16 hours ago
The Faroe Islands: majestic, eerie — and only 90 minutes away
I am standing below an amphitheatre of rocky crags. Below me, a cluster of grass-roofed houses; out to sea, the strange, spectacular Tindholmur islet rising sheer from the waves, its snaggletoothed summit shrouded in cloud. The Faroe Islands may only be a 90-minute flight from Edinburgh, but my goodness they feel like a whole other world.
From the hamlet of Gasadalur, I take the short stroll to Mulafossur waterfall, which cascades over a cliff into the Atlantic swell. Near me a few dishevelled sheep munch nonchalantly away, oblivious to the majestic scene below. Then it's off to the equally picturesque village of Bour, famed for its sunset views over the jagged Drangarnir sea stacks. I would love to linger, but I have a dinner date in Miovagur.
My date is Solvi Simonsen, one of a number of Faroe Islanders serving traditional meals in their own homes. I arrive with some trepidation — Faroese delicacies include fermented lamb, boiled pilot whale, and braised seabirds — but Simonsen's home-cooked fried cod, boiled cod and caramelised onions are very nice. Less nice? Skerpikjot — or wind-dried fermented lamb. It is moister and earthier than I was expecting, with a slight ferric tang, and aftertaste of dank sheep. Let's just say it's an acquired taste.
Ferric tangs and aftertastes of dank sheep not your thing? Paz ( has just won two Michelin stars in the Faroes' colourful capital, Tórshavn and two other restaurants get a mention. The first is Raest (tasting menu £190, — it means 'fermented', which is the focus of its menu — the second is Roks (tasting menu from £79, which specialises in seafood. I dine at the more modestly priced Katrina Christiansen (£62 for five courses, an atmospheric restaurant housed in a 300-year-old building that has been a barbershop, a shop and the childhood home of a Faroese writer.
I am staying at Hotel Foroyar (doubles from £88, room-only, a sleek, turf-roofed Bond villain's lair clinging to the slopes above Torshavn. The interior oozes mid-century vibes, and there is a superb spa, but the highlight for me is the view from the hotel's Ruts restaurant, out over the fjord and towards Nolsoy island.
A gentle 20-minute wander downhill from the hotel — be warned, it's a less than gentle march back up — lie the pretty streets of Torshavn. I look for souvenirs in Gudrun & Gudrun (knitwear) and Ostrom (homeware), but mostly I just mooch, soaking up the otherworldly vibe, wondering where else on Earth you'll find a parliament building clad in red timber and roofed in turf.
Sadly, I don't have time to visit Suduroy, the southernmost of the Faroe Islands (it's said to be even more otherworldly than Streymoy, the main island), but do visit the excellent National Museum (£9, which houses an original Faroese rowing boat, traditional clothes and Viking finds, plus some exquisitely carved 15th-century pews. A 30-minute drive north from Torshavn, you can join guided tours of the now defunct Vid Air whaling station (£3.40), which was founded in 1905 by a company based in Leith.
Perhaps the Faroes' most surprising attraction is the extraordinary network of inter-island tunnels. One has a giant jellyfish-inspired roundabout, complete with light artwork and continuously looping soundscape installation, which you connect to via your car radio. The artist who made it, Jens L Thomsen, says he still tunes in when driving the tunnels. 'Just to check it's still playing.'
Driving the tunnels feels like an eerie journey to the centre of the Earth. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle ominously as I descend deeper into the underworld, a foreboding sense of doom only lifting as I emerge, blinking into daylight.
• Best things to do in the Faroe Islands
Above water, I drive the poetic route to Sydradalur, a sinuous, snaking route with breathtaking views of Hestur and Koltur islands as the road tightly hugs the coastline. I step out of the car and inhale deeply, closing my eyes to listen to the lullaby of the whispering sea and babbling waterfall, interrupted now and then by the sharp, insistent peeping of an oystercatcher. Thomsen is right: 'There is something about the music of this place that seeps into your DNA.'Cat Thomson was a guest of Visit Faroe Islands ( Fly to the Vagar from Edinburgh from about £200 return (
