It is a 2 hour ferry trip to get to Suðeroy, the southernmost island in the Faroes, but its beautiful scenery is delightful and it is a quieter, less touristy experience than on the main islands.

The ferry to Suderoy is delightfully informal. On enquiring at the ferry office in Tórshavn they told us to go to Line 1 half an hour before the boat was due to go.

We joined a queue which suddenly took off, decanting us onto the ferry. It was quite worrying in a way as there was no checking whatsoever. Payment for the crossing is done on the ferry on the return leg – we only hoped we had the fare correct and were on the right boat!

The journey to Suderoy takes two hours. Luckily we had a nice crossing despite it being a windy day. We had a good view of Stóra Dimun and Lítlá Dímun, two tiny isolated islands en route.

We thankfully arrived where we wanted to be: the little village of Tvøroyri, which sprawls along the edge of the coast at just under the half way point.

Our campsite at Hvalba was basically just a gravel parking area with a toilet block and the bonus of hot showers. I had emailed the commune and had been told we were welcome to camp there. It was supposed to be DDK 50 a night each but no one ever found us for payment.

We explored after tea and found a path at the back of the campsite which led to a little tarn amidst rugged ground and then onto a road to an old harbour with picturesque fishing huts. The huge seawall looked quite ancient.

Ásmundarstakkur

One similarity with Iceland: the weather is just as awful, albeit a few degrees warmer. We had torrential rain on our first night and the following day dawned wet and grey, so we delayed moving until 11 am.

Eventually we had to do something so drove out to Sandvik, the extent of the rain revealed by waterfalls thundering down the mountains. Many gullies were running where the previous day they had been dry. The road took us through the small, single lane Sandvíkartunnilin tunnel, the first one to be built in the Faroes.

We decided to do the Ásmundarstakkur walk, exploring the north western cliffs, so turned west on Heiðavegur and parked just before a rough farm where the sheep bore red heart shaped tags around their necks.

It was a bit of of a contrast after Iceland. The sheep are fenced in for a start and don’t come in groups of three (mother and two lambs), although generally there are a lot more of them. They are friendlier too so are obviously better handled and have gloriously luxuriant long fleeces which are a medley of colours – these are beautifully soft and retail for about 135 euros.

A gravel road led onto the mountain pasture land, where we branched off at a signpost for Ásmundarstakkur.

Winding up the hill over closely cropped grass, the signs of ancient occupation were obvious. Delapidated stone walls, traces of old fields, stone ruins and sheepfolds: whilst the Icelanders had been fishing, leaving little trace on the landscape, the Faroese had obviously been farming frantically.

The cliffs were spectacular, sheer faced and black, too sheer even for the seabirds. Despite the grey day, the water was a deep blue; it had carved numerous large sea caves at the base of the cliff. The stack was a neat vertical block, beaten constantly by pounding waves, a riot of white spume.

If you want to get the Rituskor scary bridge photo for Instagram you face a steep 270 m climb up the hillside to the south – basically go up until you reach a wire fence line then turn left and follow it around to the unassuming sloping wooden bridge between two headlands. It is only scary as there is a huge drop underneath – although you probably wouldn’t want to cross on a windy day!

We headed back down the hillside, spotting a hare en route. Sadly the hare hunting season begins on 1st November after which it is inadvisable, if not illegal, to be on the mountains.

The sun had finally arrived as we followed a well made old road back to the farm. We wondered if it were once intended to go over the hill to Hvalba but if so, it suddenly ran out of steam after only a couple of kilometres.

Today there is a signposted route off the lane near the farm – just follow the cairns up and over.

Hvannhagi Lake

A day of superlatives – apart from being woken up at 8 am by a pair of drunken Faroese chaps who assured us they didn’t want to rob us then wished us a happy stay when we told them to bugger off!

We started the morning with a hike to Hvannhagi Lake. We parked on the main road below the hospital in Tvøroyi, walked past the hospital then cut up through a small stretch of forestry to another road which gave us nice elevated views over the town and hills. After 1.5 km we reached a gate on to the mountains and from there it was simply following the red marker stakes.

These led steeply up but the path levelled off quickly. It was all quite wet and muddy which was a change from our recent hiking in Iceland which was largely over lava or rocky tracks.

As we walked on towards the other side of the island, the little island of Lítla Dímun came into view. At 414 m high, it’s sheer cliffs have ensured that it is the only one of the 18 Faroe Islands to have never been inhabited.

Just to make life difficult though, local farmers still run sheep on the island and have an annual roundup. The trussed animals are lowered in nets 5 at a time to a boat and then transferred to a bigger one for the trip to Hvalba.

