The Faroe Islands - It Ended Well
The tiny, dramatic island of Gasholmur off Vagar in the Faroe Islands.
The Faroe Islands showcases dramatic scenery, picturesque villages and history dating back to Viking times.
The Vikings first settled this remote, windswept and mountainous island group in the North Atlantic Ocean around 1,000 years ago.
Their descendants, the local Faroese people, are a decent, friendly and hard working folk.
Singing is particular popular in the Faroe Islands and it seems everyone is blessed with the voice of an angel.
Have you considered a Faroe Islands holiday? It’s one of the most beautiful countries I’ve visited in all my years of travel.
The above photo showcases the tiny, but dramatic island of Gasholmur off the coast of the island of Vagar in the fabulous Faroe Islands.
It’s one of literally dozens of incredible sights awaiting you on your Faroe Islands adventure.
I made the photo on the way to the sublime Múlafossur Waterfall, the waters of which fall directly into the sea.
A stormy sky over the lovely Tórshavn Cathedral in the Faroe Islands.
How to Get to the Faroe Islands
Getting to the Faroe Islands can be half the fun.
There’s lots of interesting ways and, depending upon your timeframe, you could explore air and ferry options as you assemble your Faroe Islands itinerary.
What’s more, given the country’s location between Norway and Iceland, and its near proximity to Scotland, it’s easy to add one or all of those countries into a trip of four to six weeks duration.
Colorful roofs and fjord in Vágur on Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands.
Arriving Exhausted in the Faroe Islands
I arrived in the Faroe Islands exhausted.
A late, final night in Copenhagen and a very early flight to the Faroe Islands airport on the island of Vagar meant I only had one hour in bed before starting this next leg of my journey.
As you’ll soon discover, that proved to be problematic.
Waterfall cascades, past a church, into the sea in Bøur, Faroe Islands.
Faroe Islands Weather
I got into my hire car at the airport and headed off on a very narrow road to begin exploring this wondrous country.
After a short time I found myself in the interesting little village of Bøur and got busy making photos of some traditional Faroese houses and a small waterfall leading down to the sea.
And then the rain came down.
The Faroe Islands could well be described as a far green country. But the beautiful and dramatic landscape comes at a cost. Faroe Islands weather is often wet and windy.
I continued to photograph until the rain became so heavy I started to worry about my camera and decided to take a break.
After a while the rain abated and I drove on in search of more photo opportunities.
Surrender to the journey and your Faroe Islands driving adventure will unfold.
Driving in the Faroe Islands
However, rather than backtracking to the main road, I decided to take a rather narrow, single lane road which climbed a cliff with a wonderful view of a few offshore islands.
At that stage I didn’t know whether the road I was on continued back onto the main road or whether I’d have to, somehow, turn around and drive back again.
I really was exhausted and having to drive on what, for me, is the opposite side of the road was really doing my head in. But it was good to be traveling and making photos, so I persisted.
I reminded myself just how lucky I was, turned on the radio and started to relax. Suddenly my attention was drawn by a dramatic view of the islands offshore.
And that, your honor, is when it all started to go horribly wrong.
Two beautiful Faroese horses on the island of Streymoy, Faroe Islands.
Take Care on Faroe Island Roads
A few seconds later I managed to clip the edge of the road. I had deliberately moved in that direction to avoid driving off the cliff on the other side of this very narrow, one lane road.
What I didn’t realize was that the overgrown grass by the side of the road hid a narrow trench, possibly designed to prevent water from the mountain side cascading onto the road.
The car came to a sudden stop and I was unable to extricate it from the trench.
The undercarriage of the car had bottomed out on the road and, not wanting to increase the likelihood of damage to the muffler and exhaust, I decided to sit it out and wait for help.
Front door and black tar wall of a traditional Faroe Islands house.
Faroe Islands Kindness
Fortunately, within a few minutes a local came up the lane on a quad bike. He tried to help out, without success.
He then called a friend and, eventually, we managed to prop up and then rock the car enough to be able to get some traction and get it out of the ditch with no damage done.
What a relief! While I offered to pay these good samaritans for their assistance, neither of them would take any money for their trouble.
I wanted to offer to photograph their families, but my time on the Faroe Islands was short and, not yet knowing the lay of the land, I didn’t know if I’d be able to get back to this little village again.
I did all that I could. I thanked them for their kindness and assistance and continued my journey taking note of a lesson well learned.
Two hundred meters further ahead the lane joined the main road and I continued, through a tunnel, to the end of the road where the village of Gásadalur and the famous waterfall by the sea awaited.
I grabbed my camera gear and, while being harassed by arctic turns, took the short walk down to a view of the magnificent Múlafossur Waterfall.
On the way back to the car it started to rain again. I was so tired that I thought, rather than driving in such inclement weather, it would be safer if I took a rest.
I’m told it poured for several hours, though I’d fallen into a deep sleep after around 20 minutes.
Eventually it was time to move on so I headed back along the road, past the airport and towards the capital Torshavn, where I arrived around an hour later.
My Advice Driving Faroe Islands Roads
A journey around the Faroe Islands involves quite a bit of driving and, in many ways, it doesn't matter which way you go.
You'll get to where you need to go, eventually. It's just a matter of surrendering to the journey and letting the adventure unfold with every turn in the road.
By the end of my time in the Faroes I’d driven on most of the country's roads and was much more at ease with the narrow roads, Faroe Islands tunnels and driving on the right hand side of the road.
The good news is that, since my initial visit, a lot of work has been done to erect barriers along roadsides to make driving around the Faroe Islands much safer. I think that’s great.
It’s important to remember that, although distances from place to place in the Faroe Islands are quite short, the roads are narrow and winding.
What’s more, as the views are simply sublime, it makes no sense traveling above the speed limit.
Incidentally the speed limit in town areas is designated as 50 km (31 miles) per hour and on the open road, referred to as non-town areas, it’s 80 km (50 miles) per hour.
80 km (50 miles) per hour might seem slow to some. However, given the roads, the weather and the incredible scenery it makes no sense exceeding those limits. I certainly didn’t.
I really hope to be able to include the Faroe Islands in my next trip to Europe. I’d love to include a week in the Faroes with several weeks in Norway and two weeks in Iceland.
What an outstanding photography adventure that would be.
How about you? Could you imagine yourself embarking on a vacation to the Faroe Islands?
If you decide to make the trip you’d probably enjoy a relaxed self-driving holiday. I know I did.