Snæfellsnes (Western Iceland) - June 2013

A week of walking, sightseeing and reading my book. Weather was mainly wet and windy or overcast where I was, but lovely everywhere else on the island.

Holidays

Photo Gallery

(1) The small town of Grundarfjördur looking across the bay from Kirkjufell (Day 1)

(2) The iconic Kirkjufell mountain (the most photographed mountain in Iceland) 469m.
I never did get to walk round its base because of the awful weather which started the day after I took this photo. (Day 1)

(3) The waterfalls at Kirkjufellsfossar just south of the mountain (Day 1)

(4) The harbour at the small town of Stykkisholmur.
This is the most northerly point I reached - above latitude 65° North - 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. (Day 2)

(5) Tuesday was another washout so I drove round the peninsular and stopped at the lighthouse at Malarrif.
Here the typical lava boulder strewn terrain is covered by moss.
Not a tree to be seen in this bleak moonscape. (day 3)

(6) Moving on to the next hotel.
I did a 4 mile walk from Skardsvik beach to the lighhouse at Öndverdarnes on the westernmost tip of the peninsular. (D4)

(7) It was a case of find the next cairn and walk to it across this grey lava, grass and moss.

(8) After an eventful walk I arrived back at Skardsvik beach where the car was parked.
The black basalt contrasting with the yellow sand makes a nice photo (D4).

(9) Having moved on to Hellnar on the south of Snæfellsnes, I did a couple of walks on Thursday.
This was a coastal walk along cliffs and past 2 volcanic plugs to the lighhouse at Malarrif (D5)

(10) These are the two volcanic structures which remain after softer surrounding rock was eroded (D5)

(11) The cliffs at Londrangar which are sites where thousands of gulls and other seabirds nest.
Some people come to Iceland just to watch them. Not my cup of tea.

(12) There weren't many flowers on show but these tiny pink ones on the ground were quite common.
This was Friday (Day 6) and I did a 12km there and back walk from Malarrif to the black beach at Djupalonssandur.

(13) Looking north to the glacier known as Snæfellsjökull which sits on a dormant volcano.

(14) The jagged, dramatic coastline heading west.(D6)

(15) Just about to reach the black shingle at Djupalonssandur.
This beach was where a trawler from Grimsby was wrecked in March 1948.

(16) Bits of rust metal remain from the Epine GY7.
Only 5 of the crew of 19 survived the wreck in hostile weather (D6)

(17) More flowers growing on the lava. I need to put a bit of colour into this collection!

(18) On the afternoon of Friday I had a nice skyrkaka cheesecake at the cafe at Hellnar.
Also did a final stroll on the cliff tops and took this photo showing Stapafell, north of Hellnar.

(19) On Saturday, Day 7 I drove south, taking two hitchhikers, to Rejkjavik.
This is the impressive Hallgrimskirkja cathedral which towers over the town.

(20) The view from my hotel room.
By this stage I was glad to be at the end of the holiday.
The next morning I drove down to the airport at Keflavik for the journey home.

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(1) The small town of Grundarfjördur looking across the bay from Kirkjufell (Day 1)
(2) The iconic Kirkjufell mountain (the most photographed mountain in Iceland) 469m. I never did get to walk round its base because of the awful weather which started the day after I took this photo. (Day 1)
(3) The waterfalls at Kirkjufellsfossar just south of the mountain (Day 1)
(4) The harbour at the small town of Stykkisholmur. This is the most northerly point I reached - above latitude 65° North - 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. (Day 2)
(5) Tuesday was another washout so I drove round the peninsular and stopped at the lighthouse at Malarrif. Here the typical lava boulder strewn terrain is covered by moss. Not a tree to be seen in this bleak moonscape. (day 3)
(6) Moving on to the next hotel. I did a 4 mile walk from Skardsvik beach to the lighhouse at Öndverdarnes on the westernmost tip of the peninsular. (D4)
(7) It was a case of find the next cairn and walk to it across this grey lava, grass and moss.
(8) After an eventful walk I arrived back at Skardsvik beach where the car was parked. The black basalt contrasting with the yellow sand makes a nice photo (D4).
(9) Having moved on to Hellnar on the south of Snæfellsnes, I did a couple of walks on Thursday. This was a coastal walk along cliffs and past 2 volcanic plugs to the lighhouse at Malarrif (D5)
(10) These are the two volcanic structures which remain after softer surrounding rock was eroded (D5)
(11) The cliffs at Londrangar which are sites where thousands of gulls and other seabirds nest. Some people come to Iceland just to watch them. Not my cup of tea.
(12) There weren't many flowers on show but these tiny pink ones on the ground were quite common. This was Friday (Day 6) and I did a 12km there and back walk from Malarrif to the black beach at Djupalonssandur.
(13) Looking north to the glacier known as Snæfellsjökull which sits on a dormant volcano.
(14) The jagged, dramatic coastline heading west.(D6)
(15) Just about to reach the black shingle at Djupalonssandur. This beach was where a trawler from Grimsby was wrecked in March 1948.
(16) Bits of rust metal remain from the Epine GY7. Only 5 of the crew of 19 survived the wreck in hostile weather (D6)
(17) More flowers growing on the lava. I need to put a bit of colour into this collection!
(18) On the afternoon of Friday I had a nice skyrkaka cheesecake at the cafe at Hellnar. Also did a final stroll on the cliff tops and took this photo showing Stapafell, north of Hellnar.
(19) On Saturday, Day 7 I drove south, taking two hitchhikers, to Rejkjavik. This is the impressive Hallgrimskirkja cathedral which towers over the town.
(20) The view from my hotel room. By this stage I was glad to be at the end of the holiday. The next morning I drove down to the airport at Keflavik for the journey home.