monster is rather susceptible to the grassy verges so we are very wary.

On the north coast we made it within 30 km of the Arctic Circle, where a lot of our time has been spent puffin-hunting but I think they have all flown off to sea for the winter. However, there are lots of interesting seabirds – gannets, ptarmigan, guillemots, etc – so we are NOT complaining. For the humans it is a very bleak, tough existence and this is in the 4 month 'summer' period. Whaling of course plays a big part in Iceland's history and, while still an emotive subject, it seems to be moving more towards whale-watching rather than whale-eating. Food is a delight – we feast on halibut and haddock, herring and kippers. The local lamb is succulent and vegetables and fruit are readily available (using the Dutch hothouse system is easy here with so much steam available).

We are now about half way round our circuit, in Reykjavik for a few days to gather our breath and shelter for a while from the windy and rain-swept coastline. Excellent so far. Next we work our way slowly along the south coast back to the port for the next leg of our journey, a week in the Faroe Islands.

Well, the weather has really closed in now. We have had a lovely few days, some sun and little rain, even managing a hike into the hills following 10 waterfalls! But the wind strengthened in the night and we decided to make a dash for the nearest town 30 km away. The wipers were blown out and away from the windscreen twice – it was VERY scary. We then were told by a local NOT to drive any further: "If you go, your vehicle will be wrecked." Apparently the next stretch of 100+ km has hazard warning flashing lights to warn of sand-storms (for 'sand' read 'lava grit') and if they are flashing you DO NOT GO. So we have now battened down the hatches, for a few days probably, until the storm blows out: that is the advice anyway. We have a week to get to the ferry and if this route is too dangerous we shall backtrack all the way round to the north again. Oh well. Watch this space. Or listen to the shipping forecast and let us know!

Phew, we made it! 1,500 miles with one cracked windscreen, toughened nerves and lots and lots of lovely pictures and memories.

Anyway, the day after that diary entry we set off once again with our intrepid Italian backpackers in tow (we'd given them a lift out of the previous campsite in the storm and they had sheltered in the local Youth Hostel) and managed the lava desert in merely strong winds. VERY pleased to arrive at the glaciers, where a few days in the National Park with some lovely hiking and a little sunshine restored our spirits. Then once again a complete change of scenery, travelling via a lake filled with icebergs to arrive in the south-eastern fjords. My, they were beautiful. Meandering in and out, we explored fishing villages and were lucky once again with a few hours' respite from the rain. A very relaxing final few days and now we are sitting at the port awaiting our ferry to the Faroe Islands.

A few final thoughts. We came in September, hoping to see the Northern Lights, and anticipating that the flies would not be so ferocious (apparently in July they fly up your nostrils chasing carbon dioxide!) What we hadn't appreciated was that the weather in September in Iceland can only be likened to the worst winter storms of January/February in England. Also, we like travelling off-season but found a lot of museums and boat trips had finished by the end of August. However, we did appreciate that there were no crowds, quiet roads and no flies. While most of the campsites were closed, they were never barred or locked and continued to provide facilities which were always excellent – spotlessly clean toilets, usually plenty of hot water, often showers (sometimes heated), often providing electric hook-up - there was just no-one to pay!

Finally, there are 4 types of road in Iceland: paved, gravel, unmaintained and 4WD only. Just once we followed Martin's famous line "I know a short-cut" – it was an unmaintained road. Unfortunately we did not interpret the Icelandic warning sign correctly. I do NOT recommend this.

Would we do it again? YES. Perhaps in a 4WD to explore the uninhabited Interior.

We left as we started, with strong winds and rain, entailing a VERY choppy overnight crossing. From now on, when we listen to the Shipping Forecast we shall have a little more sympathy for the poor souls out in it trawling for our supper! Has anyone read the book 'Trawler' – highly recommended.

We are now ensconced on Tjorshaven, the main island and capital of the Faroe Islands. Actually, the whole 18 islands only cover 70 x 47 miles and you are never more than 5 km from the sea! With a population of 48,000, 97% of exports are fish, although tourism is now increasingly important. What a welcome we received! With the only campsite closed, we had difficulty finding parking for the van, so we headed for the Tourist Office. "Of course you can use the campsite, just keep the gate closed please. Do you want electric? There is plenty of hot water and the restroom is heated. Do you require a free parking permit?" We thought the Icelandic welcome was great, this is even warmer.

So here we are set up for our week, parked overlooking glorious coastline on an empty campsite. There is so much exploring to do, so many plans, helicopter and bus timetables to work out (to get to the more remote islands), fishing to organise, the highest cliffs in Europe to climb, and lots and lots of hiking trails to choose from. AND the weather is a different kettle of fish – calmer, balmier and sunnier … mmm.

