A Traditional Hike within the Faroe Islands

Bookended by two of the Faroe Islands’ most enchanting villages, the path between Saskun and Tjørnuvík is among the archipelago’s basic walks. Situated on Streymoy Island, the route traverses a scenic cross 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.

The village of Tjørnuvík. 

At a Look

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

Common Period:  6-8 hrs

Issue Degree:  Average

Complete Elevation Acquire: 1,204 m (3,950 ft)

Begin/End: Saskun – Tjørnuvík / Streymoy Island

Trying down towards the traditional hamlet of Saskun (Inhabitants: 11) and the Pollurin tidal lagoon (aka Saskun Lagoon).

Planning Data:

• Getting There & Away: Logistically talking, the best choice is to go away your automobile at one of many trailheads and do the hike as an out-and-back tour. Issues are a little bit extra difficult for those who don’t have your individual transport or solely need 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 automobile, and; 3. For those who don’t have a automobile and don’t need to pay for a tour, you can make the most of public transport to entry Tjørnuvík, however you’ll nonetheless must hitch to or from Saskun, which isn’t serviced by public transport. 
  

• Getting Round: Throughout my time within the Faroe Islands, I used a mix of buses, ferries, and hitching. I largely utilized the wonderful (and really inexpensive) bus system, which acquired me to many of the locations I wished to go. For an outline of the archipelago’s public transport choices, see the Go to Faroe Islands web site. (Observe: 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 all the pieces associated to touring within the Faroes, see the wonderful Go to Faroe Islands web site. It has a great deal of info on transport and lodging choices, cultural sights, and climbing trails (together with a free downloadable 56-page information to hikes on the archipelago). Who am I kidding? If I have been you, I’d cease studying this text and go straight there.

• Mid-hike Sustenance: Throughout the summer season 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.

Waffle Central in Tjørnuvík.

Path Notes:

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

Multi-tiered waterfall overlooking Saskun.

Description (Saskun > Tjornuvik): Throughout the preliminary climb out of Saskun, the way in which is denoted with crimson publish markers. As you acquire elevation, these quickly give approach to repeatedly 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 cross (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 tremendous 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 slightly than later.

Approaching the cross between Saskun and Tjornuvik.

View from the cross, trying again towards Saskun.

Dawn from the cross the next morning (trying towards Tjørnuvík) (Observe: I climbed again to the excessive level to observe the solar come up).

As you observe 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 Big and the Witch (see Notes & Musings under). Roughly two hours after leaving the cross, hikers will arrive within the storybook village of Tjørnuvík.

I hiked the path as an out-and-back tour starting and ending in Tjørnuvík. Truthfully, it was a bit extra like a waddle than a hike for the preliminary climb, as I over-indulged on the waffle place earlier than setting out.

Steeped in historical past and wealthy in pure magnificence, human settlement in Tjørnuvík dates again at the very least to the time of the Vikings within the tenth century and presumably a couple of hundred years earlier within the type of seafaring Irish monks. Nonetheless, it’s the hamlet’s jaw-dropping setting that makes it one of many Faroe Islands’ premier sights. 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. 

The attractive beachside/mountain-ringed village of Tjørnuvík.

Satan’s-Bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) sometimes blooms within the Faroes between June and October.

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 stuffed it with sand, reworking it right into a seawater lagoon, inaccessible to all however small boats at excessive tide.

Saskun graveyard and tidal lagoon.

• The Big and the Witch: Situated beneath Eidiskollur Peak on the tip of Eysturoy Island are the legendary sea stacks of Risin and Kellingin (Risin og Kellingin / Translation: “Big & the Witch”). In accordance with legend, the rock columns have 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. Nonetheless, the target proved extra difficult than the absent-minded couple anticipated. Whereas immersed of their labors, they forgot that they might solely work at night time. Certain sufficient, when the primary rays of daybreak shone upon them, the large and the witch remodeled into stone, and there they continue to be to at the present time. 

Searching on the “Big and the Witch” from the black sand seashore of Tjørnuvík.

The Big, the Witch, and Eidiskollur Peak.

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

Dúvugarður Farm in Saskun.

The turf-roofed farmhouses of Saskun.

Saksunar Kirkja church

Observe: Saskun to Tjørnuvík is one in all 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 swimsuit everybody from newbies to skilled vets. The e book is at present on sale at Amazon……….at round half value! 

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