Pearce Cycles RD2

mat price July 6, 2023

Round 2 of the Pearce Cycles Downhill series kicked off exactly how the last one finished, dry and dusty! Bringewood’s a classic venue on the UK downhill circuit. With lots of different options to change up tracks, and a quick uplift, this has always been a favourite of many riders.

The track started with a small pedal into some tight, but fast, switch-backs. Not a huge amount of line choice up here but the key looked to be carrying as much speed as you can into a small double, then straight into a road gap. It was good to see so many people making it over with ease.

Upon landing the road gap, riders were sent into a very fast left hander with probably the biggest braking bumps on the track. A few people were avoiding by staying slightly wider on the grass but the majority were giving their teeth a good rattle by going straight through them. After that there was a series of big fast berms in the open. Again, little line choice but carrying speed was key.

The switch-backs tightened up before heading over a small tree stump/roots and then into a small double. This was the first part of the track I saw get quite loose and dusty and in my opinion was probably the slowest section.

Ben Swinbourne getting low in the switchbacks.

A few more fast turns and then riders were faced with a step down into two table tops. This bit looked pretty fast and squashing the jumps was quite important as they were quite close together. Riders then hit the fire road and the half way point on the track quickly followed by a blind left drop into the next section of 2 doubles.

Now onto the bottom half of the track. The riders had a fast right hander with 3 lines, this was causing a lot of grief with widest looking the safest, but also the slowest. Then there were 2 inside lines either side of a tree stump, both requiring a slightly wider approach on the entry. During most of Saturday practice it was quite greasy until everything got a bit more rode in.

After deciding which line to take, riders were back into the trees and onto a very fast section down to the the last fire road crossing. This comprised of lots of small gap jumps and natural doubles and was only slowed up by the odd switch-back, and a few breaking bumps to keep you on your toes! The last fire road got really loose and dusty, this caught a few people out before they headed into the last part of the track.

The finish was almost in sight but no time to ease up just yet, a new small section had been cut in for the weekend and after a pretty dry few weeks it was obvious this was going to get blown out quite quickly. The three main lines developed on this corner all looked pretty good from behind the lens. There was plenty of action here over the weekend and this turned out to be where I spent most of Sunday’s race runs. Out of this section there were a few more dusty corners before dropping into a tabletop and a short sprint to the finish. Done and dusted in around 2 minutes.

Like all Pearce Cycles races this ran like clock work, I spoke to someone who managed 17 runs over the whole weekend. Value for your money and perfect organisation too. People who say DH is dead clearly haven’t been to a Pearce event before.

Fastest Men’s time of the day was Douglas Vieira who broke the 2 minute barrier with a massively impressive 1:55

The fastest Women’s time of the day was Katy Curd who did an equally impressive 2:14

A massive thank you to Pearce Cycles for such a great race, and to all of the marshalls, uplift drivers, medics and sponsors that make it all possible. Without all of these people, these events wouldn't happen. See you all in September at Bucknell for more dust.

Pearce cycles Rd 1, Rhyd y Felin

mat price June 6, 2023

First round of the 2023 Pearce Cycles Downhill Series at the classic Rhyd Y Felin venue is now done and dusted (literally) As always Pearce and all of the team put on a faultless weekend of weather and racing bikes, with a sold out event it was going to be a busy weekend.

First uplift started at 9:00am and with the usual army of Land Rovers and trailers people were on track in no time. It wasn’t long before trails of dust and the noise of riders started to make its way down the hill. The track started in the same place it always has done, a short sprint before a some flat out bus stops and jumps, before slowing up for a few narrow corners then riders are out in to the open and some bigger jumps and already very loose looking berms.

The track ran parallel with the uplift road briefly with some more quick turns before heading into the tighter and darker wooded section. This section looked to be causing the most problems for riders, not only the 100’s of roots but multiple line choice and the greasy conditions first thing made it pretty challenging. After the woods riders were spat out over a greasy road and into a shaley chute, this is where things began to speed up again again with a few step downs and a huck to flat off a tree stump that was catching a few people out, I’ve no idea which looked quickest but going over the stump definitely looked better from behind my lens.

Just after the stump riders were heavy on the brakes as they crossed a small road into my favourite section to photograph all weekend, a quite tight right/left into a drop. Personally I think the fastest through this section all weekend was Jordan Williams-Specialized Gravity Racing. A few more fast bermed up corners before dropping on to the uplift road into the final wooded section.

Across the final road and you were into what looked the fasted part of the track, a few fast turns and stumps into a couple of very loose switchbacks which caught out plenty of riders over the weekend. One last left hander and your out into the finish field, dry dusty corners all the way to the line. Fasted time of the day went to Matt Walker-Madison Saracen Factory Team 2:50!

Sunday morning we were greeted again with perfect blue skies (How do Pearce organise such good weather in Wales) A short amount of practice before the juveniles take to the track at 11:00

Faultless uplifts as always made sure things stayed pretty much on time, hats off the all the drivers and marshalls who dealt with the dust and heat all weekend, if it wasn’t for these people these races would be as popular as they are.

