Iceland Road Trip [Part I]

Start of my Iceland Road Trip! 

Recently Iceland has become a popular holiday destination due to the report that Northern Light will dim for a decade. However, our main purpose to Iceland is not to chase the Northern Light but for all the beautiful Iceland natural phenomena. 

We reached Keflavík International Airport in the afternoon and collected our rental car in the Airport before heading to our hostel in Reykjavík to rest for the day. 

Day 1 : Reykjavík - Þingvellir National Park - Strokkur Geyser - Gullfoss Waterfall - Kerið - Selfoss

View along the way to Þingvellir National Park. 

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir National Park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site is about 37 minutes drive from Reykjavík City. Parking fees is 500 ISK per day valid for all parking lots around the park. 

The main attraction of the park is the path cause by the tectonic movements between Eurasian and North-American plate boundaries during the earthquake in 2000.

Snow everywhere! Its winter time (Mar 2017) so it is not advisable to go hiking around the park unless you have the proper footwear and clothing. As we saw quite a number of people slipping on the ice. 

Þingvallakirkja, the church in Þingvellir National Park is only open from middle of May to the beginning of September.

We did not explore the whole park as this was our first stop and we still have quite a number of place to explore! However if you have the whole day to spare, you can check out the official website for more activities!

Strokkur Geyser

We had lunch at Geysir Center before heading to the Geysers area which was nearby. Spotted cans of Fresh Icelandic Mountain Air for sale at 1,190 ISK each at the gift shop.

This is the Entrance of Geysir. You can smell sulphur in the air once you are here.

The water is extremely hot. Do not try to touch it.

Iceland most famous Geyser, Strokkur. It erupts into the sky every 6 - 10 minutes up to 15 to 20 m. We actually waited for at least 30 minutes in the cold for this perfect photo.  

Here is the video of Strokkur Geyser. 

Gullfoss Waterfall

This is our first waterfall for the Iceland Road Trip. More waterfalls on Day 2!

Gullfoss consists of 2 waterfall. The upper waterfall is about 11 metres and the lower waterfall is about 20 metres. It is extremely cold and windy over there. I had to run to the gift shop for some warm air. 

Kerið

Kerið is a volcanic crater lake and this is how it look like in winter. 

This is totally not worth the visit during winter! You should check out the photo in google when it is not cover by snow. 

The lake is frozen and you can see on the left side of the photo there were a lot of people walking on the ice. 

Entrance fees is 400 ISK per person. 

Selfoss

We ended our first day in Selfoss before continue our journey the next day. 

Isle of Skye, Scotland

The first highlight of the trip is the Isle of Skye tour!

Isle of Skye is located northwest in the Highlands of Scotland connected by a bridge. Skye is famous for its beautiful landscapes and breathtaking scenery! 

We booked a 3 day 2 night tour from Edinburgh with Rabbie's for about £115 per pax (in March 2017). The price is inclusive of our accommodation at one of the hostel in Portree, the capital town of Skye. However, kinda regretted choosing the hostel even though it is cheap as the place was run-down. I would recommend to choose at least the B&B instead of the hostel! 

The first stop is at Callander for some refreshment break (was recommended to buy Scottish pie from one of the shops). The Callander is located between the Highlands and the Lowlands. 

Check out the view at Loch Lubnaig. Took a quick photo before heading back to the mini van. 

Next, we stopped by The Three Sisters in Glencoe. 

and The Lost Valley. There are actually some tales behind all these beautiful sceneries as told by our guide. If you are interested, can try google for those stories!

Saw some cute cattle on our way. 

Here are some of the places we visited during our tour. 

Neist Point lighthouse. One of the most famous lighthouse in Scotland. 

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls. 

Took this photo at the viewing point of Kilt Rock, where the sky meets the sea. 

The Heart of the Cuith-Raing. 

Fairy Glen. 

Spotted a double rainbow while we were leaving the Fairy Glen. 

Check out the sunset. 

Eilean Doan Castle. We were allocated some time to visit the castle. It costs £7.50 (adult) but we chose to admire the castle from the outside. 

The last stop of the tour is at Loch Ness where we had our lunch as well. 

We signed up for a ferry ride around the Loch Ness. However due to some miscommunication on the timing, we missed the ride.

