Making things up since 1837. Contact me at gordonwrotesomething [at] gordondarroch.com
Tuesday, July 21 Canoeists taking their chances with the icebergs on the lake at Jökulsárlón Travel time: 8 hours 15 minutes Distance: 630km Destination: Eskifjördur It’s the big travel day: a 630km trek across the south coast, and the first time I’ve really regretted not being able to stop and linger along the way. The … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 11
Day 10 The descent into Raufarhólshellir. Travel time: 0 Distance: n/a Destination: Selfoss and Golden Circle Today is a day of activities. I’ve booked a guided tour so that we can knock out a few of the attractions in the area known in the brochures as the Golden Circle and – crucially, from my point … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 10
Sunday, July 19 Leif Erikson's statue outside Hallgrímskirkja Travel time: 2 hours 15 minutes Distance: 135km Destination: Reykjavik I celebrate the halfway point of our trip by doing some laundry. Hand washing, since none of the houses we booked have washing machines, a throwback to the days of rationing or the gites Dad used to … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 9
Saturday, July 18 Echoes of a certain Scottish movie scene … Travel time: 6 hours 20 minutes Distance: 485km Destination: Vaðnes We set off back on the road for the second of three long drives. The road winds up from Dalvik, around the north-west coast, sometimes with nothing but a sheer cliff between you and … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 8
Friday, July 17 An arctic tern soars above the mountains south of Dalvik. Travel time: 25 minutes Distance: 24km Destination: Hauganes We awake to piercing blue skies and a total absence of wind, the kind of midsummer’s day you expect in the Austrian Alps rather than northern Iceland. After lunch I drive down with my … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 7
Thursday, July 16 The Svarfadardalur nature reserve. Every turn in Iceland brings a new sensory overload. Travel time: 9 hours (ferry), 4 hours 15 minutes (car) Distance covered: 335km Destination: Dalvik Iceland is a preposterous place in many ways. A huge island thrown up near the Arctic Circle by volcanic ruptures should be bleak and … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 6
Wednesday, July 15 Shetland, brooding in the morning light Travel time: 24 hours (ferry) Destination: Torshavn & Seyðisfjörður It’s not generally a good thing to be surprised by a lighthouse. But when I wake up at 7am and check the ship’s location app, I discover to my delight that we are right alongside the north … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 5
Tuesday, July 14 On the open sea Travel time: 48 minutes (car), 13 hours (ferry) Distance covered: 71km Destination: Hirtshals and beyond I must begin by conceding that air conditioning would have been a blessed relief last night, because the room was oppressively hot. I managed to improvise by wedging a fan in an open … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 4
Monday, July 13 Getting there … in Aalborg Travel time: 8 hours, 18 minutes Distance covered: 758km We set out for the German border at 8.15am, only 15 minutes behind schedule, though it stretches to 25 minutes when I have to go back for my glasses and my eldest son forgets his raincoat. The last … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 3
Sunday, July 12 We're not flying: we're sailing with style. Travel time: 20 minutes Distance covered: 20km I had a private cinema screening today. That’s not how it was planned: one of my sons wanted to watch Toy Story 5 and the film was showing at 11am on Sunday. The cinema in Emmen offered a … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 2