Sykurmolarnir

Iceland lighthouses continued, and the odd waterfall
In the final installment of my first Iceland trilogy we head east from Rekjavik. Akranes is a town on the north side of the Faxaflói, the bay of Reykjavik. A tunnel from Reykjavík under the wonderfully named Fjord of Whales connect the two and make it a very easy half-day round trip from the capital. Just past the harbour at Arkanes there are two lighthouses adjacent to each other set in stunning scenery. The larger light is open to the public and has an interesting little museum to take a look around before venturing up the the lantern room. And if you are brave enough you can walk out on to the balcony to take in the incredible views.

Arkanes Lighthouse, Iceland

Arkanes Lighthouse, Iceland

On another day out from Reykjavik we drove along the south coast to Vik which is the Southernmost village in Iceland. A short walk from the picturesque village is the famous Reynisfjara black sand beach. A truly spectacular sight. On the shore of the famous beach are the Reynisdrangar, which are basalt rock formations or sea stacks. Accordingly to Icelandic folklore these are the solidified bodies of sea trolls who waded out into the waves to attack a ship, but were turned to stone when the sun came up and caught them exposed.

Black beaches of Vik, Iceland

A short drive away is the Dyrholaey peninsula which is an outcrop that sits on the 'Arch in the Hole', a dramatic natural rock formation. There you'll find a wonderfully bleak lighthouse overlooking the black sand beaches and back dropped by a wall of glaciers. Wonderful.

Dyrholaey lighthouse, Iceland

Dyrholaey lighthouse, Iceland

Returning from Vik to Reykjavik along the Route 1 road that circumnavigates the island there are two magnificent waterfalls to stop and take a look at. The huge natural phenomenon that is Skagafoss is a powerful, breathtaking sight.

Skagafoss Waterfall, Iceland

A little further along you get the rare opportunity to walk under a waterfall at Seljalandsfoss. Do be prepared to get a little damp.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland

On a separate excursion we headed to the small town of Stokkseyri. It's home to a peculiar but fascinating Ghost Museum which, at certain times of the year hosts ghost tours with local actors providing the scares.

Church at Stokkseyri, Iceland

Ghost Museum at Stokkseyri, Iceland

A short drive out of Stokkseyri and our main reason for heading this way was the hugely impressive Knarraros Lighthouse. It stands a long way back from the coastline, so is quite unusual in that respect. And I 'm not sure if it was prompted by our visit to the spooky town of Stokkseyri but the light had an aura that was well, haunting. We ate our lunch sat at the base of the lighthouse and despite having seen no sign of civilisation for miles and miles, we never felt alone.......

Knarraros Lighthouse, Iceland

Our next lighthouse was near Grindavik and to get there we drove through the amazing Reykjanesfolkvangur nature reserve. It was one of the most breathtaking drives we have ever undertaken, with the narrow road cutting through the steeped lava fields dropping and twisting along side the Atlantic Ocean. The views were incredible.

And we manged to find our lighthouse down a dirt track outside Grindavik. The Hopnes lighthouse is a fabulous little light and lives in surreal surroundings amongst lots of boat wreckage. Which beggars the question is it doing it's job?

Hopnes lighthouse, Grindavík, Iceland

And that was a round up of our fun time in the South West of Iceland over a couple of trips.
There's so much more to see and explore in Iceland we can't wait to return.