George Madley winner of the Youth category.

It’s always good to see some of the big names at the smaller regional races. Jordan Williams, Joe Breeden and XC and Enduro racer Hattie Harden and others were in attendance before the first UCI world cup of the season.

Racing was wrapped up just after 5:30pm a pretty impressive day of racing bike in glorious conditions. Great to see so many people hang around for the podiums at the end of the day. Thanks again to Pearce Cycles and all of the people who made this weekend possible, a perfect weekend racing as always. See you all at the the next one at Bringewood.

Roots and rain photos from the weekend

Iceland.

Four days in South Iceland, September 2022.

Iceland 2022

mat price December 12, 2022

Three years dreaming of going back to Iceland, and I finally made it!

I caught a train from Leominster to Manchester, slept on the floor of the departure lounge for a few hours but was to excited/nervous to get any more. I flew into Keflavik airport very early on Sunday morning and ended up sitting on the runway in the plane for 2 hours as it was to windy for the staff to let us off! Finally out of the plane, I had a mad rush to grab my bags. I then went to collect my car for the trip, a Dacia Duster from Blue Car Rental. There are literally 100s of these little cars in Iceland and oddly they are all white, but mine had rusty wheels which made it easier to find.

This time I wanted to keep the trip as simple and as cheap as I could. I booked a hotel for a couple of nights (to charge camera batteries and shower), but then slummed it and slept in my rental car for a couple of nights to save some pennies! I also to ate as cheap as possible, mostly feasting on supermarket noodles, although I did allow myself to eat out once.

2 Icelandic icons, Skógafoss and a Duster.

My aim of the whole trip was to capture the braided glacial rivers with my drone and this was only going to work with little or no wind. The day before I landed in Iceland the South and East coasts were hit with 140mph winds, so I was a little bit apprehensive! I drove south from the airport towards Grindavík and stopped a few times, the wind seemed to be easing and the sun finally made an appearance so I was feeling a little more confident. I set myself a little challenge on this trip, to do all of the driving with no sat nav/Google maps. I wanted to see how much I could remember from our trip back in 2019.

My first outing with the camera was the iconic Skógafoss waterfall and the nearby Kvernufoss, both stunning in their own right but not what I came for so I set off in search of some glacial rivers. I made the hour long drive towards Þorlákshöfn where I found there was access to a small river and potential to fly my drone to capture the braided rivers. After a short walk I found a safe place to sit and get the drone out, there was a bit of wind but nothing that would stop me flying. 15 minutes of flying and I was pretty disappointed with the results, the wind was causing quite big ripples and waves on the water and a very sunny sky was causing very strong glare on the water. I made my way back to the car and sat for a few minutes, I felt pretty deflated and wondered if the whole trip going to be a waste of time.

I made my back to the hotel to get my battereris charged up and pray for no wind the next day. I bought a loaf of bread and a bag of crisps for my food that evening and lunch the next day, also found a Kitkat in my camera bag for dessert. I had a location in mind that I found via google maps but with no parking or any real footpaths, I decided to try and get a decent night sleep and head out early…

I have an Aurora app on my phone that send notifications if there are chances of seeing the Northern nights, just after 23:00 I had RED ALERT, I really wasn’t too bothered and was pretty tired but dragged myself out of bed and thought I’ll try and make the most of it. I stepped out of the hotel door and instantly saw the Green lights above me, time to get to work. I took photos for probably 20 minutes and then decided to sit in the boot of the car and just watch the light show. Quite often when I’m out shooting sunrise or sunset my time is spent running around like an idiot taking photos or flying my drone and not actually enjoying what’s going on, so it was so nice to sit and take in the wonders of The Northern Lights.

I went to bed around 1 o’clock in the morning. I worried I was going to regret not stay out watching the Northern lights, but I was really tired and the next day was forecast to be much calmer wind-wise, so I had to make the most of it.

I was up and out early, with a crisp sandwich for breakfast and some warm water in my bottle. I headed towards Þykkvibær which was the closest I could get to my intended location (with out taking any big risks, getting stuck, or parking somewhere I shouldn't). I walked just over 6 miles , 5 of it on soft sand, to get to the side of the river. I saw no other foot prints or any path signs but I did see two very old shipwrecks. These were really cool to see but also a reminder that I was in a very very remote location and if I did get into any trouble, I was stuffed.

From the ground conditions were perfect, very little wind and decent cloud cover, but until I got the drone up in the air I wasn’t really sure if it was going to be all I hoped it would be. Only a minute of flying and I was blown away by what I saw; the colours and patterns were exactly what I wished for. I felt quite emotional after putting in so much effort to get back to Iceland and all of the hours and hours I spent looking at maps and researching locations. I used 3 full batteries and was super happy that I got what I have literally obsessed over since I started doing photography.

