Old Herring Factory in Ingolfsfjord

An entire herring plant, left where it stopped, on the shore of Ingolfsfjord. The building is sealed and no one goes inside, so the visit is a walk around the outside: concrete foundations, rusted metal and old machinery standing in the open, with the fjord and the mountains behind them. Signs on the site set out the history of the plant, so the story comes without a guide. The only neighbours are a few houses that are still lived in. This corner of the Westfjords sees very few visitors, and there is a fair chance you will have the ruin to yourself.

• The building is closed — you cannot go in. The whole visit happens outside, around the walls.
• History on site — information panels at the factory explain what the plant did and how it ended.
• Toilets — the nearest toilets are about 170 m from the buildings.
• Almost no one comes here — Ingolfsfjord is off the tourist routes, so expect an empty site and no services at it.

The factory stands on the shore of Ingolfsfjord, deep in the Westfjords, beside a few houses that are still lived in. People arrive by car and drive right up to the buildings. An ordinary car copes with the roads in; a 4x4 makes the drive easier. Nothing is left to walk but a loop around the outside of the plant.