Vidareidi

Viðareiði is the northernmost settlement in the Faroes, sitting on a low isthmus between two bays with mountains rising steeply at both ends of the island, and the road stops here. Its church of 1892 holds silver given by the British crown after villagers rescued the crew of a wrecked ship. The walk north from the village leads towards Enniberg, the cliff at the island's tip, and south the ridge climbs Villingadalsfjall.

History

Viðareiði, "wood isthmus", lost its old church to a storm in the 17th century, when part of the churchyard was washed into the sea and coffins from it were later recovered at Hvannasund and reburied here. The present church was built in 1892, and its silver was a gift from the British government in thanks for the villagers' rescue of the crew of the brig Marwood, wrecked near Viðareiði in a winter storm in 1847 (Wikipedia, Viðareiði).

Highlights

• The isthmus setting - a village on a low neck with mountains at both ends.
• The 1892 church - holding silver given for a nineteenth-century sea rescue.
• The Enniberg approach - the route north towards the great cliff.
• Villingadalsfjall - the peak climbed from the village to the south.

When to go

May to September is the season. Fog and wind are constant factors this far north. The road can close in winter storms.

What to expect

There are very few facilities and no shop worth the name. The walk to Enniberg is serious and should not be done alone or in poor visibility. Weather here changes very fast.

Nearby

Enniberg is north, and Klaksvik is south.

Key facts