A dream come true, Icelandic glacial rivers from above.

I packed up my bag and made the 6 mile walk back to the car. Feeling pretty shattered and absolutely starving I decided to treat myself to my only bit of hot food I allowed myself the whole time I was there. The 2 hour drive to Vík í Mýrdal was travelled in silence because I couldn't get the radio to work in the car and I don’t have Spotify but I was more than happy smiling away and getting overtaken every few kilometres by speeding Icelanders. There was only one place I was going to head to for food that evening. Smiðjan Brugghús. Burger, chips and a pint of IPA. If you ever go to Iceland, put it on your list.

The next day was my last so I wanted to try and make the most of it. I set an early alarm again and headed east towards Vatnajökull and The Diamond Beach area. It was a long, windy, drizzly drive. Through hours of moss-covered lava fields to my first location, a glacier called Svinafellsjokull. There were hardly any cars in the small carpark. I was going to be quite lucky and have the place practically to myself. I spent about an hour-and-a-half shooting photos and managed to fly the drone a short distance to capture the glacier and a few of the smallish icebergs in the lagoon. I had my last crisp sandwich in the boot of the car and some stale doughnuts I picked up whilst getting fuel.

It was a short drive down to the well-known Jökulsárlón Glacial lagoon and Diamond beach and this was where I spent the majority of my day. I was mainly shooting the glacier and icebergs and avoiding people. It’s quite a popular area, but if you don’t mind a 20 minute walk you can get away from the crowds and have some peace to enjoy the place. The scale of the mountains and glaciers is out of this world, very obvious why this area is so popular.

After a few hours shooting photos and getting wet feet whilst trying to get shots of small icebergs. I made the decision to slowly make my way back towards the airport as I was flying back early the next morning and a bad rain forecast was going to make the 5 hour drive a bit harder. I had remembered a place near the airport that I could probably sleep in the car and not get bothered, so I started to make my way. The drive back was pretty uneventful, as it got darker the rain did eventually start but I was pretty happy with the ground I covered. I must admit I wish I had spent a bit more of my trip heading East, but my main aim was to capture the rivers. Next time I will make the effort to head towards Hofn and the fjords on that coast.

I was up super early once more, dropped the car off, and made the walk to airport. The usual chaos of airports and fatigue setting in didn't even dampen my spirits because I was so happy with the last few days of my trip. As a stroke of luck I surprisingly managed to get 3 seats to myself on the flight home, the same can’t be said for the train ride back to Wales though.

þakka þér kærlega fyrir Ísland.

Thank you very much iceland.

Seattle to Portland

mat price October 25, 2022

Snowdonia

mat price February 20, 2022

Like most trips I’ve made to North Wales, this one took a bit of planning and research. After months of pretty average weather I wasn’t confident in getting anything special, but a few days before I had planned to head up, the forecast changed. It now predicted there was a high chance of low cloud and fog in valleys…Bingo!! Forecasts mentioned mountains over 900m would be above the fog so it was obvious to me to head to a peak of around 1000m. I chose Glyder Fach as I know the mountain well and it has great views of Yr Wyddfa and Crib Goch. Leaving my van at 5:45am in the Ogwen valley I began my ascent. The route starting from Gwen Gof Uchaf steepens very quickly and soon I had walked into thick cloud and low visibility. A good head torch and navigation skills are pretty important when visibility is reduced to <20m! The climb up to Glyder Fach can seem relentlessly steep but after 1.5 hours walking I finally got to poke my head out of the cloud and see the summit of Tryfan looking more like an island than a mountain.

A 30 second exposure of Moel Siabod as the clouds roll through the valley below.

Finally, the hard part of the climb up was done and I was above the clouds. It was about 40 minutes before the sun was due to rise so I had plenty of time to try a few different shots and get myself ready. Conditions were absolutely perfect, zero wind and no clouds to block the sun as it rose. I set up my tripod and managed to capture a shot of myself on some rocks looking over Bristley Ridge, towards Tryfan.

I still had 20 minutes before the sun was due to rise so I made my way over to Castell y Gwynt, a classic location and one of my favourites in Snowdonia. The clouds below were everywhere and only a few peaks were visible which gave lots of different options to isolate the mountains. I couldn’t help feeling like I was on the ocean surrounded by islands instead of up amongst Wales’ great peaks.

Y Lliwedd, one of my favourite shots of 2021.

As the sun started to rise I kept myself busy changing lenses and trying different shots. A favourite of mine from this location is to use my 200-600mm lens to pick out people on Crib Goch. Right on cue a few hikers lined up perfectly on the ridge, just giving me enough time to capture the size and scale of the infamous peak before they scrambled out of sight. Another classic shot is the tall rocky outcrop of Castell y Gwynt, I set my tripod up and made the mad dash up on to the rocks to get a selfie over looking the Snowdon horse shoe.

