NORTHERN DELIGHTS

Volcanoes, whales, the northern lights and few tourists. Driving the new Arctic Coast Way in Iceland’s remote north is the ideal antidote to its ‘busy’ south

- GRAEME GREEN

Hooves thundered along the beach, kicking up a storm of black sand. Clinging tightly to the reins, I looked up as a squadron of pink-footed geese flew over northern Iceland’s Skagafjörður Bay. Across the ocean, breaks in the cloud threw patches of sunlight onto the long, curved back of Tindastóll mountain in the distance.

“Icelanders are very proud of their horses,” my guide, Johanna Dirks, interjected as we slowed the pace of our horses. “When the Vikings came from Norway, they could only conquer Iceland because they brought their strongest horses. There are only these horses in Iceland and they’re very strong.”

Riding an Icelandic horse along a black sand beach is about as Icelandic an experience as you can get, short of the northern lights appearing and Björk providing a live soundtrack. But this was also – one hairy moment aside – one of the most peaceful and memorable experiences I’ve had on a horse, not least because of the wild setting and the absence of any other people.

Heading north

I’d come to Iceland to drive the new Arctic Coast Way and find the north’s remote landscapes. The route, which launched in June last year, runs between Hvammstangi on the north-west coast to Bakkafjörður in the even quieter, sparsely populated north-east. Like Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and Scotland’s North Coast 500, it was created to shine a light on lesser-known, less-visited parts of the country.