The Northern lights and karaoke nights
Need to chill? CLAIRE SPREADBURY samples the trip of a lifetime in a remote and snow-covered Icelandic resort
THERE’S something about a pandemic that makes you crave travel to distant lands; locations that couldn’t feel further from the four walls you see almost every waking second. Deplar Farm is such a place, on Iceland’s Troll Peninsula, with just but snow and stars for miles on end.
Although Reykjavik is only a two-and-a-half-hour flight from the UK, you then need to head to the domestic airport for another flight north, or endure a very long road trip.
It feels like we might have landed on Mars as we drive past volcanic moss-tipped mounds. Tiny cracks of light peep through the sky between the moody charcoal grey clouds and the misty mountainscape.
After jetting over to Akureyri airport, we get back in another car and drive for an hour and a half, following white wintry wildlands to Deplar Farm, which pops up out of nowhere – all wooden lodge chic, bathed in blankets of snow. It’s an uber-luxe property that’s home to just 12 beautiful bedrooms.
The snow is so fresh and untouched, parts of it look like freshly-ironed linen bedsheets stretched across a mattress of land. And as we check-in, my insides are dancing with excitement.
I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland. It’s such an intriguing country. So cool and unique. I’m only here for a couple of days, but all that’s on the agenda is fun. Behaving like children in a snowy white playground and hopefully catching a glimpse of the northern lights.
Eleven Experience has properties all over the world – 13 to be exact – and they pride themselves on being an adventure travel company. So, although everything at Deplar has been thoroughly thought out – from its comfy, spacious alpine decor, to the way the staff interact with the guests and make you all feel like one family – the focus is very much on the outdoor experience.
Every guest is assigned a guide. There are even pre-holiday forms to fill in, so they can work out which activities you’re best suited to. I’m here with my husband, James. He’s much more of a snow lover than me. I’ve never skied, am constantly freezing, and the only snowy location I’ve holidayed in is Lapland with the kids. But I’m suited and booted and ready for action.
Senya, our dedicated guide for the next two days, takes us out on a snow shoe hike. We walk and walk for what feels likes miles. A lot of it in silence as we take in the sheer beauty surrounding us. Everything is white and I’m awash with a sense of calm that only nature provides when Senya suddenly senses a change in weather, and we head back to the warmth of Deplar.
The building itself is more than 100 years old, though it’s been adapted over the years. It’s the epitome of hygge. Comfy seating areas abound, nestled around chunky Icelandic rugs and coffee table tops made of tree trunks. Telescopes sit patiently by giant glass windows, waiting for stars to shoot or the aurora to show.
Dinner starts at 8pm, though ‘apres’ is available from 6pm, where you can have a drink at the bar and snack on crisps, cheese or chocolate. Meals are served in the dining room next to the enormous crackling fire. One long table seats all the guests here, who swap stories of their heroic activities of the day. Three courses come paired with wines at no extra cost, and there are mini bars everywhere, stashed with beautiful Icelandic ale, lager, juices, water and sodas. You’re actively encouraged to take what you need.
It feels like a home from home here, except it’s the home you wish you owned, not the one you actually
have. The vibe is uber-relaxed and guests are told to come to dinner in their PJS and slippers if they want.
We wake to find snow hanging off the roof like dangerous dollops of gingerbread-house icing, and some doors are almost entirely snowed in.
We get back in the car and drive towards Akureyri airport, keeping every digit crossed that we’re able to take a teeny tiny plane on the Diamond Circle Air Tour.
Everything that happens next feels like a dream. We head east over Godafoss Waterfall, a circular puzzle piece carved out from the snow and gushing with frothy white waters. It’s known as the ‘waterfall of the Gods’ because of its beauty. The
mountainous snow tops are rippled like a Vienetta as we fly over the beautiful islets of Myvatn, taking in the pseudo craters, sulfur pools and Krafla geothermal powerplant.
Finally, the magnificent Troll Peninsula mountain range comes into view as we as head back into Eyjafjordur, Iceland’s longest fjord. And when we finally touch down, I realise I’ve barely taken a breath in the last 45 minutes.
It’s an experience I’ll never forget, and on the way back, I know there’s only one more sight I’d like to see.
Cocooned in the comfort of our bedroom, nibbling on nuts and a glass of bubbles as we ready ourselves for dinner, there’s a frantic knock at the door. “The northern lights are happening right now,” says Ivan the sommelier, slightly out of breath as he sprints to the other bedrooms to let everyone know. “They NEVER come this early,” he bellows with disbelief.
It’s just gone 6pm and we park ourselves on the snow-covered wooden furniture outside, trying to take pictures that will do justice to the sky we see above us. Streaks of green dance across the darkness. Purple swirls wheel over the top of the house. We dart from door to door, trying to see every little light as it lasts long into the night.
Dan, the barman, fills glass after glass, topping up our giddiness and before we know it, Brandon – an American guest – is on the stage as the music starts. This is karaoke like you’ve never seen. There is a full band of instruments should you wish to live your wildest rockstar dreams (which we do), and it comes with a celebrity seal of approval – Justin Timberlake was here not long ago and played a full set.
We sing, dance and drink until the small hours, laughing with our new-found best friends and family, and promising trips to the USA once we’re back in the real world. It’s quite a journey to Deplar, both in distance and mind. But nature will repay you with sights and sounds that will stay in your heart forever.