Bardastrandarsandur Beach

The sand runs up to the road, and the parking sits on the edge of it. Nothing has to be carried far, so people bring a chair and stay rather than stop for a photograph.

The water draws swimmers. In October the sea has measured 8°C with the air at 0°C, and people still get in. Late May can still be too cold to swim, so the air rather than the water sets the limit.

Birds gather along the shoreline in numbers and are easy to watch from the sand.

• Cold water: in October the sea has measured 8°C with the air at 0°C. Anyone going in is doing a cold-water swim, not a dip.
• Late spring is not summer: a cold day in late May is enough to call off a swim. Plan swimming for the warmest weeks.
• Bring a chair. The beach is bare sand, and people who stay for a few hours bring their own seating.
• Birds: the shoreline holds birds in numbers, and watching them is the main thing to do here apart from the water.

Access is by car. The beach lies directly off the road, and the parking area sits at the edge of the sand, so there is no path to walk and nothing to climb down. Parking is plentiful and easy, and the last stretch is a few steps from the car door to the beach.

Best: the warmest part of the year, when the air is warm enough to sit out or to swim.

Avoid: a swim in cold weather — in October the sea has measured 8°C with the air at 0°C.

Judge the visit by the air rather than by the water. A cold day in late May is enough to keep swimmers out. Birds are on the shore in late May.