After enjoying the best morning’s photography I think I’ve ever had, I decided to slowly make my way back down towards the valley floor. It was so hard not to stop every few minutes to capture something new. As I made my way towards the cloud below I spotted my first Broken Spectre. A Broken Spectre also called Broken Bow or mountain bow , is the magnified (and apparently enormous) shadow of an observer cast onto clouds opposite the Sun's direction. The figure's head is often surrounded by the halo-like rings of coloured light forming a glory, these are caused by sunlight refracting in the water droplets of the cloud.

I couldn’t have had a more beautiful and perfect end to a perfect morning. Until next time Snowdonia.

Snowdonia wildcamp.

mat price April 16, 2020

I’ve been sitting on a small collection of images from a night of wild camping in Snowdonia late last summer. I hope you enjoy.

I finished work mid morning on the Friday and had made a plan to head to North Wales for a night. After watching the weather all week, it looked I would be in luck for some clear skies and not a huge amount of wind. I had planned on camping near Castell y Gwynt (Castle of the winds) on top of Glyder Fach, the 3rd time up here for me but the first time camping. I parked in one of the many lay-bys in the Ogwen Valley and the route I took started at Gwern Gôf Uchaf campsite. After climbing a few stiles I was on the familiar stone slabs that wind their way up Cwm Tryfan. Finally, out of the shadows it really warmed up! Carrying approx 18kg on my back meant a few stops were in order but I also really wanted to catch sunset and get pitched up before it got dark. I pushed on and made it to Llyn Caseg Fraith, where I’ve camped before. I’m probably just over half way now so i stop and take my bag off for a few minutes. Most of the people I meet are heading down but the odd few I see still heading up are all loaded up with big bags so I get a move on, not wanting to be struggling for somewhere to sleep.

18,686 steps later I found a perfect spot of flat, soft grass over looking the Snowdon Massif and beyond. I had the chance to make a quick cuppa before the usual mad run around trying to take photos for an hour as the sun was setting. I saw only 1 other person the whole time during sunset & they happened to stand in a perfect place as I was taking a panoramic shot of Tryfan. Thanks, who ever you are! The light faded pretty fast but it was really nice to see how the landscape changed as light and shadows moved and altered everything. After a nearly flat battery, food was my next plan! A boil in the bag pasta followed by a bag of Haribo for dessert was quickly scoffed down. Darkness fell and the stars slowly started to shine. I decided to get into my sleeping bag to warm up for 20 minutes before heading back out again.

Tryfan on the left, random person top right.

Now my only source of light is my head torch as the moon isn’t set to rise until 1:30am so its pretty dark. Scrambling over the huge rocks isn’t easy and it’s made even harder as the wind has picked up considerably so I take extra care. I tried a few shots of myself on ‘the cantilever stone’, but failed to even stand upright! I could see a tent near there and wondered how on earth they would managed to get any sleep! I had one shot in mind from the time I planned the whole trip, the Milky way rising behind Snowdon with my tent in the foreground, I waited in my sleeping bag until the the milky way was in position and climbed up the rocks behind my tent to grabbed a few shots. After that, I headed back to the warmth of my tent to finally get some sleep.

A lot of planning & steps were involved to capture this shot. The milky way behind the Snowdon Massif.

Writing this now, I can’t actually remember what time I set my alarm but I think it was about 5:30ish. I had no real plans for sunrise apart from wandering around until I saw something I liked. The wind was pretty fierce above where I had camped so using the tripod wasn’t going to be easy. I met two people who had camped not far from mean had had 2 goats wake them up during the night (that definitely would have scared the shit out of me!). I headed towards Glyder Fawr to get a better view over the Ogwen Valley but the wind was even stronger and taking photos was almost impossible. I managed to find a small bit of shelter to take a panoramic shot of Snowdon just as the sun hits the peaks….this is probably one of my favourite photos I took on this trip.

A 7 shot pano of the Snowdon Massif. Cropped to fit the whole image on page.

I was lucky to have small bit of shelter as I managed to get a few panoramic shots, I even managed to capture one of the goats that had woken up my neighbours during the night. I was pretty happy with my mornings work so as the sun was getting higher in the sky it was time to get the tent packed away and to boil a quick cuppa before I made the long descent back to the van. Throwing the bag over my, now pretty sore, shoulders and drinking the last drop of tea I looked back at the view with thoughts of doing the same trip one winter with some snow on the ground. On the trip back down I still only met a handful of people before I made it back to the van. Tired and hungry, I headed for home as the masses began to arrive, feeling rather smug I’d had the whole mountain practically to myself.

Into the wild

Cambrian mountains bothy trip

Claerddu bothy.

mat price January 26, 2020

Like most trips or adventures this one started with a plan! It was pretty simple; ride our bikes to a bothy, stay over night and come home. I was joined by two close friends, George and Carl, who I have rode/raced with for the last 15 years so riding 10 miles or so wasn’t going to be an issue for any of us. I had been watching the weather very closley in the week leading up to the trip, with it having rained for what seemed likes months we were keen to do this ride with out getting soaked to the bone. Luckily we had the perfect window of clear/dry weather for a few days which got us pretty excited!

