I didn’t really know what to expect when I booked into a glamping pod in Heimaey on the Vestmannaeyjar islands (Westman Islands) off the south coast of Iceland.  The website of the glamping/camping site was Nordic minimalist.

I booked a ‘barrel’ as opposed to an ‘A-Frame’ simply because I thought the ‘barrel’ looked rather like a Hobbit-hole, which rather appealed to me.  But, I did have my concerns.

Now, the location looked stunning.  In the region of Herjólfsadalur, surrounded by mountains, in the middle of wild nature.  No problem there.  But what about the toilets?  And the showers?  And the cooking facilities?  There was precious little mention of them.

I needn’t have worried.  Four shared toilets and four showers.  All kept immaculately clean––at least, for the duration of my stay; and a very spacious communal dining room, equipped with kettle, cooking hob, microwave, and plenty of crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils, never over-busy and similarly very clean.  If you had wanted to cook a four-course dinner for yourself, it would have been perfectly possible.  Additionally, there were two washing machines; two extra washing sinks––one inside and one outside––and a cold-water tap for filling up water bottles.

My ‘barrel’ had a nice, warm reception room, with two armchairs, a table, and an electric heater; and, beyond, a bedroom, with two single beds, and bedding included.  I had brought my own towel, but I understand one could be hired if required.  Overall, it was utterly charming, and I found myself a very happy Hobbit.

I stayed in July, and never found the campsite overly busy, but heaven knows what it must be like on the first weekend in August, when it is the site of the annual Þjóðhátíð festival, when up to 15,000 young Icelanders descend on the region.

A few additional observations: four of the ‘A-Frame’ bungalows were perhaps slightly better situated for a ‘back to nature’ experience than the ‘barrels’, being in the immediate lee of the crater, but this is pure nit-picking.  However, ‘A-Frame’ #10 might be best avoided, being on the main track to the toilets and showers.  But, if you are one of those people who ‘need to go in the night’, #10 might be the perfect solution for you.

Niggling again, but it is a shame that Herjólfsadalur is also the location of the island’s golf course.  For me, golf is an abomination against nature but, others––golfers––will clearly disagree.

Similarly, I am not a car-driver, but if I were, there were plenty of parking facilities at the campsite as far as I could see, without the cars being overly-intrusive upon the surrounding views.

Overall, I can’t recommend Vestmannaeyjar Glamping and Camping highly enough.  I had a magical time staying there.  Where else could I scale a 220-metre extinct volcano and look down upon my accommodation in the bottom of the crater below?

Pure Middle Earth.

© E. C. Glendenny

E. C. Glendenny was a very happy camper at Vestmannaeyjar Glamping and Camping.