Vatnsfjord church and fish drying racks

The drying shed stands at the water's edge and is still sound — timber frame, roof on, racks in place. Sheep have taken it over as shelter, and they graze across the rest of the site. The church is at the other end of the road, white and plain, of a type found all over rural Iceland. Between the two there is an information tablet that sets out the history, and reading it is what turns a photo stop into a visit. The site is unstaffed, and on a grey day it reads as abandoned.

• No toilets: there are none at the site, and none mapped within a few kilometres. Plan the stop around that.
• Nothing to buy: the site is unstaffed — no shop, no café, no drinking water. Bring what you need.
• Midges: they gather by the water in calm weather and can be relentless. Carry repellent or a head net.
• Sheep: they graze across the whole site and shelter in the shed. Take the last gravel stretch slowly.

Arrival is by car; no bus serves the site itself. A short gravel road turns off to the parking area, and the rest is on foot. The drying shed stands at the water, the church at the other end of the road, so seeing both means walking between them.

Best: a breezy day. Wind keeps the midges off, and they are the one thing that can spoil a stop here.

Avoid: still, warm weather at the water's edge.

Nothing here runs to a schedule, so the weather decides the visit rather than the hour you turn up.