KIRKJUFELLAnna & Niklas
Anna and Niklas eloped on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland, and the day ran from Kirkjufell right out to the far basalt coast.
Snæfellsnes is a long finger of land on Iceland’s west coast, and people call it Iceland in miniature because it has one of everything: a glacier, black beaches, lava fields gone green with moss, a mountain that has been photographed more than any other in the country. It started at that mountain, Kirkjufell, at sunrise, and kept going until the road ran out on the glacier. If you are planning an Iceland elopement, this is a peninsula I could photograph for a week and not run out.
Kirkjufell
Kirkjufell is the cone-shaped mountain you have seen a hundred times, a small waterfall in front of it and, on a still morning, a clean reflection in the water below.
The morning was still. Anna and Niklas walked out on the grass while the sky came up pink behind the peak, and later, down by the water, the reflection was so clean you could see the whole mountain upside down. It is a busy spot in summer, full of tripods, but at sunrise it was almost empty.
Around the peninsula
From Kirkjufell the day turned into a long drive with a reason to stop every few minutes.
Snæfellsnes has one of everything and most of it is within an hour of the last thing. The day took in a couple of waterfalls, the little church at Hellissandur, and the bright orange Svörtuloft lighthouse out on the western tip. When the weather came in they warmed up at the Freezer Hostel in Rif, an old fish plant that is now a hostel and theatre. Further along there is a lava field gone soft and green under a thick coat of moss, and a black coast to stand two people against.
Arnarstapi
Arnarstapi is an old fishing village on the south coast, all basalt cliffs, arches and columns dropping straight into the sea.
The most famous piece is Gatklettur, a stone arch with the ocean framed inside it, and I put Anna and Niklas right under it. The rest of it is columns and coves and a black pebble beach, good dark rock for the last of the day’s light.
Snæfellsjökull
Snæfellsjökull is the glacier at the end of the peninsula, and the track up it runs out before the top.
That was just as well, because it was cold enough at that height. Snow, cloud, and not much else, and Anna and Niklas walked out into it while the light went. Then the long drive home.
Iceland is a long way to go to get married, and worth every hour of it. If you are thinking about an Iceland elopement, Snæfellsnes is where I would start, and I would happily meet you at Kirkjufell before sunrise. There is more of the country in Lindsey and Daniel’s day further south. Come and find me.
