The Faroe Islands – They’re closer than you’d think
The Faroe Islands are an archipelago (all 18 if them!) These remote, self-governing islands are part of Denmark, and closer to the UK than Denmark by some 460 miles.
Steeped in Viking mythology, these mysterious islands had been somewhere I’d wanted to visit for years – I figured that if I loved Scotland, then surely the Faroe Islands would be on a par. When an opportunity came up to visit, I jumped at the chance as my interest had been rekindled after seeing the new underwater tunnel between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy, which kept appearing on my Facebook feed.
The short 1.5hr flight from Edinburgh was uneventful until we approached Vagar International Airport. The North Sea had been glistening blue for most of the journey. But as we approached the islands the clouds enveloped the horizon and masked our final destination as we descended. Not really knowing what to expect, we emerged to see rugged lush mountains carved out of the rock by the forces of glaciation and an almost treeless landscape. A scattering of pretty red roofed houses welcomed us, and a sense of a new adventure took hold as the wheels touched the runway.
Vagar International airport was a doddle, not really surprising when you consider the population of the islands is only 54,000. We passed through immigration and collected our luggage, thinking if only all airports were like this!’. Our time was short, with just 4 days to see as much as possible and we couldn’t wait to hit the road in our ‘economy style car’ to see how many islands we could squeeze in before our return flight home. As with any short trip, time was a constraining factor, and as the sun broke through the clouds our thoughts were about how this should really be a slow trip with time to soak up the natural beauty and soothing ambiance of these mysterious islands. Being that much further north, we had longer days than at home which gave us time to visit our target islands of Vagar, Streymoy, Eysturoy, Bordoy and Vidoy before returning via the new ‘space age’ tunnel linking Eysturoy and Streymoy for our last night in the capital of Torshavn.
There’s a sense of being at the end of the world when on the islands quiet, remote, incredibly peaceful. It kept crossing my mind, that if I ever wanted to escape to write that long planned book then this would be the place to come. Being there makes you want to put the brakes our busy lives, to slow down and allow the islands refreshing ambiance to wash over you – unfortunately, our trip was just too short and our whirlwind visit left us feeling we’d just scratched the surface.
Now I’ve had a taste of what the Faroe Islands have to offer, and I’m sure I’ll be back with my hiking boots and possibly lock myself away in some isolated bay to write that book!
If you’re looking for a little adventure closer to home, then watch visit our website at www.achipelagochoice.com for some cloiser to home adventures.