A short drive to The Elan Valley with a compulsory snack stop in Rhayader. We parked at the bottom of the Clearwen reservoir and made our way up the public road until we joined an unpaved track that skirted the reservoir. The Elan valley is a place I spend a huge amount of time exploring and taking photos, yet never get bored of the area and I still find it a hugely inspiring place to be.

Eachof us was carrying the food, drink and equipment needed for 1 night. I always find carrying a backpack pretty comfortable whist walking in the mountains but riding a bike with a large bag is a new one for me. After about a mile we all pulled over and made some much needed adjustments to our bags……Only another 9 miles to go! We spent lots of time studying the route and maps and are fortunate that there aren’t too many climbs. We pass a man on a gravel bike with fancy bags built into the frame saying he’d done 80km that day! Im pretty sure we all thought “Nobody likes a bragger” as he went on his way. Still having the reservoir to our left, we all commented on the sheer size of it and how remote we felt.

Slowly meandering into the Cambrian Mountains.

Finally leaving behind the reservoir we made our way up a small climb to a farm miles from anywhere. I always wonder what it would be like to live somewhere so remote? Would you go mad? Would you revel in the solitude? In the distance we see snow on a few of the higher peaks, definitely a sign it’s going to be a chilly night. Nearing the 9 mile mark there’s a small river crossing and a short steep climb before we reached the last stretch of the ride. As we got our first view of our digs for the night a small puff of white smoke from the bothy chimney indicated that we wouldn’t be having the place to ourselves, but it was also a welcome sight to the boys and myself (I was beginning to wonder if the bothy actually existed!). We arrived just as the sun was setting over Tregaron, after a quick chat with the couple who were sharing the bothy and we claimed a room before finally getting the bags off our tired, sore shoulders.

Wasting no time, we got back outside and scrambled up the hill behind the bothy with a well earned beer! The sky was forecast to be clear for most of the night but not before it turned into the most vibrant display of colour we’ve seen in a long time. As the sun sets we all noticed the temperature drop very quickly. Our beers were quickly drank and we went back into the bothy with the Jetboil to brew up some tea and coffee for the long night ahead. We lit some candles to save torch batteries and made our beds up on the ply board platform in our room. Being in the middle of nowhere, mobile phone signal was non existent and instead of being annoying it was refreshing to not reach for the phone and aimlessly browse social media pages.

At around 6:30 we decided that it was time to eat and give us something to do to pass the time, all of us took it in turns to cook or pour boiling water over what ever what hand managed to fit in our bags, more tea was drunk as the temperature was still dropping and I think secretly we all started to feel the cold. Having known the skies were going to be clear as the night went on, I took a wander outside and was pretty excited to see a perfectly cloud free sky, no matter how many times I see the night sky it still fascinates me. I grabbed a few images of the bothy and headed back in to get some gloves and get the boys who were keen to go for a short walk to warm up and admire the stars.

After 20 minutes outside wandering around in the dark our head torches slowly started to fade on all of us so we retire back to the bothy. We finally got a chance to sit downstairs by the log fire that had been lit earlier by the other couple, we put some damp riding kit on the washing line in a vain attempt to dry it for the early ride in the morning. Not long after that we all decided to finally get into our sleeping bags and try to make it through the night with out freezing to death. After about half an hour I managed to get myself comfy and drop off to sleep.

Waking up to the words “i’m fucking freezing” was something I found quite funny after having a very warm comfortable nights sleep. None of us wasted any time lying around and we were all up and packing up our bags after a cup of tea. Funnily enough none of our clothes had dried next to the fire. I was quite keen to get outside and catch some predawn light so the boys loaded up their bikes and sorted out a few mechanical problems before we finally left the other couple in peace. I’m sure they were pretty gutted to see us tuning up the night before, brakes squealing and marching up and down the stairs in the night.

The thought of a 10 mile ride back to the van wasn’t one of much inspiration, but we had beautiful clear skies and the sun was just beginning to show its head above the hills in front of us. It definitely made thing much easier. We had a few compulsory photo stops and a very, very precarious river crossing that we had all rode through the day before. This time we chose wisely and carried our bikes across some conveniently placed boulders. I dont think any of us realised how cold it was until all of or brakes had frozen up after the river crossing. Definitely making the first descent a proper wake up! Having had rain for what felt like months before this weekend, the sun in our eyes as we dodged frozen puddles was a something that non of us complained about.

We now had the reservoir on our right side as we joined familiar surroundings of the Elan Valley, not a single breath of wind made for mirror like reflections on the water. I’ve visited the area a lot, but have never seen it this still. The temptation to wasting a few hours taking photos was very high but our stomachs were beginning to get louder and Ty Morgans in Rhayader had already been mentioned. I managed to quickly fly the drone but freezing temperatures over night had drained the battery so had to make it very brief.

