Borgarnes sits on a narrow peninsula pushing out into a wide, shallow fjord, and when the tide is out, the water turns into a shining flat of sand and mud with birds feeding in it. The town is small, about 1,800 people, and it is the main settlement of the Borgarfjordur district in west Iceland. It is a natural stopping point on the way north from Reykjavik, and most people use it for a quick coffee or fuel before heading on, which is a pity, because there is a good story here.
The story is Egil's Saga, one of the great Icelandic sagas, which follows the poet and warrior Egill Skallagrimsson, whose father Skalla-Grimur settled this land in the ninth or tenth century. Egill was a fighter, a farmer and a poet of unusual gifts, and the saga is full of feuds and sharp-tongued verses. The Settlement Centre in town tells the story of the settlement and the saga in an engaging way, and there is a statue of Skalla-Grimur's nurse, Brakar-Ey, on the small island nearby, who the saga says was killed while saving him.
The drive here from Reykjavik is easy, passing under the Hvalfjordur fjord through a tunnel of nearly six kilometres, free of tolls since 2018, and then across low, wind-blown country. Weather is the main hazard: in winter, ice and strong crosswinds can close roads, and even in summer a headwind can eat your fuel. From Borgarnes you can turn west onto the road to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, which is the subject of this ride, with its lava fields, black beaches and the glacier-topped volcano at the end.
Fuel is available in town, and the stations are open long hours in summer. There are several places to eat, including a restaurant with a view over the fjord, and a supermarket if you need to stock up before the peninsula, where shops are fewer. A short walk along the shore at low tide is worth the time. Late June to August offers the best weather and the longest daylight.