Illahraun lava field on the Rekjanes peninsula.

These lavas were laid down in about 1226 and form an almost level platform of chaotic broken blocks of hard, sharp basalt but now largely covered with a thick carpet of moss. The crevices and shady spots are filled with wildflowers - it is amazing how much growth there is on such a dry and inhospitable looking terrain. For the eagle-eyed blippers there are also a pair of Willow Grouse in the bottom right hand corner. I would have loved to have got in closer, but they were wary and I was not carrying the long lens.

We climbed one of the local volcanic cones before catching an internal flight to the north of Iceland for the start of our adventure proper!