The
forgotten Faroes are just a short flight from the UK, yet they’re way
off the standard traveller’s radar. Adrift in the frothing swells of
the north Atlantic, this mysterious 18-piece jigsaw puzzle of islands
is at once ancient and very modern. Multicoloured cottages and
grass-roofed wooden churches add focus to the grandly stark, treeless
moorlands. Timeless networks of cairn-marked footpaths crisscross
craggy layer-cake mountains. But even the tiniest once-inaccessible
hamlets are now linked by a remarkable series of road-tunnels. And even
as you bob around the dramatic fjords on a 70-year-old wooden sloop,
your mobile phone is never likely to lose its signal.
The
Faroes are a paradise for fell-walkers and ornithologists who accept
the pyrotechnically unpredictable climate. Designer-mown by shaggy
sheep, fields are blissfully bouncy under-foot. Pastures gleam with the
greener-than-green hue of divine billiard tables. Peeping puffins,
dive-bombing skuas and wheeling fulmars glide over dizzying chasms.
Wave-battered headlands end in plunging cliffs that are as breathtaking
as the wild winds that threaten to blow unwary hikers off them.
Streymoy is the biggest island of the group, and home to the capital Tórshavn, as well as dramatic scenery galore and the unmissable bird cliffs of Vestmanna. While the Southern Islands aren't quite so dramatic in terms of landscape, islands like Suðuroy and Skúvoy are appealingly low on tourists and high on friendliness.
Streymoy is the biggest island of the group, and home to the capital Tórshavn, as well as dramatic scenery galore and the unmissable bird cliffs of Vestmanna. While the Southern Islands aren't quite so dramatic in terms of landscape, islands like Suðuroy and Skúvoy are appealingly low on tourists and high on friendliness.
The
proud, stoical Faroese character has been forged from Viking blood,
Christian piety, Scandinavian openness and an awe for the humbling
nature that’s all around. Few communities this small are so alive with
art and the Faroes’ incredibly vibrant music scene is nothing short of
astonishing. So even if the weather proves uncooperative, this
self-assured little demi-nation is likely to surprise and delight even
the most cynical traveller.
Show in Lonely Planet
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий