title The Golden Circle of Ísland, Iceland - 22nd April 2017 intro We hire a car for the day and drive the "Golden Circle" - a 100-mile route which takes in Þingvellir National Park and the Öxarárfoss waterfall - site of the Alþing, the seat of Iceland's ancient parliament; The Strokkur geyser at Geysir; the epic Gullfoss waterfall; the "Secret Lagoon" in Flúðir and finally the Kerið volcano. Somewhat amusingly, car hire turns out to be one of the few things that isn't eye-wateringly expensive. imgp8729 Our first stop is a church up in the foothills imgp8730 A derelict concrete hut imgp8731 Another view of the derelict hut imgp8732 Isobel looks out on the icy wastes imgp8736 Isobel pokes around in the snowy wastes imgp8739 More tourists look out over the snow imgp8741 A 4x4 heads off to the mountains imgp8743 Isobel looksout over a lake imgp8744 Isobel checks her phone imgp8748 Two walkers in the mountains, and some rare trees imgp8749 Isobel takes a photo of a bare bush imgp8750 Aaiieeee! imgp8752 Pillow lava flows imgp8755 We head into Þingvellir imgp8756 The waterfall at Þingvellir National Park imgp8757 It starts snowing again imgp8758 Tourists in the snow imgp8762 Öxarárfoss waterfall in the snow imgp8765 Watching the waterfall from a platform imgp8768 Tourists mill around imgp8774 Isobel looks into the edge of the American plate imgp8777 The Þingvellir drowning pool imgp8780 A couple of boulders perch across a gap imgp8786 Across the great divide imgp8787 Part of the Almannagjá fault imgp8790 Isobel looks out over the fault plain imgp8791 A church and houses by the river imgp8796 More peering into faults imgp8799 The Almannagjá fault - big enough to walk in imgp8802 Church on the plains imgp8803 Lava pillows imgp8807 Some dude inspects a monster truck imgp8809 We head over to Geysir imgp8815 Crowds roam around at Geysir imgp8820 There's a hole in the water imgp8822 The Strokkur geyser blows one off imgp8833 The geyser looks like a rocket launch imgp8835 Milky blue pool of hot water imgp8836 Isobel roams around imgp8847 Isobel has been "geysered" imgp8851 The geyser goes off again imgp8855 The epic Gullfoss waterfall is the next stop imgp8858 Gullfoss waterfall and the Hvítá river imgp8861 Another view of Gullfoss imgp8870 Nosher by the waterfall imgp8872 There's a smidgeon of rainbow in the spray imgp8878 More epic moster-truck conversions imgp8879 Icelandic ponies on a farm imgc5693 Isobel floats around Gamla Laugin in Flúðir imgc5694 Isobel in the steam of the Secret Lagoon imgc5695 Words in the steam imgc5696 The low key, and slightly secret Secret Lagoon imgc5697 Hot springs occur right next to a river imgc5699 Remains of the derelict original changing rooms imgc5701 The Secret Lagoon imgp8881 The crater of the dormant Kerið volcano imgp8885 Isobel looks at the crater lake imgp8890 Cool lichen on rocks at the top of Kerið volcano imgp8892 Isobel is a dot in the landscape imgp8893 Volcano crater imgp8902 Isobel inspects the crater imgp8905 Snow rolls in up the valley