Kambsdalur – Skálafjørður
Bus route 400 runs between Tórshavn and Fuglafjørður to Kambsdalur where the tour begins. Walk some 300 m from the bus stop to the scout’s hall, Kambur. The path begins by the river.
First, you walk by the old peat strip in the outfield and by places where peat was stacked
by the people of Fuglafjørður. On Skarðsbrúgvin you have a panoramic view over Fuglafjørður.
To the north of the mountains of Fuglafjørður, Nestindar on Kalsoy are silhouetted against the sky. At the extreme south under Borgin, a rocky knoll juts out, called Eingilskahús (The English house). Here, a man kept watch in hostile times. You can see both northwards and southwards. Spotting a hostile ship, he ran over Eysturskarð to signal the village by lighting a fire. To the north, you can see some of Djúpini, the island of Kalsoy, Skarðsgjógv on Kunoy and Leirvíksfjall. The first carriage road to Leirvík was here.
By the coastline lies the warm spring Varmakelda with its healing qualities. Here, allegedly two girls from Leirvík were taken on board a Shetlandic ship at the end of the 19th century. They were walking from Leirvík to Eiði. The girls were never seen again.
By the lake Trælavatn, a colony of lesser blackbacked gulls nests in the summer. North of the lake, you come to an old cairn path. The path is level, but the terrain is uneven and stony. Some 100 m south, parallel to the path, there are some boundary cairns, which are outfield boundary marks. Make sure you do not lose your way!
The path splits into two when you see Skálafjørður, Toftavatn, and Nólsoy in the background,The left path goes down to Ánadalur, and the other goes to the village of Skálafjørður. The cairns on the path to Skálafjørður can be seen westwards with Reyðafelstindur in the background.
Walking down to Tundradalur, it is best to walk by the river on the south side (left side). From here, you can see over to Øksnagjógv (a cleft) and Typpafossur (a waterfall) on the other side of the valley. According to a story, this is where the brute farmer, Ormur bóndi á Skála, hid the bodies of the Oyri farmer and his son, whom he had killed. Later, he undoubtedly got qualms of conscience and gave himself away by calling out in his sleep: “The clothes lie under the corn and the bodies under Typpafossur”.
Another story tells that in ancient times, four men from Hattarvík, Flokksmenninir, planned to subdue the whole of the Faroes. They embarked on acts of violence, but one day, they were captured and sentenced to be thrown off Valaknúkar. The sentence was carried out and they were buried by Tingsteinur under Valaknúkar.
You can continue from Skálafjørður directly to Selatrað. From Skálafjørður, the bus route 400 runs to Leirvík, Fuglafjørður and Tórshavn. Bus route 480 runs from Strendur and route 481 from Oyndarfjørður.
Source: “Walking in the Faroe Islands” published by the Faroese Tourist Board in 2003.
