Ok, time for the post that explains the tag for this series, which is literally “This Trip Was Cursed (2026)“. Before… I had most of this planned back in February. The first day in Reykjavik was a bit more open but I had a potential to-do list and from Thursday onwards, everything was planned almost … More This trip was cursed
Iceland will never run out of interesting and unusual places to bathe, whether it’s a new tourist-oriented geothermal experience or a warm pool in a field you’ve just stumbled upon (if you do find a pool in a field, maybe check up on whether the landowner minds you being there and whether it’s a safe … More A dip at Reykjavik’s geothermal beach
I’m going to start this off by saying that this was never on my original itinerary. I planned to spend Friday enjoying the reborn Laugarvatn Fontana, which is now revelling in saying “steam by the lake” to the point that I wonder if they’ll just take that as their new name. It was supposed to … More I went back Inside the Volcano
People often ask why I go to Iceland so much and one thing I often say is that I love the geothermal hot water and the volcanoes. Iceland is literally made of volcanoes and it’s such a novelty to be able to get so close up to them. The “fire and ice” tag is one … More Three volcanic experiences you can have in Reykjavik while there’s no eruption
Last summer, I missed the opening of Iceland’s newest lagoon by a week. Except I didn’t, they were very optimistic and didn’t actually open until two months later. That was October and here I am in mid-June finally getting to try it out! Laugarás is on the Golden Circle, prime tourism real estate. A lot … More Laugarás Lagoon jumped straight into my top 5 lagoons
I’ve seen the posters for the Mink Viking photoshoot experience all over the tourist streets of Reykjavik for years but I’ve never really fancied doing it. For a start, it’s expensive and for another, it’s silly. Dress up as a Viking and have photos taken? Who’d want to do that? Turns out I want to … More If you can’t be yourself, be a Viking: A Viking photoshoot in Reykjavik
Scarborough has a bit of a reputation. It’s where Boomers and Gen-X always seem to hit on when talking about miserable rainy childhood holidays in the 60s and 70s and based on that, I wasn’t expecting much. Mind you, part of the reason for my low expectations was that I was travelling pretty much the … More I liked Scarborough a lot more than I expected to
I’ve done quite a few railway adventures in my time – I have an entire category for them – but this is one I was deeply dubious about. I was going to Scarborough for the weekend. From Southampton. That’s pretty much the entire length of the country, from the south coast to the north-east, just … More Southampton to Scarborough by train: did British Rail meet my (extremely low) expectations?
If you read my last post, about my day in Þórsmörk in 2012, you might have an inkling what this post is going to be about. A couple of years ago I joined a Facebook group which gives help and advice for people planning trips to Iceland and one thing they’re utterly obsessed with is … More Don’t tell the Facebook group but this is the best footwear for summer in Iceland
All the way back in 2012, I spent a beautiful sunny fortnight in Reykjavík, because if you fall in love in winter, you have to go back to make sure you like it in summer as well, and I did. It was, I later learned, an uncharacteristically hot and sunny summer of the kind you … More I spent a day in Þórsmörk proving my tour guide wrong
I Am A Polar Bear 