Soon after Stóra Dímun appeared: the larger of the two islands. As opposed to the lítla, this one is actually occupied. I later got totally distracted reading their website: if you want to know how a small family entertains itself for the winter on a remote Faroese island, it involves slaughtering 8 bullocks and 450 sheep then tanning their fleeces and mounting their heads. The meat is sold.

The teacher’s house can be rented in the summer holidays if you want to experience the remote lifestyle and don’t worry, the slaughtering doesn’t start until September!

Anyway back to the walk, which having reached a rickety sheep corral and gate immediately dropped us down to near sea level again with a slippery, muddy traverse across the mountain. The lake was very beautiful when we found it and on a sunny day with great views out to sea, it was a stunning walk.

We paused on a knoll above the lake, being careful to avoid sheep droppings. However as it was rather cold, I suggested we drop down into the sun on the knoll below.

There were no sheep droppings but there was a howling gale. These sheep obviously aren’t stupid and know exactly where to find the sheltered spot!

We walked around the lake, which at one stage perfectly framed Lítla Dímun, and climbed back up a gully which looked horribly steep but I think was preferable to the muddy route in.

We emerged by another sheep corral where a rocky outcrop gave us a lovely view over the lake and islands before we started to walk back: just walk straight out around the mountain from the corral and you soon regain the outward path.

All in all, a lovely walk and highly recommended!

Retrieving the car, we drove south around the coast, eschewing the tunnels for the old scenic roads.

At Porkeri we had a look at an 1847 black and white wooden church – we saw plenty of these in Iceland, but this one came with a turf roof which made it doubly cute.

There is a 3 km tunnel leading to Sumba which opened in 1997, but the old road is far more beautiful, ascending in a series of hairpins bends.

Vikarbyrgi, a small harbour, can only be reached via this route, but there is little to see, just a cluster of summer houses and a sheep farm.

Far more exciting were the cliffs at Beinisvørð, the second tallest in the Faroes, which soar to 470 m. These are easily accessed from the old road with obvious parking by a radio mast.

It is pretty clear which is the high point, but even the lower ones were awe inspiring. It was actually quite difficult to see the bottom of the cliffs as they are so high and one has to take care approaching the grassy edges.

We spent 10 minutes trying to work out how a sheep had reached a precipitous lower ledge which looked impossible to get to, until we finally found a narrow and treacherous gully that it had obviously used.

Of course the only way was up: we hiked to the highest most point, cutting right across the steep hillside on rough sheep tracks before doubling back to reach the top. Simon blithely swung his legs over edge, on the abyss of an unfathomable drop.

The cloud had actually started to move in so barring a couple of brief interludes the views were not that brilliant, but one could sense the void quite viscerally.

Eventually we backtracked, my lower foot hurting from the steep traverse across the hillside. It may have been grassy but if I slipped I had a long way to roll!

The little town of Sumba lies below the great cliffs and is a worth a quick stop. There is the usual fishermen memorial which is a skelton boat against the sky which is quite effective and a few colourful boathouses. The harbour quay is big enough that one can drive down and turn around easily. There is a tiny beach and the sand is as black as any you will find in Iceland.

The Akraberg lighthouse lies to the south, not quite the southernmost point of the Faroes as that honour belongs to a few rocky outcrops that can be vaguely seen out to sea.

However the lighthouse and the orange keeper’s cottage next to it are extremely picturesque, although they ask that you do not approach it closely. Walk a little further up the hill for a viewing platform with binoculars and superb views over the lighthouse and the great cliffs up to Beinisvørð.

Campsites are a bit sparse on Sunduroy, but we found Vágseiðið open next to the football field at Vágur. With nice views over a little lake and a good kitchen it was a comfortable place to curl up, although the showers could have been a lot hotter.

100 m in the opposite direction were the remains of an old harbour and steep black cliffs. There were some rusted metal sculptures of fishermen that were quite neat and it was a good sunset spot.

When I went to bed later that night, I woke the resident ducks up and there was furious squawking.

Cliffs and Lakes

We had been so impressed with the immense cliffs on the previous day that we decided to explore them further the next.

The tallest cliffs in the Faroes are 754 m high at Cape Enniberg on Viðoy Island, which is also the northern most point. They are actually thought to be amongst the highest in the world. There is a 750 m climb to reach the top but unfortunately that was no longer an option.

In common with more and more places on the islands, the owner had decided to charge to access the walk. Not only that: DDK 200 only gets one as far as Villingadalsfjall (at 841 m the third highest mountain in the Faroes). To continue on the final 2 km to Cape Enniberg now requires a guide which is close to DDK 3000 – I feel this is just taking advantage of tourists.

