Grafarkirkja

Six turf churches are left in Iceland, and this is the oldest of them. A church has stood at Gröf since 1240, though the building here now went up in the 17th century. In 1776, under Danish rule, it was taken out of service and used as a shed by the farm. It stayed one until 1950, when it was taken back and restored.

The chapel is tiny: turf walls, a timber frame and a grass roof that blends into the field until you are close to it. A circular turf wall rings the churchyard, with a handful of headstones inside. The doors stay shut, so everything worth looking at is on the outside — the coursed turf, the low doorway, the bank of the churchyard wall.

• You cannot go in. The church is closed to visitors and is seen from the outside only.
• A gate on the way in. The approach may be blocked by a closed gate; drive through and close it behind you.
• Nothing is provided here. No toilets, no drinking water, no information point.
• Not step-free. The entrance is not wheelchair accessible, and the last stretch is an unpaved meadow path.
• It is a burial ground. There are graves inside the turf wall, and the turf itself breaks underfoot — do not climb it.

No bus goes to Grafarkirkja; visitors come by car. The approach may be blocked by a closed gate — you are asked to drive through and shut it behind you. Parking lies about 250 m from the church, and a meadow path covers the last stretch. The walk is short and easy. Twenty to thirty minutes covers the visit itself, so this works as a stop on the way to or from Hofsós rather than as a destination.

Best: before sunset, when the light is low across the field and the churchyard is often empty.

Avoid: the middle of the day, when most passing cars stop here.

The turf is green through the summer and browns off later in the year, so summer gives the strongest contrast between the grass roof and the timber. The visit is short in any season, and there is no shelter on site if the weather turns.

The interior is closed to visitors, so the church is seen from the outside. Inside the circular turf wall is a burial ground with a few headstones; keep off the graves. Turf walls and turf roofs break easily underfoot — do not climb the wall and do not step onto the roof, low as it is.