Minnibakki Beach

Minnibakki is the black-sand beach at the head of Skálavík, a bay west of Bolungarvík that was farmed until the 1960s and now holds only a few summer houses and the sea. Driftwood carried across the North Atlantic piles up on the dark sand, eiders and oystercatchers work the shore, and seals sometimes haul out within view. There is a simple campsite with a toilet block, but no shop, no café and little phone signal. Getting here means a slow gravel road over the heath, so it suits those who want the quiet more than the comforts.