Bet The Farm
For true escape, you need to go off grid. Reclaim your sense of wonder on Iceland’s Troll Peninsula, where high luxury meets adventure
Flight BA894 begins its descent towards Keflavík International Airport, the clouds below lit up in oranges and pinks – late-afternoon colours, a spooky sight at exactly 11am. Iceland may be in the same time zone as the UK, but time means something different here. It’s winter and the sun is demob happy, compensating for its marathon 22-hour summer shifts by hardly bothering to show up at all. It clocks on at 11am and is out of office by 3.30pm. By the time Men’s Health reaches
Deplar Farm on the northern Troll Peninsula, all that illuminate the sky are cold, white stars and a wondrous, green glow: the northern lights.
Deplar is an outpost of Eleven, a company that offers visitors bespoke, “unprecedented adventures” around the world. It’s a mission that Eleven takes seriously – six months before your trip, it’ll contact you to identify your goals, be they to chase an adrenalin high on a mountain top or to de-stress in the small but perfectly appointed spa. Deplar is a resort for all seasons, offering rafting and fly fishing in the warmer months, and whale watching, dog sledding and heli-skiing when the snow falls. Crucially, though, there’s no pressure to do any of these things. How you occupy your time here is entirely up to you.
On our first full day, Men’s Health rose before sunrise for a yoga class. “Allow yourself to be naive,” whispered the in-house instructor, as we flowed through a series of novice-friendly movements. In the early morning gloom, she intoned: “Become a butterfly…” And we tried in earnest because, well, why not? Despite the relentless stream of New Ageisms, the exercises were functional and exhilarating, priming both mind and body for the day ahead. Our serotonin levels soaring, our stay began in earnest.
Breakfasts here were well curated, combining Icelandic elements, such as smoked lamb, with more explicitly wellnessminded options, such as broccoli and quinoa salad. All of the meals, put together by chef Garðar Kári Garðarsson, were inventive and nutritionally balanced. One antioxidant-rich starter at dinner involved a cauliflower that had been prepared in three separate ways; a main course of cod had been slow-cooked to retain a sashimi-like mouthfeel, delivering a punch of protein in the lightest package possible. The meals were also ethical, with an emphasis on local ingredients, served up without a trace of piety. After hours in the on-site bar, Men’s Health was treated to the pungent, potentially unethical delicacy that is fermented shark. An indulgence, really, with few nutritional perks – but a new experience to treasure nonetheless.
Moving Mountains
One afternoon, guests were invited on a trip to the fishing village of Siglufjörður. There, we boarded a boat to watch whales swimming off Iceland’s northern coast – a surprisingly moving experience, matched only by the impact of gazing up at the northern lights from Deplar’s heated outdoor swimming pool. As psychologists at the University of California have demonstrated, feelings of awe among nature can make us happier, lower stress and improve our well-being. This is something that our hosts at Deplar delivered in abundance, whether guiding us up a mountain on a thrilling ramble, or offering us a chance to ride locally bred horses. (The subject of eating those horses also came up, but that’s another story.)
In between the quiet moments was a lot of reguar health-spa stuff: facials, a massage, green juices. More memorable by far was the “Viking sauna” session, led by Tony, the resort manager. In a wooden shack that reached 95°C, we practised breathing exercises while listening to pseudo-traditional Nordic music that resembled the soundtrack to 300 or a Terminator movie. We ommed in unison, our eyes closed, like postmodern cult members who had collaged together the world’s spiritual traditions. It was a bit dumb. But somehow it was effective, too. Saunas are proven stress busters, after all, with health benefits including detoxification and increased heart health. Besides, overcoming your self-consciousness by doing something silly can be liberating.
Our days at Deplar drifted by in a haze, which, perhaps, was part of the point. We were always engaged in some sort of recharging, invigorating activity, but never under any obligation to succeed at anything, or even try. The farm gave us space to think, its surreal elements unplugging us from the anxieties of ordinary life. It was time we could squander or use productively at our will – a true luxury after an apocalyptic 2020. In other words, time well spent.
“This deep sense of awe among nature makes us happier and lowers stress”