Víðimýri Turf Church

Six turf churches are left in Iceland, and this is one of them. From the car park it reads as a grass mound with a timber gable end. The walls are cut turf blocks laid in a herringbone pattern, which holds them together as they settle. Grass grows over the roof and down the sides, so in summer the building is greener than the field around it. Inside is a plain timber church with painted panelling. The door is locked more often than not, and many people see only the exterior. The stop still works: the turf walls and the churchyard are visible from the fence, and the construction is the point as much as the church is.

• The door is often locked — plenty of people arrive to find it shut. You can still walk around the building and look in through the windows.
• Toilets at the car park stay open even when the church itself is closed.
• Right beside Route 1 — it works as a break in a driving day rather than a destination on its own.
• The interior is the point — turf and grass are what you see outside; the timber church is behind a locked door out of season.

The church stands beside Route 1 near Varmahlíð, in Northwest Iceland, and most people reach it by car while driving the ring road. There is a free car park at the site, with toilets, and the church is right there — you park and walk in. Even with the door locked, you can go up to the fence around the churchyard.

Better: an afternoon inside opening hours, when the door is unlocked and you can see the timber interior.

Avoid: Mondays, when the church is closed, and out-of-season visits, when only the outside is accessible.

Out of season the stop still works. The turf walls, the roof and the churchyard are all outside, and the building is easy to see from the fence — you simply will not get past the door.