Stretching credulity a little with the title as we actually toured in more than a degree of comfort, but tenuously justifiable as we visited a number of places that the Vikings had at some time traded with, invaded, pillaged, or simply popped round to for a cup of tea……..
Called in at Leith, so took the opportunity to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. Even if the Royals don’t hold much interest, the ship is still worth a look and is far less ostentatious than anticipated; having said that, the Royal quarters were still impressive, which is more than could be said for the staff billets – then again, probably much the same on a cruise ship, so shouldn’t be overly judgemental.
On our second visit to Lerwick, we were on this occasion blessed with fine and largely sunny weather, so this time had the opportunity to walk around part of the pleasant island coastline. Managed to do so without seeing any seals (which were plentiful apparently) or puffins (which weren’t).
Torshavn (capital of the Faroe Islands) is apparently the smallest capital in the world and the old town in particular was great to stroll around. Many of the buildings were ‘grass roofed’ and there were even a couple of modern buildings that had adopted the same technique. Pleased to report that the ‘Irish Pub’ has crossed the sea to the Faro Islands, as has Newcastle Brown Ale!
We visited two cities in Iceland, the first of which was Akureyri, in the north of the country. A beautiful setting, snow topped mountains framing the city and its iconic cathedral (with its stained glass window from Coventry); it is also the home to the northernmost botanical gardens in the world. The capital Reykjavik appears to be a busy and vibrant town and hosts a beautifully designed Opera and Concert Hall – a predominantly glass structure, its exterior is fairly impressive but the interior is stunning. However, the real highlight of the Iceland trip (apart from The Icelandic Phallological Museum) was the Golden Circle trip we did on the second day. (For those desperate to know more, the museum houses the world’s largest collection of penises and penile parts and is visited by thousands every year, the majority of them women apparently – is that disturbing or just a little threatening?)
The Golden Circle is the most popular and touristy route from Reykjavik but if you’ve only got one day I’d say it’s still a must see. Sometimes, routes are popular for a reason. We booked our own mini-bus tour before leaving the UK which meant there were only eleven of us instead of a coachload. More time at each site, less hanging around, extra stops and far cheaper, with an excellent guide with a degree in geology. The tour encompassed three main stops on the route – the waterfall Gullfoss, the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur, and Thingvellir.
Thingvellir is a beautiful national park where the continental drift is more visible than just about anywhere else in the world. The drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which cross the region (see pic), and it’s a little surreal to be able to stand between them. Some of the rifts are full of surprisingly clear water. One is littered with coins at its bottom. (After being bridged in 1907 for the arrival of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, visitors began to throw coins in the fissure, a tradition based on European legends: So says Wikipedia anyway). We also took in a couple of additional sites, including the impressive Kerid volcanic crater and the Tungufljot waterfall, which is smaller than Gullfloss but very photogenic.
In between the Icelandic ports of call, we went up to Greenland, which was one of the main drivers for taking the trip. So, it was a little disappointing when we couldn’t get to Tasiilaq on Ammassalik Island, because of ice and fog. We were incredibly fortunate, therefore, that the skies cleared to give us perfectweather for the cruise through Prins Christian Sund at the southeast tip of Greenland.
Greenland produces so many icebergs that navigation is tricky even during the summer and we were extremely lucky that the fog cleared and we were able to complete a full transit. 55 miles of steep fjords, icebergs, spectacular glaciers and plummeting waterfalls – every bit as beautiful as the Norwegian fjords and considerably more spectacular. We also visited Qaqortoq, which is the most populated town in Southern Greenland with around 3,230 people living there. I thought it was a fairly picturesque town (some would no doubt disagree), although the midge population was certainly out in force, especially around the lake. Managed to get to the small town museum but singularly and rather shamefacedly missed a number of the Stone and Man sculptures that were commissioned and delivered in 1993 and 1994. There are 24, carved into rock faces and are quite large so you really have to work extremely hard to miss them. There are quite a lot of vehicles on the town roads, which is interesting, as like all populated places in Greenland, the town is not connected to other areas by road. A heliport and the sea are the main transport links.
On the return journey we called into the Loch of Dunvegan on Skye (interesting castle, impressive scenery) and then Belfast. Took the opportunity to tour the coastline with a visit to the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (it may be ‘twee’ but it is still a tad scary, especially if you have a slight phobia about heights!). It turned out to be a wonderful coast road run with a couple of picturesque small harbour stops on the way back. Memory of visit slightly marred when on return to Ipswich we found that the company charged me an extra 75 quid without any agreement or pre-authorisation (for ‘tour extras’, which turned out to be extra time at an hourly rate, even though we had agreed an itinerary, not a predetermined timeframe). Will be more pedantic about what is agreed next time but it was still a great day. A snotty email and a charge-back sorted it out however, especially when the company agreed in writing it hadn’t got authorisation!
Dublin is almost a regular haunt now so we just took a leisurely stroll and visited a couple of places to which we hadn’t previously been (including St. Patrick’s Cathedral). Still found time for a pint of the Black Stuff though.
Falmouth and Pendennis Castle were blessed with another fine sunny day; enjoyed the castle visit so much we ended up joining English Heritage. 15 months for the price of 12. (Put these words in the correct order: Yorkshireman, deal, miserly, good, loves!)
Cherbourg was a pretty enough place, although as it was a Sunday, it was understandably a little quiet. Zeebrugge was the port of choice for trips to Bruges but we’d visited not that long ago so we decided to go the short distance to Blankenberge and mingle with the many Belgian holidaymakers who visit this seaside town every year. Cafes on the beach, excellent Belgian beer and stupendously big and tasty waffles were the order of the day…
And before the journey home, a morning at Dover Castle to get some early Yorkshire value out of the English Heritage membership. Fascinating place, especially the way its usage changed and evolved all the way up to the Second World War and beyond; the adoption of some of the underground tunnels as a maternity hospital post war was a surprise.