Iceland's Story - Natural marvels, saints and sagas

Fly at c. 1.00pm (Icelandair) from London Heathrow to Keflavík International Airport. An introductory evening lecture precedes dinner at the hotel. First of three nights in Reykjavík.

A morning walking tour of the city’s architectural highlights with a local guide including Hallgrímskirkja (Hallgrímur’s church) and the Harpa Concert Hall. An afternoon visit to Safnahúsið (Culture House), the original home of the National Library and Archives of Iceland. The exhibition Sjónarhorn presents examples of Icelandic visual art from the earliest times to the present, and includes a selection of medieval and post-medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

An all-day excursion to visit the classic sites of Geysir, a geothermal attraction since the early 19th century, spectacular Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall), and Þingvellir (Assembly Plains) the astonishing site of Iceland’s early parliament. Stop at Skálholt, which became an important centre of learning and manuscript production after the first Icelandic bishopric was established there in 1056.

At the Reykjavík 871 +/-2 Museum, see the excavated remains of a Viking longhouse. The National Museum gives a good overview of the history of the country from settlement to the present. Our route to the west runs beneath the Hvalfjörður fjord and follows the coast. Helgafell, on the northern shore of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, was home to the chieftain Snorri goði, who features in several sagas, and to Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, heroine of the romantic Laxdæla saga. An Augustinian monastery also stood here from the 1180s until the Reformation. Búðir, where our hotel stands in the midst of a lava-field, was another trading post and fishing site until the early 20th century. First of two nights in Búðir.

Stykkishólmur has been an important centre of commerce in the west of the country since the 19th century. Today’s route circumnavigates the Snæfellsjökull glacier. Setting for the Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss, the Snæfellsnes peninsula is famous for its dramatic coastal scenery.

The museum at Borgarnes, with its exhibits on the settlement of Iceland, is one of several sites around the town to highlight Egil’s saga, a narrative chronicling the 9th-century farmer and warrior-poet: the burial mound of Egil’s father and son is situated in a small memorial garden near the museum. En route to Húsafell, subterranean water emerges mysteriously from beneath the surface of the plain into the Hvítá river at Hraunfossar, an extraordinary lava fall. First of two nights in Húsafell.

There is much to explore at Húsafell, including the work of the contemporary sculptor and artist Páll Guðmundsson. Eastwards, the fringes of the central highlands are lava fields and woodland, beyond; the glaciers of Langjökull and Eiríksjökull. At Reykholt, visit the exhibition dedicated to Snorri Sturluson (d. 1241), the famous medieval chieftain-historian, and his role in 13th-century politics and culture. Remains from his time include Snorralaug (the hot pool), in which he is said to have bathed, an underground tunnel and the foundations of a medieval farmstead and hall. There is evidence of early Christian settlement here and today, a striking modern church sits beside its 19th-century timber forerunner.

Drive to Reykjavik for some free time in the capital before continuing to Keflavík International Airport to fly to London Heathrow, arriving c.8.20pm.