We set out today with two missions – first, to drive as far east as we could across the islands that are connected by tunnels or bridges; and second, to buy a fridge magnet.  Studying our old-school fold out printed map, we worked out a route that would take us from Vagar in the west, right across to Vidoy in the north east, via Stremoy, Eysturoy, Bordoy and Kunoy. We counted the tunnels and bridges as we went, and the tally (out and back) was:

• 17 tunnels, including the Vagatunnilin and the Nordoytunnilin (twice each), and numerous land tunnels that cut straight through the mountains
• 2 bridges
• 4 causeways

On Eysturoy, we detoured north to Fuglarfjordur, on the strength of an ad for a gift shop.  The small town was situated at the head of a fjord (as many towns are), with dramatic rock formations on the way in.  The gift shop turned out to be a find – everything was created by a local artist, using colourful, eye catching designs to capture the essence of the Faroes – puffins, waterfalls, cliffs, and sheep.  We chose our fridge magnet, and Ian bought a buff as well. We ate lunch and gazed at .   many mountain peaks.

Pressing on, we entered our second subsea tunnel as we crossed to Bordoy.  This one was 6 km long, and very deep – the road headed downhill at an impressive angle, before reaching the bottom, signified by the blue and green lighting, then climbing upwards again. Klaksvik is one of the larger towns in the Faroes, and the jumping off point for ferries to Kalsoy. But we were sticking to the roads, so we turned north, heading for Kunoy.  This was connected by a serpentine causeway, crossing the narrow channel. Next was our first single lane tunnel – 3 kilometres long, cut straight through the mountainside to the opposite side of the island.  We learned that traffic headed towards Kunoy has right of way, whilst traffic going out has to pull over.

Many roads in the Faroes are “dead ends”, and you just never know what you are going to see.  Kunoy was absolutely stunning – a tiny village at the foot of a dramatic cirque.  It was hay making day, and the locals were out in force, mowing and baling the plentiful grass.

We had one last island to reach, so we retraced our steps to Bordoy.  Three more tunnels brought us to our furthest point, Vidareidi, near the top of Vidoy.  Here there were more jagged ridge lines, another picturesque village – and a tiny roadside farm, complete with turkeys, ducks, and miniature grass-roofed houses. 

With both missions accomplished, it was time to head all the way back to Vagar.