Thus we contented ourselves with the free, quiet and beautiful cliffs of Suðeroy which were pretty damm impressive in their own right.

Just south of Vágur, opposite Lopra, there is the viewpoint of Lopranseiði Lopra. There was a locked gate so we parked and walked 500 m to the cliffs, past hilly terrain with little scattered lakes.

More awe inspiring scenery. Jutting rocky fingers and knife edge rocky outcrops off shore were separated by deep chasms. One had a couple of sheep chilling out on its high point. Apparently the old rams are often dumped on such places to fatten up, so I feared these two boys were probably enjoying their last summer.

Back in Vágur, a steep road leads nearly 4 km up the hill to Eggjarnar where there is an edge of the world viewing platform with binoculars.

It is a wild and rugged coast south towards Beinisvørd, the sheer cliffs interspersed with jagged pinnacles and off shore platforms. Northwards, looking over Vágur, stony hillsides were sheep dotted and steep.

A WWll navigation station called Loran A (as in Long Range Navigation) was active from 1943. It was able to intercept signals within 2,400 km with an accuracy of 16 km. After the war it was handed over to the Danish navy who taught the locals to operate it.

After an earthquake in 1967, they moved the base further down the road and the old quarters are now derelict sheep sheds. The station finally closed in 1977, but has left the legacy of a tarmac road right to the top, so access is easy although it feels a bit precarious at times on the hairpin bends.

Wanderings around the site revealed the concrete bases which supported 4 large masts and awe inspiring views. For the energetic, there is a walk to the summit of Ráven and more scary cliffs.

It ended up being the best of both worlds today – sea cliffs and mountain lakes!

Turning back towards the ferry, we dropped down to Fámjin (a tunnel is being excavated at present) where for once the church was open.

This was good news as it houses the original Faroes flag, designed in 1920 by a group of students, although only one, Jens Oliver Lisberg, is usually given credit as he died of influenza shortly afterwards. A native of Fámjin, the flag is now framed and displayed proudly in his church.

The church is pretty, all white wood and blue ceilings. Fámjin is beautifully framed through its windows and a votive boat is hanging on one wall.

Above the church, a quick 100 m climb to Lake Kirkjuvatn revealed a lovely lake, nestled within the folds of a mountain hollow which encircled it like an amphitheatre of tall basalt columns and layers of rocky cliffs. There was a central waterfall and another to one side.

It was the most beautiful spot. A cairned track led up and over the top towards Trongisvágur and I wished we had time to walk it. Instead we consoled ourselves with a circuit of the lake, enjoying the mountains views then those over the sea as we returned to Fâmjin.

It was time for us to leave for the ferry. With super weather for once, we had excellent views of Lítla Dímun and Stóra Dímun as we chugged back to Tórshavn. All in all, it had been a wonderful trip.

NOTES

Ferry.
The ferry goes from Torshavn to Tvøroyri and back about 4 times a day. Get in line about 30 minutes before. The timetable is here. The crossing is subsidised – a car with two cost only DDK 305 (£35) and payment is made on Deck 5 on the return trip. There is also a bus system on the island.

Camping.
Camping details can be found here. Hvalba was delightfully informal, appeared to be free and had great hot showers. The little walk to the old harbour from the campsite is great.
Vágseiðið in Vagur was in another great location next to a football ground and just 100 m from sheer cliffs by the old harbour which were great for sunsets. It has a well equipped kitchen and good bathrooms although the showers weren’t very hot. Price is supposed to be DDK 100 each per night but the website didn’t work and one ever asked for money.

Walking.
The scenery is wonderful and I loved all the walks we did. Some walks are detailed in the hiking brochure published by the Faroes tourist board.
It would actually be quite easy to do a multi day north to south walk as follows:
Boat to Tvøroyi and bus to Sumba.
Walk over the mountain to Hvalba (camp). Approx 7 km/ 3 hours
Walk over the mountain from Hvalba to Trongisvágur (camp) Approx 5.5 km/2 hours
Walk from over the mountain Trongisvágur to Fámjin (wild camp at Lake Kirkjuvatn discreetly or Airbnb) Approx 11 km, 4 hours
Walk over the mountain Fámjin to Vágur (camp) Approx 11 km, 5 hours
Walk over the mountains from Vágur via Eggjarnar, Rávan, Lopranseiði and Beinisvørð to Sumba (camp or Airbnb) Approx 12 km/5 hours
Walk to Akraberg lighthouse. Approx 6 km return 2 hours. Bus back to the ferry.