They call Iceland ‘The Land of Ice and Fire’, and its combination of glaciers, ice-caps, volcanoes and geothermal hot-spots makes it a fascinating place to explore. It has long been an ambition of mine to visit and explore the place. During discussions with Cicerone about writing a guidebook to The Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland, I was asked, “Do you want Iceland as well?”

During the preparation of this guidebook, which spanned 150 days over two summers, there were three volcanic eruptions, and in each case these were accompanied by ‘glacier floods’. One of the peaks climbed in the guidebook has only existed since May 2010. The whole of Iceland is subject to change, and there are many places where dramatic and often violent changes to the landscape have taken place during recorded history.

Travelling around Iceland can get very expensive, very quickly, but I was keen to explore budget options, and was delighted to discover a network of fine trails within walking distance of the airport at Keflavík, and a fine long-distance trail starting at the ferryport of Seyðisfjörður. Of course, the incredibly popular long-distance Laugavegur is included in the south of Iceland, extended at either end by the popular Skógar Trail and the little-known Hellismannaleið.

There are 100 days of walking in the book, ranging from very easy low-level trails to a much harder, higher, permanently glaciated mountain summits. The highest mountain in Iceland, Hvannadalshnúkur, is included. Half of the book contains day-walks, while the other half contains details of ten trekking routes, ranging in length from two days to nine days. There should be enough variety to keep all kinds of walkers happy. The only limit on the trekking routes is how much food you can carry, and how kind the weather is likely to be for the duration of your trek. The total distance covered by the various routes is 1722 kilometres (1070 miles).

Iceland has been split into twelve regions for the purposes of aiding exploration, and most of these regions contain day-walks and a trekking route. In some instances, walks and treks can be combined. If there are any useful facilities, such as huts, campsites, shops, bus or ferry routes, then these are noted. There are four little island walks included in the guidebook, and the northern island of Grimsey is the only part of Iceland that extends north of the Arctic Circle.