Far out in the Faroes
Once declared the 'world's best islands' by National Geographic Traveller, the Faroe Islands are, in fact, a wind and wave-battered archipelago in the North Atlantic. 'Best' is both a broad and bold claim, but if you can cope with what the magazine coyly described as the 'cool climate and remote location', there is no doubt that the Faroes are indeed very special islands.
Sheer, glacier-cut sea cliffs (the glaciers have long since melted) rise up out of the bottle-blue ocean like gigantic black walls to form the ramparts of the 18 islands, circled by thousands of sea birds, yet still visited by relatively few tourists. Ocean-fresh wind whips across a landscape that looks like someone sliced chunks out of Norway's western coast and dropped them in the sea midway between Scotland and Iceland.
The Faroe Islands, a self-governing region of Denmark, are one of the new frontiers of cold-water surfing, and while it's no surprise that a part of the world that sits in the storm track of some of the wildest weather on earth should see plenty of waves, few people as yet go there to surf them.
But I'm here to ascend the archipelago's highest peak, 882-metre Slaettaratindur. With a road scrabbling its way to within 250 metres of the summit, it could hardly be a major mountaineering exercise - could it? If you like well-marked paths, it's not for you, for there are none - certainly none that the four people on our expedition could find.
Despite the hard and sometimes meandering slog to the top of Slaettaratindur, the pay-off is more than worth it, with truly fantastic views down precipitous slopes and huge crags that plummet hundreds of metres to small tarns and coastal plains, while the steely waters of immensely deep and narrow fjords reflect the dark skies above.
In the distance, the islands of Kalsoy and Kunoy soar up from the Atlantic to sharp-sided plateaus that would provide the ridge walk of a lifetime. On our descent, that wind gathers speed to throw some snow at us in sharp, stinging bursts reminding us of how harsh an environment this can be. We're happy to hop back into the car and high-tail it to the small coastal village of Gjogv (don't ask me - most Faroese is similarly unpronounceable). There, we tuck into a lunch that includes the traditional Faroe fare of seal and whale meat.
Later we drive back to Torshavn on perfectly maintained roads and through spectacular sub-sea tunnels while passing through the most sensational landscapes. Sea stacks ringed by seabirds, towering cliffs down which cataracts plunge for hundreds of metres, russet moorlands spotted by snow patches and, on the higher, cloud-shrouded peaks, snow fields that are part of the scenery from October to May. All these are interspersed by romantically named settlements such as Toftir, Kvivik and Sorvagur that sound at the same time both ancient and ultra-modern - kind of Ikea meets Thor, God of Thunder.
A quick shower and change, and we're down into that metropolis to sample a nightlife that is far more hip than you might expect.
Like neighbouring Iceland, the Faroes and their younger residents carry an air of Scandinavian coolness with easy diffidence. Although English is the third language after Faroese and Danish, it is spoken with remarkable fluency and people will eagerly engage you in friendly conversation whether in a bar, a cafe or on the street.
These white-haired sons and daughters of Vikings even make the traditional woollen sweaters of the islands look stylish. Somehow, when you don your new purchase back home it just doesn't look the same, but being both waterproof and windproof you can understand why they're so popular on the islands.
Nightlife in Torshavn goes on well into the small hours and since, at 62 degrees north latitude, it never really gets dark in midsummer, it can be a little disorientating bar-hopping at 3am with the sun just above the horizon.
Yet it really doesn't matter if you don't fall into bed until breakfast - with so many hours of daylight you can get a good night's (or should that be morning's?) rest, and rise bright as a button around midday. You'll still have time to enjoy a long hike in the mountains, a spot of bird watching - more than 300 species have been identified in the islands - or perhaps even a surf session at Tjornuvik without having to worry about the sun going down on you.
Where to go
Nightlife
In summer there's a great buzz on the streets of Torshavn, and the small downtown area above the harbour is easily covered on foot, making it almost a criminal offence not to indulge in a pub crawl.
Getting there
Getting around
Accommodation
