Hiking- / Cycling Route 3 Hotel Raudaskrida – Fossselsskogur Forest ROUTE OVERVIEW (See map).
1. Hotel Raudaskrida. (GPS coordinates for ref.: 65° 50,170´ N ; 17° 28,370´ W) 2. Cycle from Hotel Raudaskrida towards the road to farm Vad (1,7 km, 5-10 min) (GPS coordinates for ref.: 65° 50,400´ N ; 17° 30,050´ W) 3. Cycle along river Skjalfandafljót to farm Vad 2 (5 km, 30-45 min) (GPS coordinates for ref.: 65° 47,768´ N ; 17° 30,121´ W) 4. Cycle from farm Vad 2 to the sign of Fossselsskogur (1 km 10-15 min) (GPS coordinates for ref.: N/A) 5. Hiking/Cycling along the forest tracks into the woods (0,8 km 10-15 mín) or as desired. (GPS coordinates for ref.: N/A)
This cycling and hiking route, from Hotel Raudaskrida, along the banks of river Skjalfandafljot towards Fossselsskogur forest is a relatively easy track and an ideal for either halfday or fullday trip. It´s relatively a flat track but as you get into the forest there is a long slope which can either be cycled or hiked. Total length of this route, described here is 8,4 km each way, but one can extend it as wished in the forest and find a good spot for picnic. You can download a track for this route here: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1766618
Cycle along the road from the Hotel until you come to the road to farm Vad where you turn left. Follow this road along the river Skjalfandafljot. On your left is Manafell hill and on your right is river Skjalfandafljot. Across the river, i.e. to west, are mountains called Kinnarfjoll mountains, but further to the south west is one mountain or a hill called Kinnarfell and Fellsskogur forest can also been seen in Kinnarfells slopes. You can find various birdlife on your way, such as geese, swans and several types of ducks. Also waders are frequent, to name but some,Blacktailed Godwit, Redshank, Whimbrel and Snipe. On your way towards farm Vad 2, you pass few cottages in the hill to the left (Manafell hill) and later farm Vad 1. Soon after you have passed the other farm, Vad 2, you have to go through gate which usually is closed (please close it again) and continue after the track to south. At this part you should be able to see the Skipapoolur pool in Skjalfandafljot river and also Ullarfoss waterfall, or at least the fine drizzle rising from it. Acutally the view to this waterfall is considerably better on route 1, Hotel Raudaskrida – Barnafoss waterfall. East of Ullarfoss waterfall, i.e. on your side of the waterfall is an island called Skuldathingsey and west of the waterfall is anotherone called Thingey. To this point the route has been flat but now you head towards the slope of the hill to the forest and soon you reach a green sign which indicates the woodland. When you have reached this sign there is a long steep ahead and you can either hike it or bike it as you wish. When, in the forest, the track splits and you can choose either one, we will not describe the route any further here, it´s
much more fun to go there on your own and experience nature that way, it´s difficult to get lost here. This is an ideal place for a picnic.
RIVER SKJALFANDAFLJOT. River Skjalfandafljot is a dark river and has it´s origin in the Vatnajokull glacier. This river is about 180km long and is the 4th longest river in Iceland. Despite being a dark river due to it´s glacial origin, clear water also runs into Skjalfandafljot and consequently it is home to both trout and salmon. Along the course of Skjalfandafljot river there are seven waterfalls, namely; Gjallandi, Hrafnabjargarfoss, Ingvararfoss, Aldeyjarfoss, Goðafoss, Barnafoss and Ullarfoss (the word foss, means waterfall in Icelandic). The most famous of these are the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall where beautiful shapes can be seen in the rock and Godafoss, the largest waterfall, where Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, one of the ancient settlers, threw his religion icons when Iceland became Christian in the year 1000. On this route you can see two of these waterfalls, i.e. Ullarfoss and Barnafoss.
INTERESTING PLACES.
MÁNAFELL HILL. Mánafell hill is a small hill which was named after an ancient settler called Máni (Moon) who came from the northen part of Norway. Máni first settled in Tjörnes peninsula where the river Máná flows and the Mánáreyjar islands also derive their name from him. After a few winters he fled from the area and built his home between Raudaskrida and the river Skjalfandafljot. Mountain Mánafell is 186 meters high and is on the left ,across the river, when you cycle along the riverbank to the south.
FOSSSELSSKOGUR FOREST. Fossselsskogur forest, on slopes of Fljotsheidi hill, is part of land owned by farm Fosssel. This farm was abandoned in 1936 and is now property of the goverment. The size of the forest is appr. 150 ha. Main tree species are birch, pine and larch. The forest is also very popular for its mushrooms and berries. It´s an ideal place for picnic.