With the drone packed away and onto the last few miles, the ride home absolutely flew by. The sun had now finally risen above the hills and was starting to melt the frost. When we got back to The Clearwen dam I had one more quick chance to fly my drone as we rode over it. We finally made it back to the van, mission accomplished! A brilliant night out all round, we’re all pretty enthusiastic about doing it again and maybe taking tents and wild camping. Cheers to Carl and George for average company.

Part 3. Egilsstaðir to Reykjanesbær.

mat price December 16, 2019

Waking in a stunning cabin, with snow peaked mountains in the distance was slightly over shadowed by the dark skies in the direction we were traveling. We demolish a stack of pancakes in the kitchen before packing up and joining the ring road again for the next destination, Höfn. This section of driving out of the whole trip is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most, but judging by the forecast things weren’t going to go my way. As we climbed up a mountain pass that resembled a river more than a road, we had a feeling today was going to be mostly spent in the 4x4. So many times we passed stunning beaches and places to explore but the rain never really subsided enough to leave the car for a few minutes, the wind got stronger as we started to traverse the south east. Passing locations I recognised from books and online was hard but we reflected on the beautiful weather we’d had so far on the trip. Lauren had found a hot spring on the map that she was keen to visit so we made our way there.

A quick dip in the Hot Spring (this was pretty much a tin bath in the middle of nowhere) back into the car and on to Höfn to get warm and pray for better weather in the morning.

Waking to yet more rain and wind was disappointing but the forecast was looking better later that day and for the rest of a our trip. We had a glacier ice cave walk booked at Vatnajökul, an hour drive in the rain and wind, we stopped to pick up a hitchhiker who was trying to get the airport for a flight home later that day. We met our guide and had a 25 minute drive, in what can only be described as a monster truck mini bus, from the glacial lagoon up on to the glacier. We were given a quick safety chat and fitted with helmets and we were then free to explore the small but beautiful cave. We used www.guidetoiceland.com to book the trip & would 100% recommend them.

When the trip finished we made our way back to the car to try and dry out. This required the engine on & heaters blowing trying to get some feeling back in our limbs. We were parked at the famous Jökulsárlón Glacial lagoon, which is known for the chunks of ice that break off the glacier and make their way to the sea. Due to the strong winds a lot of the icebergs had blown to the far side of the lagoon so we took a short drive to see them as neither of us had ever seen an iceberg in real life! This was probably when the rain and wind was at its strongest the whole time we were in Iceland, but pretty excited and already soaked we thought a quick 5 minute walk would be ok, after about 10 minutes Lauren sensibly went back to the car! I was pretty determined to get a half decent picture of an iceberg before i gave up — The picture below is probably one of my favourites of the whole trip, the bird gives a scale how big this thing was!

Again back in the car absolutely soaked again! Heaters on and we were headed towards Vík for 2 nights, we passed so many waterfalls, some of which were blowing up hill due to the relentless winds but luckily the rain had stopped. We passed by a sign for the Sólheimajökulll glacier, so decided to take the short detour to have a quick look now the visibility was better.

The last short drive of the day was finally into Vik, we had 2 nights booked in a hostel just outside of town, a couple of minutes from the famous black sand beaches. We finally got some dry clothes on and headed into Vik for some much needed food and a beer. Our empty tummies led us to Smiðjan Brugghús - a small brewery with literally 100s of beers and brilliant food. We cooked most nights in wherever we were staying and ate 51p noodles on the road every day so we felt like this was a much needed and much deserved treat, even at £52 for 2 burgers & 2 beers! Iceland is expensive but can definitely be done on the cheap with some planning.

Vik is quite a popular town with a lot of things to do, the next day was spent visiting a few of the waterfalls the are literally round every corner.

After a long day exploring we return our hostel - The Barn in Vik, definitely recommend the place if you’re in the area. Some quick pasta in the kitchen followed by a beer in the bar to plan our next day.

Another early start was needed for a hike to the oldest geothermal swimming pool in Iceland, Seljavallalaug, built in 1923. We were greeted with the most beautiful sunrise and as we hiked deeper into the valley we had glimpses of another glacier above us and more volcanic rock formations. After twenty minutes of walking we see the pool which is instantly recognisable by the changing rooms (which unfortunately had been used as toilets and had rubbish dumped in them). We changed into swimwear and had a very quick dip as it definitely wasn’t the warmest pool we’d been in!

Back at the car we load up our bags and head back to Skógafoss to get a hot chocolate and some snacks before a long drive up to Háifoss- the 3rd largest waterfall in Iceland. I’d be desperate to capture some shots of the glacial rivers in Southern Iceland with my drone but every river we had crossed so far the weather had been against me, finally we crossed a river and there happened to be no wind or rain so we parked up and I got my wish!