On Leaving Tjorshavn, Faroe Islands  27 September 2006 

Hi everyone, we are now in port awaiting the ferry which will take us overnight back to the Shetlands, at the end of a very relaxing week on the Faroes. We have driven and hiked around the 2 main islands, surprisingly clocking up 300 miles, and that is just about it - typical Webbs, so many plans and so little time.

Taking a 2-hour boat trip around the Vestmanna bird cliffs is marked as the top attraction in our guide book, with daily trips through the summer. In late September, we tried 3 times but they require a minimum of 5 people and there was just us. Oh well, next time.

Each abortive journey to Vestmanna gave us another breathtaking drive. We travelled over the original mountain road (the only road in and out of Tjorshaven until a tunnel was bored through the mountain in 1992) with superlative views over Kaldbaksfjordur fjord (and saw a man mowing the roof!). We detoured round to the other side of the bird cliffs to walk over them from the amazing old whaling station at Tjornuvik. To quote our guide book: "As you drive this exceedingly narrow stretch of road bound for end-of-the-road Tjornuvik, it 's easy to see why it was one of the last sections of the Faroese road network to be built; the soaring sides of Jaegsafjall (470 m) reach virtually all the way to the shore … indeed the track was so steep and treacherous in parts that it demanded a steady nerve if you were to avoid a precipitous drop into the sound below." (Faroe Islands, The Bradt Travel Guide). Even though a paved road exists, it narrows ominously in parts and we wouldn 't recommend it to any vehicle wider than ours. But well worth the drive!

To quote the Bradt Guide again: "Tjornuvik enjoys the most stunning setting of any settlement in the Faroe Islands." The old whaling station really is the end of the road and it is from here we captured the best views of the two sea stacks – Risin and Kellingin – the most photographed of all Faroese natural attractions, on the headland of the adjoining island of Esturoy. This is also the starting point of the walk up and over the famous bird cliffs of Vestmanna. A brief note on whaling: the Faroese catch around 900 small pilot whales (not an endangered species) each year, driven ashore into shallow bays and killed by a deep cut through the spinal cord (death is almost immediate). The meat and blubber is still a staple part of the national diet. No doubt they would point out to protestors that blue tuna IS becoming an endangered species in the Mediterranean because of over-fishing.

Unfortunately, on our fifth day the weather changed and driving wind and rain put paid to our tourist plans – we settled for Michael Palin travelling 'Full Circle ' on DVD. Still, 24 hours later we were back in business, as the sun shone and the wind dropped.

Another abortive plan was the helicopter trip. Idiotically, we left organising it until the last available (for us) of the thrice weekly scheduled service. Yes, you guessed it, the low cloud worried us. Actually, to quote our guide book once again: "Both the helicopter and ferries can be subject to delays and cancellation in bad weather, so it 's a good idea to allow several days ' leeway between a trip and your journey home." Since there were only 2 more ferries back to the Shetlands after ours before shutting down for the winter, and they were fully booked, it was NOT a risk we cared to take. Once again, next time?

Would we return? A resounding YES, we would allow more time and arrive earlier in the season in order to travel further afield. Martin 's planned fishing trip also fell foul of the end-of-season scarcity of trips. We knew when we only planned one week that it would just be a 'taster ' and, after all, there are another 16 islands to explore.

The Shetland Islands

We have had a super relaxing week on the Shetland Isles – in fact extended our planned 5 days because we were so relaxed. We based ourselves in the excellent campsite at Lerwick Leisure Centre – full hook-up (INCLUDING black waste) on each pitch, large and paved with equal size gravel alongside each pitch for sitting out (one guide book states "we do not recommend frame tents or awnings because of the wind speed"!!!!). We did not experience this – in fact for the very first time on Sunday we sat outside on our loungers in sunshine, even though we are still closer to the Arctic Circle than to Manchester or Liverpool! No wonder we extended our stay.

From Lerwick we explored the south and west mainland – most amazing trip of all was en route to visit the ancient settlement of Jarlshof, which entailed waiting in our van while a BA plane took off across our bows (the road cuts across the runway of the main airport).

For the north we changed campsite, again finding a superb full hook-up overlooking sea stacks and deserted bays. Having driven 1,500 miles in Iceland and 300 in the Faroes, we again surprised ourselves by covering another 300 in Shetland. The single track roads with marked passing places reminded us very much of the Outer Hebrides, as did much of the scenery and warm welcome. We feasted on fresh langoustine, calamari and halibut – in fact, again as in the Outer Hebrides, most of their shellfish is shipped straight to Spain.

The birdlife is superb and we are almost losing count of the number of species we twitchers have logged, but skuas and shags, kittiwakes and fulmars, razorbills and storm petrels are just a few. Plus, of course, Shetland ponies vie with sheep to stop us in our tracks and basking seals gaze up at us from the shoreline.