We ended our 3 days tour back in Edinburgh town. I am really glad that we took this tour to the Skye. We actually extended our stay in Edinburgh for a few days just to sign up for this tour as the initial date we wanted were full and this ended our stay in U.K. with a blast! 

Next stop, ICELAND!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is a city full of history, rich culture and beautiful landscapes! 

It's our 3rd destination of our Europe backpacking trip and we were greeted by rainbow (and rain) on our first day in Edinburgh. 

Besides exploring the city, walking along the Royal Mile and joining the Walking Ghost Tour at night we also went to Calton Hill and hiked up Arthur's Seat.

Calton Hill

Here is the history of Calton Hill. 

Walking up towards the monuments in the area. 

Nelson Monument. You can actually go up to the top at £5 to enjoy city view. 

The National Monument was dedicated to whose who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was modelled after the Temple of Minerva but it was incomplete due to insufficient funds.

Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to Dugald Stewart of course! He was a Scottish philosopher. The monument is also modelled after another monument (Choragic Monument of Lysicrates) in Athens. 

A lonely tree out of no where. 

View of Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill.

Arthur's Seat

Arthur's seat is the highest point of an extinct volcano that erupted millions of years ago. There was quite a few paths to hike up Arthur's seat. We saw a number of people climbing up from other side of the volcano when we were at the peak. 

Entrance to the hike to Arthur's Seat. There were a lot of people doing the hike due to the good weather. However, do wear good footwear as it could be quite slippery and I saw quite a few people slipped. 

We got side tracked by the beautiful terrain at the other side.

It's stone steps all the way with people ascending from top so you know you are on the right track. 

You thought you had reached the top but no! Arthur's Seat is further up there! 

And finally! 

It is very windy up here and you can get a good city view from here. Took a time lapse video as well!

Edinburgh Castle

Took this photo of Edinburgh Castle during the free walking ghost tour. It was raining heavily in the afternoon hence was not able to take a day view of the castle. 

The free walking ghost tour is really an interesting way to know about the history of Edinburgh. It is not those scary tour that will make your heart drop. So I highly recommended you to sign up for one!

York, England

We bought the train tickets from London King's Cross Station to York Station. The journey was about 2hr 30 mins. 

York is a small city that is only approximately 279km² which is even smaller than Singapore! 2 days trip in York should be able to cover most of the attractions. A lot of people were shocked when we said we were staying for 4 days (we were taking it easy). 

Here is my suggested itinerary for York.

Day 1 - York Minster, The Shambles, York Castle Museum and Clifford's Tower (York's Chocolate Story or National Railway Museum if there is enough time)

York Minster

York Minster (or Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York) is one of the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Its history begins way back to 627AD and has been rebuild few times since then. Visitors are allowed to explore the Minster at £10 (adults) or climb up the tower (with 275 steps) at £5 (adults) to the highest point in York or just for services. 

The stained glass inside the Minster.

The Shambles

The Shambles is one of the old street in York which has overhanging timber-framed buildings and narrow lanes. It used to be a street of butchers’ shops and houses where the meats were hung at the shop front. The streets were made narrow to prevent exposure of the meat from direct sunlight.

This is one of the most popular streets in York.

The Shambles Market is next to the Shambles where you can do a little shopping.

Clifford's Tower and York Castle Museum 

Further down the Shambles is Clifford's Tower which is the remains of York Castle originally built by William the Conqueror. It is on a hill and you can enter the tower for £4.70 (adult). The York Castle Museum is directly opposite Clifford's Tower. 

York Chocolate Story

If you still have some time after York Castle Museum, you can drop by York Chocolate Story for a tour (£11.50 adult) on history of chocolates. Last tour is at 4pm. Alternatively, you can grab a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm.

There are a lot of chocolate for sale too.

Day 2 - City Walls Walk and National Railway Museum

City Walls Walk

What is better than taking a short walk around York City Walls in the morning which had been protecting the city. The walk is about 3.4km and there are stories at each entrance of the walls. The walls is open from 8am to dusk.

Along the walls.

National Railway Museum

This is one of my favourite visit for the trip (because its cold outside) and its free! At first we were still deciding if we should visit the national railway museum but since it is ranked 1st in trip advisor and we had spare time (a lot). We decided to give it a try and ended up staying till the museum is closed!  

There are a lot of trains on display and write up about their history and information on the interior of the train.

You can even have a ride on the steam train.

Thats about it for my trip to York!