After successfully landing the drone and not chopping of any more of Laurens fingers, we head East to Háifoss, a good 2 hours away and lots of new sights to see. We drove further and further away from civilisation and began to see less cars (apart from Datcia Dusters-they were everywhere). We end up on another long stretch of unpaved road, we thought we’d seen the last of them! Twenty five minutes of potholes and rocks later we arrived at the waterfall. Jackets and gloves on as it was so windy and exposed! I think we both agreed this was one of the most impressive views we’d had on the South Coast, two huge waterfalls (122 meters high) and stunning rainbows, also one of the biggest drops I’d seen so far. I’m not great with heights and really couldn’t bring myself to peer over the edge like most of the other people up there.

We got back to the car to warm up and scoff some more noodles before we started the long drive back to civilisation, but not before stopping at another waterfall on the way back (they are literally everywhere!). We were headed to Midgard Base Camp in HVOLSVÖLLUR which was without a doubt the nicest place we stayed in the whole time we were in Iceland - www.midgardbasecamp.is It was our last proper night in Iceland so we decide to go and watch the sunset at Seljalandsfoss hoping it would be a little quieter but in reality it was never going to be, this area of Iceland is really easily accessible from Reykjavik so its pretty hard to find any where without hoards of tourists. We regularly reminded ourselves that we were part of that and everyone is there for the same reason, to enjoy this breathtakingly beautiful country.

We woke to a stunning sunrise yet again but decided to watch it from the comfort of our room, it was our last day in Iceland and we both felt pretty sad to be leaving, luckily we had day of pretty good weather so we decide to take a long, scenic drive to the airport along the coast. Our journey started with one last fuel stop and of course a compulsory doughnut. We stopped at Knarraros Lighthouse and walked down to the sea to spot a few seals basking in the sun. Then we finally had a chance to get a photo of an Icelandic horse, it was the first time we’d seen one close enough to capture.

As the day drew on we knew that it wasn’t going to be long before we had to drop off our car. We found another beautiful church at Strandarkirkjafor, our last tea/noodle/doughnut stop, and had another wander down to the sea to spot more seals. Our last places to visit were the Gunnuhver Hot Springs, the surrounding coast and Reykjanes Lighthouse. While we were walking up from the coast to the lighthouse the skies started to darken and the wind really decided to pick up in true Icelandic fashion! After a short, blustery walk around the lighthouse to take a few last pictures we get on the road to the airport. We both felt pretty deflated about leaving, and pretty tired from being on the road for two weeks but we have both totally fallen in love with Iceland and it’s absolutely stunning landscape and countless natural wonders. I’ve already planned a return visit in the future as I have unfinished business with the east coast.

If you got this far..

Thanks for reading, it means alot to me.

Part 2.Ísafjörður to Egilsstaðir

mat price November 12, 2019

After a solid nights sleep we woke to a glorious sunrise which quickly turned grey and pretty miserable, it was our longest day of driving we had planned so we got up, made a tea for the road and set off to Akureyri, our home for the next two nights. After a quick fuel and donut top-up we stopped briefly at an Artic Fox centre; it wasn’t open but we were lucky enough to sneak around the side of the building to see one in it’s enclosure! Curious, fluffy little thing! Our detour to the Westfjords was certainly fleeting and involved a lot of driving but it was well worth it, even with grey and moody sky it was simply stunning.

One of the last bridges we crossed near Holmavik.

After rejoining the ring road, the weather started to pick up but we still had another 4 hours of driving ahead of us. Sitting in the boot of the car eating noodles and checking the map we spotted another hot spring about an hour from where we were staying, so decided on a little detour. We pulled up in a car park and 2 people were leaving so we knew we’d be lucky enough to have it to ourselves again. A short walk later we spotted a huge waterfall, Reykjafoss, and right next to it was the hot spring! It’s pretty surreal being in naturally hot, calm water next to huge freezing waterfall! After a relaxing soak and firing off a few drone shots we dried off and headed back to the car for the final stretch of our journey to Akureyri.

Reykjafoss, Hotspring located the top of the falls.

Arriving in Akureyri we scouted the nearest supermarket for supplies and headed to our tiny home for the next couple of nights. The Viking Cottages are located on a hill overlooking Akureyri, it was without a doubt the nicest place we had stayed so far! We had our own hot tub so we had a quick dinner and then got straight in the tub with a beer to wind down (I could definitely get used to the Icelandic way of living!) The next morning we got up early to a beautiful, but cold day! We were booked on to a whale watching boat tour at 9am but when we got there couldn’t seem to find our group. It turned out that a group of 30 people had been booked on but had had to cancel after their cruise ship was re-routed! Our lovely guides on the Keli Sea Tours kitted us up in huge float suits and we set off with the whole boat to ourselves! We felt pretty smug seeing all the other boats absolutely packed with people trying to get the best viewing spots! After about 15 minutes we had our first sighting of a mighty Humpback whale!

