Lead us into......Iceland !

[ColinM]

At least the pubs here in Iceland aren't trying to fool anyone:



Great use of natural resources to prevent "ram raiders" too!!!!

[ColinM]

Just trying an animated GIF here (these only seem to be animated when viewed in Chrome - IE seems to just show a static image)
This is a little jerky for a number of reasons, the main one being that I could barely stand upright with the gale force wind that was blowing

Sequence of 10 images D300, hand-held (only just)

[Jakov Minić]

Colin, do show us more of Iceland. I loved it when I visited a few years back.

[ColinM]

Colin, do show us more of Iceland. I loved it when I visited a few years back.

Will do, but I'm slightly sleep-deprived at the moment so they will appear in a day or so.
Meanwhile I believe I flew over your group in Scotland on Thursday on the way back from Iceland!

It was very clear & sunny and the ground and coastline were easy to make out (but if I'm honest, I'm not sure where in Scotland we actually were!)

[ColinM]

We get so little snow in the South of England that scenes like these still fascinate me

Taken from a moving vehicle:

[Hugh_3170]

Colin, I take it that this Hillside Chapel & Hamlet snow shot is from Iceland?  I like it - not quite a minimalist image, but its simplicity and bleakness appeals to me.

 

[ColinM]

I take it that this Hillside Chapel & Hamlet snow shot is from Iceland?

Yes, although I maybe need to change the title of the thread, these will all be Iceland shots

its simplicity and bleakness appeals to me.

And in a way, these are aspects of Iceland that I struggled with - especially on the first day or so.
I've seen wide open spaces before, but some of the volcanic landscapes were very bleak and could have been the surface of the moon.

Given how small the population is, it also took me a while to get used to the smaller scale of habitation.
When we came to a village or hamlet after an hour or so's driving, it often only had ~5 houses, a cafe and fuel station.

But isn't it great to get out of your own environment for a bit - if only to appreciate both sides

[ColinM]

Some further additions from my 3 days in Iceland

Skogafoss radiating in the sun



Reykjavik Streetwheels



No good if you suffer from vertigo (or a heart condition, as you climb up to the viewpoint)



The three horsemen of the apocalypse??

[Edgy01]

I was lucky to get to go to Iceland routinely back in the very late 1970s and into the 1980s.  Business.  Got to see much of it by air, as well. 

An old dairy, outside Reykjavik.  Today, some 35 years later, it's a golf club.  Thanks for your more current photos--it encourages me to return.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=188&with_photo_id=34089240&order=date_desc&user=154364

[elsa hoffmann]

Gorgeous photos!

[armando_m]

impressive waterfalls !

[ColinM]

I was lucky to get to go to Iceland routinely back in the very late 1970s and into the 1980s
Got to see much of it by air, as well. 

Yes from the various pictures I've seen of volcanic eruptions, I'd love to do some helicopter flights over Iceland too Edgy

Thanks for your more current photos--it encourages me to return.

Yes, I feel it is a place that wants to be visited throughought different seasons, though the cold of winter would be a challenge for me!

[ColinM]

Elsa, Armando, thank you.

And a couple more

One day I wondered why the cloudbase had dropped so low.
Turned out to be the vents from a few geothermal sites



We were so lucky with bright sunny days for the short time we were there.
And even if I never saw any live volcanoes, these guys were quite majestic

[Jakov Minić]

Colin these are all beautiful! How I want to go again to Iceland!
The lonely house in the field is something special.

[ColinM]

Thanks Jakov.

How I want to go again to Iceland!

In a way, I have mixed feelings about a return trip. We covered quite a lot in 4 days. However I would also like to explore the more remote North of Iceland.
To do so effectively probably means a visit of at least a couple of weeks, plus hiring a car.
And I'm torn between a late Autumn/spring visit (and a chance to see the Northern lights) and going when it's a bit warmer!!!

I'd also like to see the "central highlands" and ideally some volcanic activity. For this I expect timing makes a big difference and maybe a helicoptor flight over these areas would give the best views.
And by then my budget would probably be well and truly blown