Skardsviti Lighthouse

Skardsviti is a lighthouse you look at rather than visit. The tower dates from 1951 and stands on the coast of Northwest Iceland, with open water and a long stretch of shoreline behind it. Nothing brings you closer than the road: the lighthouse is not open, and the ground between the road and the tower is fenced private land. A drone is the only way to a close view.

That leaves the setting to do the work, and it is a good one — open coast and a wide view along it. Horses graze the field beside the road and come up to the fence line, which is what most people end up photographing alongside the tower. Do not feed them; the owners may keep them on a set diet.

• Roadside only — the lighthouse is closed to visitors, and a fence with private land beyond it stops you short of the tower.
• A stop, not a destination — a few minutes at the roadside covers it, and it earns the pause if road 711 is already on your route.
• Evening backlight — late in the day the sun sits behind the tower, and from the road the lighthouse comes out as a silhouette.
• Horses at the fence — horses graze beside the road and come up to it. Do not feed them; the owners may keep them on a set diet.

Road 711 out of Hvammstangi reaches the lighthouse about 10 km from the village, and much of that stretch is gravel. There is no car park and no proper pull-in, so drivers stop at the roadside and take their photographs from there. Nothing is left to walk in on: a fence runs between the road and the tower, and the land beyond it is private.

Best: any time of day but the evening, if the lighthouse itself is what you came to photograph.

Avoid: late evening seen from the road — the sun sits behind the tower and it comes out backlit.

Time of day makes more difference here than season, because the angle is fixed: you shoot from the road or not at all. Sunset still suits the wider coastal view, so the answer depends on whether you want the tower or the coast.