We stayed with this whale for about half an hour, watching it dive down time after time! We had come a long way out from Akureyri so it was time to head back in and we were lucky enough to get another sighting along the way. This time it was a pair of whales diving together which was amazing! Back on dry land we headed for lunch; it would have been rude not to sample some fish and chips, being this close to the sea. With a whole afternoon to fill we decided to visit Goðafoss waterfall, about a 20 minute drive from Akureyri. Goðafoss, or fall of the gods, is a beautiful and powerful waterfall and it was a stunning evening but it was definitely the busiest place we’d been to so far.

Back at our apartment we took advantage of having our own kitchen and cooked a proper meal of sweet potato fajitas! With the possibility of the northern lights making an appearance, and the sky being totally clear, there was only one way to spend the evening really….beers in the hot tub. Little did Lauren know - I had other plans! After a while relaxing and watching shooting stars, I made an excuse to go inside and get my camera and tripod, but came back out with a engagement ring! I jumped back into the hot tub and didn't waste any time in asking her to marry me! It was the perfect way to end a great day.

Awaking to a windy grey morning we loaded up our bags, made tea and hit the road again. On to our next stop in Egilsstaðir with a few sights to catch on the way. We passed through such varied landscapes, huge areas of power plants that used geothermal energy, areas of lava fields and volcanos, and probably the most surprising of all was a desert-like part of the north where we drove though a massive sand storm! One place we’d had pinned on the map was Stuðlagil Canyon so we followed google directions along more unpaved roads until we got to a small car park where we made a quick brew and set off on the 3 mile walk to the canyon. The strangest, but most beautiful landscape we’d seen yet, huge basalt columns curved vertically out of the ground all the way along the canyon. It was really breathtaking. We took a few photos and did some clambering down on the slippery rocks to get a different viewpoint and then we were pretty much ready to head back but I just wanted to quickly fly my drone - big mistake. A massive gust of wind sent it flying over the canyon and to the other side of the valley and out of sight, the screen went blank as it was heading towards a group of trees and I gave up hope of ever seeing it again. By some miracle it sorted itself out and went into ‘go home’ mode! We saw it come back over the top of the canyon and the screen came back to life. It returned to the position it took of from but for some reason wouldn’t land. Lauren bravely offered to catch it to put a end to my stressful ordeal but as she caught it one of the propellers caught her little finger!!!! A quick makeshift bandage and a 3 mile trek back to the car later, we managed to warm up and get ourselves to our Air BnB.

Part 1. Reykjavik-West Fjords.

mat price October 25, 2019

Like most trips we do, we started with a city to explore before we picked up our 4x4 and hit the road. With no solid plans we set about exploring the city on foot; we took in a few of the top tourist spots and learned our lesson the hard way about going for beers outside of happy hour! We were graced with beautiful, clear skies all day so when darkness arrived the forecast was looking pretty good for the northern lights! As the pictures show, we were very lucky and had two nights of beautiful clear skies and a light show like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

On the road! We decided to pick our 4x4 up first thing, after a very easy bit of paperwork and a quick grocery shop, we were on the Route 1 (ring road) and heading north to our first area to explore, The Snæfellsnes Peninsula. After 2 hours driving we decided to stop at the famous black church of Búðir and a near by waterfall, a few photos and a stretch of the legs and we were back on the road to Arnarstapi to see the sea arches then finally on to our home for the night in Grundarfjörður which is situated next to one of the most iconic mountains in Iceland, Kirkjufell, I couldn’t miss the chance to get a few photos of the famous landmark and even managed to fly the drone.

After a brilliant nights sleep we were up and on the road before sunrise. Today’s drive was going to be a long one as we were heading in to the West Fjords, part of Iceland that’s completely cut off from the main land during the winter. We had our first encounter with the unpaved roads (dirt tracks) which we were fully prepared for and our trusty Renault Kadjar was a pretty smooth drive but we didn’t realise quite how much the roads would slow us down due to the hundreds of potholes, luckily it really wasn’t a problem as we were weaving in and out of the most stunning fjords with mirror like reflections. After lots of tea and photo breaks we stopped at Hellulaug Hot Spring, a first for us and we had it completely to ourselves. So far the West Fjords were not disappointing, after 2 large mountain passes we arrived at the intimidatingly big Dynjandi waterfall. I think it’s safe to say it was the first thing we’d seen so far to totally blow us away!

Dynjandi, can you see the man in a blue jacket for scale?!?!

After some noodles & tea from our camp stove in the boot we took to the road for our last leg of the day, probably another 100km of unpaved roads over the most stunning mountain roads and through more fjords, we saw less the 20 cars in 6 hours of driving and only 1 fuel stop. It’s unbelievably remote up there and breaking down really isn’t an option! Studying the map, the road looked like it disappeared into the mountains, we were met with the first of many 6km long tunnels! We emerged the other side in our home for the night, Ísafjörður, one of the most northerly towns in Iceland.