My annual day in London catching up with friends and visiting new places, which are getting increasingly hard to find. On a sunny day though it is a pleasure just to walk the streets and enjoy the wonderful architecture. I started at the quite magnificent V&A, which recently opened a new courtyard opening onto Exhibition…
Before travelling to Iceland a Kiwi friend who’d been said it looked a lot like New Zealand. Which turned out to be true in many ways, not in others. They’re both amazing places, I’d recommend visiting both, but if you had to choose between them here are some things to consider. I’ve shown a couple…
Greener and with more trees than expected, Iceland is a wonderful place for those interested in what nature can do, from magnificent waterfalls to otherworldly geothermal activity. I spent ten days there travelling the ring road around the island, here were the highlights. Þingvellirm Not just one of the most historic sites in the country,…
Iceland is a wonderful country. As usual when travelling I love to immerse myself in the history, culture and landscape of a place. Here are some of the things I learnt in my ten days there. It’s got the wrong name Iceland and Greenland should swap their names. Iceland is surprisingly temperate, with ice only…
Jutting out from the West Coast of Iceland, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is home to an impressive coastline, epic even by Iceland standards. Stykkisholmur The northern side of the peninsula is home to a number of picturesque fishing towns. Stykkisholmur is the largest, home to an impressive headland past the harbour, and a number of historic…
Iceland is a waterfall lovers dream, as glacier water pours off the landscape throughout the country. Gullfoss One the most impressive waterfalls I’ve seen (though Niagara Falls is pretty big!), aided by unusual Icelandic sunshine creating some wonderful rainbows, including directly across the footpath! Seljalandsfoss No sun, so no rainbows this time, but rain and…
Known as Iceland’s second city, despite it being the fourth largest, Akureyri is a diverting spot for a few hours, though not much more. It does have a beautiful setting though, on the shores of a rather large fjord in Northern Iceland. Akureyri Museum A good place to start as the permanent exhibition downstairs covers…
Travelling around Iceland involves a lot of time on the road, it’s a bigger place than you might imagine. It’s the size of Scotland and Wales combined, with somewhat few roads, and a fraction of the population. Moving vehicles and photography aren’t usually a great combination but being on a bus, armed with my telephoto…
Provider of cheap power, plentiful hot water, and milky blue baths, geothermal is an important part of Iceland, if less frequently found than one might assume. The Myvatn region has everything you’d expect and can be covered easily in an afternoon, with everything other than the baths free to access. Hverir An impressive collection of…
How I imagined more of Iceland to be, a barren black volcanic landscape mostly devoid of life, the highlands make up the centre of the island.It’s a great experience to drive through this landscape, on the edge of which lies the unusually lush Möðrudalur Valley, home to our accommodation for the night. At 469m above…
One of the more random stops on my ten day exploration around Iceland with Intrepid. It wasn’t in the trip notes, and our guide only found out about it when the van broke down on a trip (thankfully not ours). Above a garage in Djúpivogur (a small town on the far east of Iceland, about…
Inspired by Basement Theatre’s upcoming mini comedy festival (5-9 September) I thought I’d reflect on the funniest theatre shows (not stand up) that I’ve seen in the past few years. Clearly humour is a matter of personal taste, but hopefully you saw and enjoy some of these shows. Ernest Rutherford: Everyone Can Science! (Basement Theatre)…
