Meleyri Black Sand Beach

The sand is black, the mountains behind it hold snow on their tops, and the Atlantic comes in open and unbroken. What separates Meleyri from the better-known black beaches is what lies on it. The strand line collects unusual stones, seashells and bones, and picking along it is most of what people do here. There is birdlife at the water's edge.

The other half of it is the quiet. The beach sits right by the Ring Road and is still rarely crowded, and the ground is flat enough that walking the shoreline takes no effort at all.

• Underfoot — black sand mixed with stones and shells. The ground is flat and the walking is easy, but sand and loose stone are hard going on wheels.
• Wind — the beach faces the open Atlantic with nothing to break it. A windproof jacket is worth having even when the sky looks settled.
• In bad weather — there is no shelter on the sand, and low cloud hides the mountains. In heavy rain there is little reason to stop.
• Leave the beach as you find it — the stones, shells and bones on the strand are what people come for.
• Birds — there is birdlife along the water's edge, so binoculars earn their place.

Meleyri sits on the coast near Breiðdalsvík in East Iceland, on the Ring Road. The approach is by car, and parking is on the side of the road beside the beach. From there the ground is flat and the walking is along the shoreline rather than towards anything in particular. Fifteen minutes on the sand is enough to take the place in and come back.

Better: clear weather, when the mountains behind the beach and the snow on their tops are in view.

Avoid: low cloud and heavy rain — the backdrop is half the reason for stopping, and there is no shelter on the sand.

The beach is rarely crowded, so timing here is a question of weather rather than of avoiding other people. Black sand, sea and mountain make the view together, and when the cloud comes down only the sand is left.