A Basic Hike within the Faroe Islands

Bookended by two of the Faroe Islands’ most enchanting villages, the path between Saskun and Tjørnuvík is likely one of the archipelago’s basic walks. Situated on Streymoy Island, the route traverses a scenic move and showcases an unforgettable assortment of cascades, lagoons, sea stacks, and charming turf-roofed cottages. It’s a hike that epitomizes the “land that point forgot” feeling synonymous with touring within the Faroes.

At a Look

Distance:  14.5 km (9 mi) (Out-and-back)

Common Length:  6-8 hrs

Problem Stage:  Average

Whole Elevation Achieve: 1,204 m (3,950 ft)

Begin/End: Saskun – Tjørnuvík / Streymoy Island

Planning Data:

• Getting There & Away: Logistically talking, the simplest possibility is to depart your automobile at one of many trailheads and do the hike as an out-and-back tour. Issues are a bit of extra difficult should you don’t have your individual transport or solely wish to hike a technique. In that case, your choices are as follows: 1. A pre-arranged dropoff and pick-up with a tour firm; 2. Hitchhike out of your ending level again to your automotive, and; 3. When you don’t have a automotive and don’t wish to pay for a tour, you would make the most of public transport to entry Tjørnuvík, however you’ll nonetheless have to hitch to or from Saskun, which isn’t serviced by public transport. 
  

• Getting Round: Throughout my time within the Faroe Islands, I used a mixture of buses, ferries, and hitching. I largely utilized the wonderful (and really reasonably priced) bus system, which received me to a lot of the locations I wished to go. For an summary of the archipelago’s public transport choices, see the Go to Faroe Islands web site. (Be aware: I picked up a Faroe Islands Journey Card upon arrival at Vagar Airport)

• Permits & Charges: No, on each counts.

• On-line Data: For something and every thing associated to touring within the Faroes, see the wonderful Go to Faroe Islands web site. It has a great deal of data on transport and lodging choices, cultural points of interest, and climbing trails (together with a free downloadable 56-page information to hikes on the archipelago). Who am I kidding? If I had been you, I’d cease studying this text and go straight there.

• Mid-hike Sustenance: Through the summer time months, you could possibly buy espresso and a few scrumptious waffles in Tjørnuvík. Situated within the village heart and run by long-time resident Hans Esbern Heinesen, search for the “pop-up” restaurant with picnic tables.

Path Notes:

Overview: From a topographical perspective, don’t anticipate a lot in the way in which of flat terrain; mainly, you ascend from one coastal village to a mountain move after which descend to the opposite coastal village (after which flip round and do it once more). The path is properly marked, although I think about it may very well be tough to comply with in driving rain and thick fog. Regardless of how good the circumstances could also be whenever you set out, that is one tour you must by no means undertake with out enough insulation layers, rain gear, navigational instruments, and a very good provide of stoicism within the face of famously changeable climate. 

Description (Saskun > Tjornuvik): Through the preliminary climb out of Saskun, the way in which is denoted with purple submit markers. As you acquire elevation, these quickly give approach to often spaced cairns. Climbing steadily, the views over Saskun, the lagoon, and its surrounding cliffs and waterfalls are elegant, and after 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of huffing and puffing, the mountain move (480 m/1,575 ft) is attained. The path’s excessive level is located between Melin (764 m/2,507 ft) and Heyggjurin Mikli (692 m/2,270 ft) peaks. In superb climate, it’s a splendidly scenic place to take pleasure in a well-earned relaxation. In moist, windy, and foggy circumstances, chances are high you’ll seize a snack, take a fast snapshot or two, and start the descent sooner somewhat than later.

As you comply with the cairn-marked path to the northeast, it’s not lengthy earlier than Tjørnuvík comes into view. Gazing outwards over the village, among the many most notable options are the ocean stacks of Risin and Kellingin (Risin og Kellingin), which translate to “The Large and the Witch (see Notes & Musings under). Roughly two hours after leaving the move, hikers will arrive within the storybook village of Tjørnuvík.

Steeped in historical past and wealthy in pure magnificence, human settlement in Tjørnuvík dates again no less than to the time of the Vikings within the tenth century and presumably a number of hundred years earlier within the type of seafaring Irish monks. Nevertheless, it’s the hamlet’s jaw-dropping setting that makes it one of many Faroe Islands’ premier points of interest. The northernmost village on Streymoy Island, Tjornuvik, is surrounded on three sides by steep-sided mountains and bordered on the opposite by a blinding black sand seashore and a horseshoe-shaped bay. With a everlasting inhabitants of 48, Tjornuvik is a veritable metropolis in comparison with Saskun. 

Notes & Musings

• From Harbour to Tidal Lagoon: Saskun’s inlet was as soon as a serviceable pure harbor till a large storm within the 1600s crammed it with sand, reworking it right into a seawater lagoon, inaccessible to all however small boats at excessive tide.

• The Large and the Witch: Situated below Eidiskollur Peak on the tip of Eysturoy Island are the legendary sea stacks of Risin and Kellingin (Risin og Kellingin / Translation: “Large & the Witch”). In line with legend, the rock columns had been fashioned when the giants of Iceland wished so as to add the Faroe Islands to their area. They dispatched the eponymous large and his witch partner to attain the duty. Nevertheless, the target proved extra difficult than the absent-minded couple anticipated. Whereas immersed of their labors, they forgot that they may solely work at evening. Certain sufficient, when the primary rays of daybreak shone upon them, the enormous and the witch remodeled into stone, and there they continue to be to this present day. 

• The Previous Farmhouse and the Reconstituted Church: Amongst Saskun’s charming assortment of turf-roofed buildings, essentially the most notable are the Dúvugarður farm and the Saksunar Kirkja church. The previous dates again to the 1700s and features as a Nationwide Heritage museum that gives guests an perception into early farm life within the Faroe Islands. The latter was in-built Tjørnuvík however in 1858 was disassembled and introduced over to Saskun, the place it was reconstructed. The supplies had been transported by way of the identical mountain move traversed on the featured path – one thing to consider whilst you’re making the journey carrying nothing greater than a featherweight daypack!

 

Be aware: Saskun to Tjørnuvík is one among 26 featured trails in my newest e-book with Gestalten Publications, Wanderlust Nordics. Together with two different rambles within the Faroes Islands (see hyperlinks under), the e-book options all kinds of hikes from Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Sweden, and Finland. From family-friendly day hikes to difficult multi-week treks, there’s one thing to go well with everybody from newbies to skilled vets. The e-book is at present on sale at Amazon……….at round half value! 

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