My May 2023: A month of research, hikes and fun on the Faroe Islands

May was all about my favourite country on this planet – the Faroe Islands! My 14th visit was incredibly special as I wasn’t there to travel, instead I was there to do research for my dissertation!

Destinations visited in May 2023

Scotland

• Aberdeen

Faroe Islands

• Streymoy (Tórshavn)
• Koltur
• Nólsoy
• Eysturoy (Toftir, Leirvík)
• Borðoy (Klaksvík, Múli, Skálatoftir)
• Vágar (Miðvágur, Gásadalur, Sørvágur, Slættanes, Víkar)
• Kalsoy (Trøllanes, Kallur Lighthouse, Mikladalur, Syðradálur, Blankskáli)
• Kunoy (Haraldssund, Skarð)

Top 3 favourite new destinations

1. Reipsáfossur, Vágar, Faroe Islands
2. Blankskáli, Kalsoy, Faroe Islands
3. Fjallið, Koltur, Faroe Islands

Research and adventures on the Faroe Islands

I spent the entire month of May on the Faroe Islands, a country that is very dear to my heart. This was my 14th visit, but it wasn’t just any ol’ visit – I was there to conduct research and fieldwork on eight abandoned settlements for my Master’s dissertation! The work involved flying over the settlements with a drone to make 3D models, surveying to see if I could find any artefacts, measuring the structures and photographing the structures. I also made sure to hike out to the settlements so I could get a feel of how isolated life was in those settlements back when they were populated, and spent a night in a tent or shelter at most of the sites. I was joined by friends for half of the sites which only made the work more fun and memorable! I also spent a few days searching through libraries and the National Museum in Tórshavn for relevant literature, and met up with locals that had stories to tell or documents to share about the settlements! In a few days, I’ll be publishing a post all about this research trip, which is why I’ll keep the details short here!

When I wasn’t doing science stuff, I spent time with my friend Lucie in Tórshavn, volunteered at the first colour run in the country (soo much fun!), visited friends in Toftir, hung out with fun travellers I met at Giljanes Hostel (and the hostel kittie!), and also explored a little in the places I visited. I even added a new mountain to my list, the smallest mountain in the Faroe Islands (Fjallið on Koltur, at a staggering 101 m.!), and tried out two new village to village trails (Múli to Skálatoftir and Syðradálur to Blankskáli). I joined a group of new friends to the famous Kallur Lighthouse on Kalsoy (a hike I’d only done once before in 2016), as well as to the popular Trælanípan cliffs at the edge of Lake Leitisvatn. I’ve done this hike seven times now, but this was the first one at sunset, and it was just so much better! Unfortunately, our trip was overshadowed by a poor sheep that we’d found dead on the summit of Middagsfjall (one of the mountains above Leitisvatn) and her little lamb who was so weak that she couldn’t even stand. I immediately called the owner and ran down the mountain to give him the lamb before speed-walking to catch up with the others moments before sunset. Unfortunately, we received the sad news of the lambs death a few days later, but I’m glad that we at least tried. <3

As always, my time on the Faroe Islands was a total bliss, and I have so much to share from this trip with you guys, so expect several more posts about the Faroe Islands in the future! By the end of my trip, I was exhausted from long days of hiking and fieldwork, especially because I had to finish three sites on my last three days as the weather had been quite bad for a few weeks. But I managed to get it all done, and I’m so happy about that. Now the writing process begins!

New on the blog

Most popular post

• Beneath the munros of the Cairngorms: Hiking a 32 km loop to Lock Muick – By faaaar the most popular post this month – it reached almost 900 views in less than two weeks!

The other posts

• My April 2023: Orkney, Bergen and Denmark – All about April, a busy month of travels and essay writing (… both of which I received A’s for!).
• Along Tarlebøveien & Rundemansveien: Abandoned farms and mountain views above Bergen – A long-awaited post about a gorgeous November hike above Bergen, Norway!
• Kunoy, Borðoy & Viðoy: A joyful return to the Northern Isles – A wee post from a roadtrip up north during my visit to the Faroe Islands last summer
• Subotica: Art Nouveau at the very north of Serbia – My last post from Serbia is all about one of its prettiest cities!
• Experiences in Bergen that will make you love the city, even in constant rain – This post is not new, but I updated it with two new favourite spots including the best sunset spot in Bergen!

Most popular Instagram picture

My first set of drone pictures from the abandoned settlements on the Faroe Islands got the most love this month!

Vis dette opslag på Instagram

Et opslag delt af Mel (@north.trotter)

Coming up in June 2023

June is a month I’ve been looking forward to for a while as I’m finally heading to Canada on a proper trip (and not just on stopovers like before – I’ve technically been to Canada three times but spent less than 48 hours there in total!!). This time, I’ll be spending six days roadtripping through Alberta and British Columbia with a friend I met while living in Greenland!

But before the Canada fun begin, I’m spending a few weeks at home in Denmark. I’m currently in East Jutland where I’m visiting my family, and then I’ll go to Lolland for a week to look after the doggos with my besties. I visited both places in April, but I was writing essays the whole time so I didn’t really have time to relax and enjoy it, but this visit will be different. Aside from occasionally writing a little on my dissertation (which isn’t due until January), I have no uni obligations and will be able to fully focus on my family and friends! I’m also looking forward to adventuring in Denmark again, as I love my beautiful country in the summer. I’ve already planned a day of kayaking on the Maribo Lakes on Lolland with four friends, and I’m hoping for a little local adventure near my hometown too!

Before going off to Canada, I will be back in Aberdeen for a few days (I do live there, after all…), mostly just to return the drone and GPS and repack my stuff. Maybe I’ll be able to fit in a little Scottish adventure too?