Viðareiði - The Faroe Islands

The Northernmost town in The Faroe Islands - Viðareiði

Viðareiði is the northernmost village on the island of Viðoy of the Faroe Islands. The village is situated on an isthmus between two high mountains: on the north side Mount Villingdalsfjall rises 844 meters high above sea level. This is also the highest mountain in the northern islands and the third highest in the entire Faroe archipelago.

Getting to Viðareiði
Viðareiði is connected to the rest of the islands by a dam and tunnel system that allows easy access to the regional center of Klaksvík on Borðoy. The road to Viðareiði goes largely along the west coast of Viðoy with beautiful views of the fjord, where you can also see the many "fish circles," in which mainly salmon are farmed.

In the 17th century, the old church was destroyed in a storm. It is said that a part of the cemetery was washed away by the sea and that coffins from the cemetery were recovered in Hvannasund and reburied in Viðareiði. The current church was built in 1892. On the northern wall of the church hangs an altar plate, one of the oldest church treasures in the Faroe Islands. Thomas Koppen from Hamburg, who obtained the monopoly on Faroese trade in 1533, donated the altar plate to the church

Viðareiði is known as a good starting point for hikes to Viðoy's northernmost point, Cape Enniberg, which, at 754 meters, is the second highest sea cliff in Europe. The breathtaking view, especially in clear weather, alone makes the trip to Viðareiði worthwhile.

Viðareiði is a true paradise for the landscape photographer. Walk down by the church towards where the ocean waves are crashing on the rocks for some dramatic seascapes. Keep in mind though that the ocean can get very wild and rough here. Often the waves splash all the way up into town. So be sure to judge and respect the weather and conditions the right way.

Check out this drone video that I shot in Viðareiði in February 2022.

The Faroe Islands Photography Workshop and Tour - April 2023

Feeling like visiting and experiencing Viðareiði yourself? You can join my friend Páll Jökull from Iceland and myself in April 2023 on a 7 day workshop. Viðareiði is for sure part of the program, and we spend a decent amount of time here for you to capture this amazing place. Interested in the workshop?
Click the button below, and we look forward to see you in April.

New Instagram account: Roam The Nordics

Roam The Nordics is an Instagram account that I’ve created in the spring of 2021. On this account I share and feature quality photography and videography of the Nordics by other creators and Instagram accounts. Use #roamthenordics on Instagram to get featured.

Check out all recent posts of the account down here below, clicking the thumbnails will take you to the Instagram account

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Thrainn Kolbeinsson: Free for all, my edits.

My friend Thrainn Kolbeinsson from Iceland has put up a bunch of his RAW files on his website. All RAW files of photographs that Thrainn took. But you can get your hands on, and edit.

Its of course very interesting to see someone else play around with your RAW files, and give their creative interpretation to your photographs. I really liked this idea, so that is what I’ve done here. I’ve edited the following of Thrainn’s photographs.

*Make sure to click the photographs to see it in its original aspect ratio!!

Go give Thrainn’s website and instagram a visit and a follow, he is a super talented photographer as you can see from these images below.
You can find him on: https://thrainnkolbeinsson.com and https://www.instagram.com/thrainnko

Around Patreksfjörður, Iceland

Patreksfjörður is a fishing village, with about 650 inhabitants, located on the north side of the eponymous fjord. It is one of the oldest trading posts in the Westfjords. In this fjord the first potatoes were grown in Iceland in the 18th century. The main source of existence in Patreksfjörður is the fish processing industry. But tourism also plays an increasingly important role, the beauty of the region attracts many tourists. This is not surprising, because the fishing village has gems such as the Látrabjarg cliffs, Rauðasandur beach and the Dynjandi waterfall nearby.

Garðar BA 64

Just outside of Patreksfjörður there is quite an interesting site. A Shipwreck. This Icelandic ghost ship, the ‘Gardar BA 64’ is the oldest steel ship from Iceland. It was built in 1912 by a Norwegian shipyard and used for whaling in the Icelandic waters. The ship has been beached for years and is now a rusting ruin. 

The ship, originally known as the ‘Globe IV’ was a state-of-the-art whaling vessel. The hull was specially reinforced to break through the icy Southern seas. During its active lifetime it was sold around to a number of different countries before finding an Icelandic owner in 1950. It was renamed ‘Garðar’ and it was used or fishing herring.

In 1981 the ship stranded at Patreksfjörður, one of the fjords in the north-west of the country. In fact the ship it is still there today. The Icelandic ghost ship is slowly rusting away.


Látrabjerg

Perhaps one of the best known places in The Westfjord area is Látrabjerg. About an hours drive from Patreksfjörður, well that is if you have a decent car for the trip. The road out there can be quite bad and rough. A 4x4 or bigger SUV is ideal for this road.

Látrabjarg is a headland, cliff and the most western part of Iceland and is also seen as the most western part of Europe (ignoring some islands of the Azores). The cliffs are inhabited by millions of birds, including puffins, gannets, guillemots and razorbills. It is of vital importance for their survival as it is home to up to 40% of the world's population of some species such as the razorbill. It is Europe's largest bird cliff, 14 kilometers long and up to 440 meters high.


Hjnótur

The previous farmer of the farm Hnjotur, Egill Olafsson († October 25th 1999) spent a large portion of his life collecting various items and articles of local and national historical importance for his museum. His interest and emphasis was for many reasons oriented towards the aviation history of the country. This museum is among the most interesting in the country and well worth the visiting. The museum also has very interesting setups from local history. Where can you see an old Viking ship, Russian airplane, a preach preparing to burry, old technology a lot of other things in the same little museum.

Dynjandi

Driving up north from Patreksfjörður will get you to the amazing Dynjandi waterfall(s). It is about a 1,5h drive one way. Water flows from the Dynjandisheiði plateau into the Dynjandisá river and then cascades down into the Dynjandi waterfall, also called Fjallfoss. The Dynjandi is the largest waterfall in the Westfjord area of Iceland. And it is a stunning location to spend some time photographing, and admiring the natural beauty and raw power of mother nature.

The waterfall is no less than 100 meters high, 30 meters wide at the top and about 60 meters wide at the bottom. The other six waterfalls further downstream are the Hæstahjallafoss, the Strompgljúfrafoss, the Göngumannafoss, the Hrísvaðsfoss, the Hundafoss and finally the Bæjarfoss. There is a footpath from the parking lot to the waterfall.

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