Want to really get away from it all? Lydia Swinscoe discovers the restorative
properties of hiking, swimming and horse riding in Iceland...H
eartbreak, it’s an inevitable
part of life. I’ve had a few
in recent years, and after
each one I’ve found a
new way of kick-starting the dull
healing process. I like to leave the
daily routine of home behind and
take an adventure, somewhere new
and fresh to reflect and brood in
my newfound melancholy state.
It’s definitely not a depressive
act, but one of renewal and learning,
and when I landed in Iceland I found
a place so perfect for this I was
instantly mesmerised and excited by
the otherworldly landscapes. As the
most sparsely populated country in
Europe, Iceland is filled with enough
empty space to make you feel like
you have the entire island to yourself.
Scattered with around 130 volcanoes
and an abundance of waterfalls, plus
mysterious black sand beaches, blue
lagoons, glaciers and lava fields, the
place really is like arriving into a
long-lost dream world.Find your base
I decided that fresh air and nature
would be the perfect tonic to my wistful
mood, so I hired a car and booked a
cosy and warm apartment just outside
of Reykjavik on Airbnb. Sugrún and
Hallur’s apartment (listing airbnb.co.uk/
rooms/1001250) is a Scandi cool place
with two bedrooms, free parking and
a hot tub, from £88 a night. Like most
places in Iceland, water used for
showering or bathing is heated
geothermally so has a sulphurous smell,
but is perfectly clean and always
steaming hot, which is so needed after
a day out in the cold (Icelandic winters
can drop to -10C). In the south of the
island, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon is the
best place to stay for stunning scenery- rooms here start at £167 a night
with stunning glacier or sea views.
Splitting your time between two or
three locations is a great way to see
Iceland’s best parts, without wasting
too much time driving.
Walking on ice
There’s an astonishing 269 glaciers
scattered throughout the country,
meaning 11% of Iceland is covered by
some form of glacier. Yet if global
warming continues at its current rate,
they could be gone in as little as 150
years, a sobering thought that makes
you realise how frail our planet is
when not cared for. I decided to pick
an eco-friendly company, Go West
(gowest.is), to hike Snæfellsjökull, a
glacier that, incredibly, sits on top of a
dormant volcano. As a classic introvert
I’m usually not a fan of group tours,
often happiest discovering new placesInto the
WILD