Archaeological remains are rather over-rated except for one or two – we faithfully follow narrow tracks searching for the "standing stones", "chambered cairn", "Neolithic house" and brochs galore marked on our Leisure & Tourist Map and/or in our Guide – all to no avail. We are either very stupid, they are well hidden or it takes more imagination than we possess. Oh well, historians we are not and the hikes over the peat moors in search of these sites have made it all worthwhile. As the well-used phrase goes "the travelling is sometimes better than the arriving."

Now we are off to catch another ferry, only 5 hours this time, to the Orkneys. Sadly, we are running out of time – 10 days left before our target of mid-October to return.

The Orkney Islands

And the sun shone. According to one old chap we were experiencing an Indian Summer – about time too! Thanks to our pal Lynn, who lived on the Orkneys for many years, and yet again an excellent Tourist Office we set off on the historical trail.

We strolled around so many archaeological sites that even Martin was getting glazed. Iron Age, Picts, Vikings and Scots – all left their mark and only a fraction of the sites have been excavated. We travelled the length and breadth of the South Isles and Mainland – the absolute top of the sights for us was the southernmost point of South Ronaldsay, the Tomb of the Eagles. In 1957 Ronald Simison was looking around his land for quarry stones for fencing and unearthed more than he bargained for. 20 years on he had unearthed a prehistoric chambered tomb, the remains of more than 300 people, fine pottery and the talons of at least 10 white-tailed sea eagles (hence the name Tomb of the Eagles).

Also, with the help of archaeology students, an Iron Age roundhouse has been exposed. Now, for a nominal sum you get a personal tour of a superb museum (getting to handle skulls, implements etc), then Ronnie himself in his lilting voice explains the Iron Age roundhouse and its workings. He is a character and we could have listened to his tales and humour all day, but time was moving on and we still had a super cliff-top walk to the Tomb itself, which you have to slide into on a trolley! What an excellent few hours.

Another highlight was the Brough of Bursay – reached by a causeway only exposed at low tide – where a Norse/Pict village has been uncovered. Then a detour inland to Kirbuster Museum, where you wander through a restored Orkney-style blackhouse – the last surviving farmhouse with central hearth and stone neuk (nook) beds set into the walls. Yes, the peat fire was alight and the smoky atmosphere and blackened furniture set the scene beautifully. The smoky kitchen (smokehouse) was in its original state (mid 1500s) and the central peat-burning fire hearth is the only known one left in Europe. All for free!

We walked along cliff top after cliff top, always more to see and always set in superb locations. When we were tired, we parked the van and slept to the sound of seagulls and the smell of seaweed. All this before we had even started on what we anticipated would be the highlights of our visit – Skara Brae, then the Neolithic heartland with Maes Howe, the Standing Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar.

We did tour the Neolithic heartland of the Orkneys. Martin increased his knowledge of the Stone Age and where it fits into general history – I increased my wealth of pictures. Arriving in Stromness to see the evening ferry sitting waiting at the docks, we hopped on it and were back on the mainland 2 hrs later!

So many sights, so many memories. Now it is home time – we travel with a battered van and a wealth of memories … Icelandic grandeur, Faroean splendour, Shetland wildlife and Orkney history – what a melting pot.

Scotland

Once ashore, we parked beside a gorgeous fishing harbour at Scrabster and awoke to see the crabs being unloaded from the fishing boats.

So began the long drive home. The A9 travels through the highlands to the coast and then into some absolutely superb coastal roads – we highly recommend that drive. Then the majestic Cairngorms before we joined the M9, where we had left it en route to Aberdeen 6 weeks earlier. A very relaxing Sunday drive.

Iceland: Strokkur blowing at Geysir
Iceland: Godafoss & Glacier Godafoss waterfall with glacier in background
Iceland: Jokulsarion – icebergs floating in the lake
Iceland: Myvatn Mudpool
Iceland: Seljalandfoss
Iceland: Skogar
Iceland: Skogar Hike and yet another waterfall, yet another rainbow
The Faroe Islands: Kalsbackfjordur. One more fjord, one more superb view
The Faroe Islands: Mowing the roof!
The Faroe Islands: Risin & Kellingin, the most photographed of all the Faroes natural attractions
The Faroe Islands: Torshaven, capital “city” of the Faroes
Iceland: Skogar Camping - our Knaus Sunlinervan on a typical Icelandic campsite
The Faroe Islands: Torshaven Camping, the only campsite we found open in the Faroe
Shetland: Braewick Campsite
Shetland: Jarlshof Settlement
Shetland: Lerwick Airport
Shetland: Who's gonna move first?
Shetland: OK you win
Shetland: Oyster Catcher Kittiwake
Shetland: Seal
Shetland: Shetland Ponies
Orkney: Brough of Birsay
Orkney: Brough of Birsay Causeway
Orkney: Kirbister Farm Museum
Orkney: Tomb of the Eagles
Orkney: Tomb of the Eagles
Orkney: Wallking to Brough of Deerness