Laekjavik

A black-sand cove with a single rock standing out in the water. That rock is the whole picture here, and it is what people stop to photograph. Waves break straight onto the sand. From the lookout beside the car park the cove is visible all at once, and there is no built path down to it.

In winter a thin layer of ice covers the ground and the beach, and sunlight on that ice changes the look of the place completely. It is quiet as well. One visitor spent more than two hours here and saw nobody else.

• Down to the beach: there is no built path — the way from the lookout to the sand goes over rock.
• Winter: a thin layer of ice covers the ground and the beach. Iced rock makes the descent the risky part of the visit.
• Weather: the stop holds up in rain and wind. The view from the lookout does not depend on the sky.
• Dogs and children: dogs are allowed, and children are fine at the lookout. The climb down is another matter.
• Crowds: you can have the cove to yourself — one visitor spent over two hours here without meeting anyone.

Laekjavik sits directly off the Ring Road on the East Iceland coast, in the Djúpivogur area. Drivers pull off the road into the car park, which is right next to it, and the lookout is beside the car park. That is as far as the built approach goes. To stand on the black sand you climb down over the rocks below the lookout — there is no made path and no steps. Plenty of the view is there from the top, so the descent is optional.

Better: winter, when a thin layer of ice covers the ground and the beach and sunlight on it lifts the whole cove.

Avoid: climbing down to the sand while that ice is on the rocks.

The stop works in any weather, which is the point of it — on a grey day the cove looks much as it does on a bright one, and it stays quiet either way.