Langanes

Langanes runs north-east for around forty kilometres into the sea, narrow and flat-topped, ending at the cliff of Stori Karl where gannets nest in thousands on a stack below a viewing platform built out over the drop. Partway along are the ruins of Skalar, a fishing village that had over a hundred residents in the 1920s and was abandoned by 1955 as the boats got bigger and the harbour stayed small. The coast here wrecked many ships; a rescue hut and memorials mark some of them. The road is gravel and gets worse the further out you go, and there is nothing on the peninsula in the way of services.

What you actually see

• A gannet colony at Stori Karl - watched from a platform over the cliff.
• The ruins of Skalar - a village of over a hundred people, abandoned by 1955.
• Wreck memorials - the marks left by a dangerous coast.
• Forty kilometres of gravel - the road degrading as it goes out.

When to go

June to August, while the gannets are on the stack. A full day.

Honest expectations

The outer road is rough enough that many hire cars should not attempt it, and there is no help out there. Fog rolls in and hides the cliff. The viewing platform is exposed and unnerving in wind. No fuel, food or facilities past Thorshofn.

Nearby

Raudanes is west; Thorshofn is at the base of the peninsula.