Detour #356: The Most Fun Road in the Faroe Islands
Photo Nick Dimbleby
The Faroe Islands are a traffic-free drivers’ delight, but one road bests the rest.
There are more sheep than people on the Faroe Islands, so it won’t surprise you to learn that the roads are almost empty.
Some 370 miles of asphalt cover 16 of the 18 islands (the other two aren’t inhabited), which doesn’t sound much, but with 21,000 of the 54,000 islanders living in and around Torshavn, you don’t have to travel far from the capital to experience the emptiness.
In four days criss-crossing the islands in ‘my’ Morgan Supersport 400 the only real traffic I encounter is the handful of vehicles disembarking the Smyril Line ferry from Denmark with me.
Yes, there are occasional tourist buses, rental cars and foreign-registered campers, dawdling along, but in a 400 bhp sports car they’re just momentary delays.
It’s not that I spend all my time driving as if my trousers are aflame, for the islands are so distracting in their beauty that it would be impossible not to slow down and soak in this landscape of craggy peaks that literally exploded out of the Atlantic in a violent volcanic eruption. Sheer sea cliffs are home to millions of birds, waterfalls tumbling down the rock faces into the ocean. The islands are barren, devoid of any trees (bar a few that have been imported), yet rich in verdant grass, providing year-round feed for the 80,000 sheep.
The Faroe Islands are pushing for more human visitors but for now they still feel relatively undiscovered. Soon more wildlife watchers, hikers and history buffs will arrive, but keen drivers should also add the islands to their lists.
The roads are, for the most part, smooth and well-cared for. You’ll find fast and flowing sections that run parallel with the edges of deep lochs, leading to isolated fishing villages of black sandy beaches, multi-hued wooden houses and turf-topped churches.
Then there are steep, switchback-strewn parts that cut inland over the peaks and sometimes right through them via narrow tunnels.
There’s one road, however, that beats the rest for pure driving entertainment. It leads from Eiði to Gjógv on the island of Eysturoy and even the build-up is brilliant.
From Torshavn you track the Kaldbaks fjord, running just high enough above sea level to look down at the fisheries as waterfalls crash down the mountainside. The road rises into a valley reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands then disappears into a tunnel, emerging to reveal the edge of Kolla fjord which you follow north. So far, it’s an unchallenging route, with curves that gently follow the coastline and passing through small settlements – every one with its own church, some ancient, some modern.
Cross the short bridge at Oyrarbakki and you leave Streymoy for Eysturoy and take the road to Eiði, choosing the right fork to Gjógv. Signs warn that the road may not be cleared of snow in the winter months – a clue to the climb ahead.
Sure enough the road rises as it first follows the coast before cutting sharply inland into the domain of the bovine. Sheep are everywhere and the road is narrow, but the sight lines are good and there are plenty of passing places in the unlikely event that you should meet another vehicle. Soon the corners start to come, and they just get better and better, with swift sweepers leading to a brace of hairpins and then a faster, more open part that brings you to the high point of the road. Over the crest another fabulous fjord view greets you, but pay attention as the road drops dramatically through a sequence of switchbacks and then takes a winding, undulating path, with more crazy curves thrown in, before a final gentle run into Gjógv.
It’s a perfect postcard village in a natural harbour and an opportunity to stretch your legs before the drive back to Torshavn. You’ll retrace your steps at first, before peeling off left to Funningur and tackling some final, fantastic hairpins that take you to the edge of Funnings fjord. Now you have time to breathe again as you follow the road down to Strendur, where there’s one last chance to have it taken away once more.
Enter the Eysturoy tunnel and you’ll plummet down into one of the longest, deepest road tunnels in the world. It’s 11 km to the other end, just outside Torshavn, and you’ll also have to negotiate the only undersea roundabout in existence – but that’s another story.
For further information about exploring the Faroe Islands check out https://visitfaroeislands.com/en
Words Nik Berg Instagram
Photography Nick Dimbleby & Matt Jennings
ROADBOOK
CLASS: ISLAND LIFE
NAME: Fun in The Faroe Islands
ROUTE: Torshavn to Torshavn
COUNTRY: FAROE ISLANDS
Distance: 71 Miles
The Faroe Islands are a traffic-free drivers’ delight, but one road bests the rest.