Nólsoy – Borðan
From Tórshavn, the small ferry Ritan sails from Bursatangi, on the eastern side of the harbour, to Nólsoy.
The trip starts at the path that runs southwards from Nólsoy village. Just inside the meadow wall, you come upon an area, Korndalur, with many ruins from the old days. These are the Prinsessutoftir. There is a story about a Scottish King’s daughter who fell out with her father, because he would not acknowledge the man of her choice and by whom she was with child. They fled and arrived at Nólsoy and settled here.
A short way outside the meadow wall, you see traces of the old water pipe. Follow this trail to the old reservoir. Here, the cairns begin and soon you will walk up the slope west of the island. Where you walk up, there is a place called Uppi í Skipi (Up in the Ship), where people in the old days were hiding from pirates. Near the top, you come to Hvíliplássið (the restplace). It is usual to rest here. The view is outstanding. You can see the
northern islands, Skálafjørður, Sundalagið, all of Tórshavn and a little bit of Sandoy. Alittle further south, at á Kagnum (the peek), there is a very good view southwards. The name stems from troubled times when people sneaked out from their hiding places and came to peek southwards to see if the pirates had left.
From the small spring Kolturskeldan, you see Koltur outlined above Havnardalur. Out on Borðan, the path passes old peat fields. There are cairns all the way out to Nólsoyar Viti, the beacon at Tumbin. However, some are small and a little difficult to spot.
You can use as landmarks the two masts that stick up where the lighthouse stands. Just north of the house, the British built two attraps – houses to mislead the Germans during the war. The beacon, Nólsoyar Viti, was built from 1892-93. At the time, the lens equipment was one of the largest in the world. The lens is 2.82 m high and weighs around 4 tons. The lighthouse buildings, as the beacon, are superior workmanship. They are stacked from carved rocks and above the houses, you can see where they collected the rocks. The houses were built for three families. When Borðan’s population was at its peak, there were 10 children. Borðan alternated with Nólsoy village in having the school.
No one lives out at Borðan now, but a lighthouseman walks out there daily. The silhouette of Kapilin can be seen in front of the beacon.
You can also walk down to Stallurin. This is the landing place where everything which was taken to Borðan was unloaded.
People from Nólsoy have also shipped peat from Stallurin. The name Stallurin (the stall) stems from the boats being able to lie side by side like horses in a stable.
Be careful on your way back, follow the cairns, so you do not get lost when walking down the hill. Two cairns are placed closely together. The northern one is Omansneiðingarvarðin. Turn here, when going down.
Source: “Walking in the Faroe Islands” published by the Faroese Tourist Board in 2003.