FELLSSKOGUR FOREST. Fellsskogur is located on the east side of the mountain Kinnarfell and is unique in Iceland for its tall and vertically growing Birki trees (indigenous to Iceland). Usually these trees are more like bushes or small trees but here they grow up to 10-12 meters
high. Many other foreign trees also grow in Fellskogur forest. There is no decent road to this forest and as such it is a very isolated and quiet location where nature can be found at it´s best. Opposite to Fellsskogur forest on the hill across the river there lies another forest named Fossselsskogur forest.
POOL SKIPAPOLLUR AND ULLARFOSS WATERFALL. Towards the middle of the Fellsskogur forest you will get a view of the Skipapollur (Ship-pool) which is about 1 km in diameter. In ancient Icelandic Sagas it is said that settlers like Bardur Bjarnason, who settled in Bardardalur valley, took his ship from the sea, up the river all the way to this pool, rather than leaving it at sea, a distance of 24 km. The last waterfall l in Skjalfandafljot, Ullarfoss, runs into the Skipapollur pool and nearby can be seen extraordinary shapes in the rock (basalt columns), similar to those seen at the more famous Aldeyjarfoss waterfall. It was the same settler, Bardur, who named the waterfall to honor one of the main Gods in Asatru (the belief of the Nordic Gods), since the settlers believed that the Gods slept in the waterfalls and therefore that waterfalls were sacred places.
THINGEY AND SKULDATHINGSEY ISLANDS. Next to the Skipapollur pool is Thingey island, from which the two counties get their name . A parliament was formed at Thingey during the settlement era. It is believed Thingey became a place for parliament no later than year 963 and was one of thirteen regular national parliaments of that era in Iceland. In Thingey there were Spring parliaments which were held in the 5th or 6th week of summer (June) and lasted from four to seven days. There is mention of Thingey in the old Saga´s (Reykdælasaga and Víga-Skútusaga). For instance, a man nicknamed Víga-Skúta (Víga meaning killing), who lived at lake Mývatn once brought charges to be heard at Thingey concerning an assasination attempt against him. There is also another story about an unsuccessful assasination by Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, the same chief who threw his icons into Godafoss waterfall. Chief Thorgeir wanted to hold a majority at the parliament to control some desicions and therefore gathered a group of followers to kill the clearly victimised Víga-Skútu. The plot failed however. Thingey is a relatively big island, on an Icelandic scale, approximately 5 to 6 km long from north to south and 1-2 km in width. It´s mainly flat and dry and is actually a part of lava believed to have originated about 7000 years ago from the mountain Trölladyngja which is located in the Odadahraun area close to mountain Herdubreid. Archaeological remains have been disovered in Thingey and archaeological investigations have been performed there at least four times. Mr. Daniel Bruun, from Denmark, did some investigation around 1900. He made drawings of the area and the place where the parliament used to be and described his findings. In 1905 an Icelander, Mr. Brynjolfur Jonsson also performed some investigations and in his report he describes ruins and two circles around the small hill where the parliament took place. This is believed to possibly be remains of Jury´s circle known to have existed in places like this where judgements were made. In the years 2005 – 2007 a local
archaeological society and Institute of Archaeology, Iceland did accurate blueprints of the ruins in Thingey and also some sampling for age estimation. There is not much literature about inhabitants in Thingey island. A farm was built between 1843-1844 and was called Thingvellir. The last inhabitants of Thingvellir left in 1865. It is believed, due to lack of grass and dry ground it was not an ideal place for a farm. Thingey was protected by law in 1961. Northeast of Thingey there is another, smaller, island called Skuldathingsey. Based on that name it is believed debts were settled there at same time as parliament took place in Thingey. Archaeological investigations have also been performed there and ruins have been discovered.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Brynjólfur Jónsson. Árbók Fornleifafélagsins. 1906. Bls 3-6, Rannsókn á Norðurlandi sumarið 1905, I Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla Dögg Matthíasdóttir. Þingey. 1995. Verkefni við ferðamálabraut, Laugaskóla. Lög um afhendingu Þingeyjar í Skjálfandafljóti nr 62/1961 Óttar Indriðason. Morgunblaðið 25. Júní 1994 Lesbók. Bls 1-2, Þingey og umhverfi hennar. Ragnar Þorsteinsson. Byggðir og Bú Suður-Þingeyinga 2005. Bindi II. Bls 770-780. Búnaðarsamband Suður-Þingeyinga 2006. Fornleifastofnun Íslands, Þingey, sótt 2. Maí 2011 af http://www.instarch.is/rannsoknir/uppgroftur/thinghald_ad_fornu/thingey/
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