Iceland truly is a magical place. A scary barren, unforgiving place. Let me tell you, driving along its winding, curvy roads and suddenly being enveloped in a snow drift with visibility at zero is quite a thing not often experienced where I live. Looking over razor-sharp black rock ledges with sheer drops into the icy ocean below and the feel of the wind roaring against your face makes you realise your place.
Iceland is a relatively small island but it’s not difficult to find yourself feeling like you’re the only one for miles. In parts you can drive for an age and barely see another soul until you reach the areas of interest where suddenly coaches, cars and tours appear seemingly out of nowhere!
I was eager to return and this time I aimed to bring some of my ceramics with me. I wanted to capture images of it immersed in the environment that inspired it. I can’t tell you what a feeling it was to retrace some of my footsteps and reconnect with the place that has inspired my creativity.
We visited many great places during a few days in March and here’s my experience of them.
Heading to Gullfoss and Geysir first we ventured along through to Pingvellir National Park on an epic clear blue-sky day; however it was a touch windy and on the exposed open roads we encountered a howling, snow-drifting blizzard which covered the road completely and took visibility in front to zero. Scary stuff for a moment or two! My friend Damien handled the road like a pro! Pingvellir itself was breath-taking and that clear blue sky day offered our first views across snow-covered valleys, mountains and lakes. Simply stunning.
The Gullfoss waterfalls are a sight I doubt I’ll ever tire of. The sound and scale of the falls is quite something. It was a delight to return. The colours, even on a cloudy day run from icy blue-grey to dark matt black from the waters to the rocky edges.
Just down the road Geysir has some truly epic geothermal pools which bubble, boil and blow up almost on cue. They have even changed shape, colour and strength since my first visit in 2012. It’s great to watch people’s anticipation of the largest Geyser as it’s about to blow out. The sulphuric smell here can be intense and it’s remarkable to put your hand in the waters on a cold day and feel the temperature like that of a hot tap.
The long road trip to Vík is mainly that of endless lava fields with only a covering of green moss in between mountainous ranges. Here the tiny roads are almost swallowed up by these mountains which slope downwards right to the very edge of the land. On route we stopped to enjoy the epic view of Skogafoss waterfall with its icy cold spray freezing at its base and covering the surrounding rocks in a white blanket of ice. It was just beautiful here. Vík itself is the southern-most village and has a huge black sand and rock beach with the wind and ocean howling towards it. I love it here. The three beautiful Reynisdrangar rock formations in legend were said to have been formed by Trolls attempting to drag three ships ashore! The black volcanic sand here is just something else. No sun bathing here that day though.
The Reykjanes Peninsula in the south west was somewhere completely new for me and I’d heard it had some of the ‘best kept secrets’ of Iceland. Yet more tiny winding curvy roads snake across and through mountain areas and bring you to the beautiful area of Krýsuvík with its wondrous sights - like that of Kleifarvatn and Grænavatn lakes (don’t worry, I can’t pronounce them either!) which rest on the fissure zone of the Mid-Atlantic ridge no less. They were completely covered in blue ice but still so magical. Here we also discovered the delights of Seltún and its geothermal boiling mud pools. The colours on the ground, covering rocks, emanating from its surface (even on a rainy day) were yellow, red and blue-grey. It was quite ‘other wordly’ and like nothing I’d seen before. At Reykjanes we experienced the delights of Gunnuhver Hot Springs where the legend goes that a female ghost caused a great disturbance there until she was pushed in to the geyser itself. Interesting! The black rock and lava craters here underneath the Reykjanes Lighthouse are like the surface of another planet. Seabirds nest on the quite frankly ‘vertigo-inducing’ rock ledges that provide such a beautiful view out to sea.
Even when completely relaxed in the beautiful milky-blue warm waters of the Blue Lagoon you’re still reminded of Iceland’s raw, rough edges - the wind howling over your cold, exposed head which peeps just above the water and the black volcanic sand and rock beneath your feet. It’s outdoors and pretty wild. I’ve probably never felt as relaxed as I did in that Lagoon though…
I know I’ll be back. I’ve still got the north of the island to see yet….

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An Icelandic adventure….