Midnight Sun in Borgarnes: An Evening Shoreline Walk to Bjössaróló

In the last days of June, Borgarnes barely gets dark. Around the solstice the town sees roughly 21 hours of direct daylight, and even at its lowest the sun leaves the sky in a long twilight rather than true night. That turns the Borgarnes headland into a quiet late-evening promenade, and the best light of the whole day arrives at an hour when most travellers have already parked the car. This is a short, flat walk of about 2 to 3 kilometres that you can do after dinner, roughly 15 minutes’ drive from The Hvítá Inn.

Why late June evenings work here

The appeal of a midnight-sun walk in Borgarnes is timing. Because the town sits on a low headland reaching into Borgarfjörður, the fjord opens west and south, and the flat evening light rakes across the water onto the slopes of Hafnarfjall on the far shore. The mountain tends to glow warmest between about 22:00 and midnight. There is no rush to catch a fixed “sunset” — the light lingers and shifts for hours — so this is an unhurried outing rather than a dash.

The route: Englendingavík to Bjössaróló

Start at Englendingavík, a small cove in the old part of town whose name means “the Englishmen’s cove,” after the first traders who set up there. From the cove, walk up into Skallagrímsgarður, a compact public park that holds the burial mound of Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson, father of the poet-warrior Egil, from Egil’s Saga.

Continue along the shoreline paths toward Brákarsund, the narrow strait between the town and the small island of Brákarey. The strait is named for Þorgerður Brák, Egil’s nursemaid in the saga, who leapt into the sea here to shield the boy from his enraged father — she drowned in the crossing, and the Brákin sculpture on the rise recalls her. From there it is a short walk on to Bjössaróló, the walk’s turning point.

Bjössaróló, the driftwood playground

Bjössaróló is a hand-built children’s playground made almost entirely from driftwood and salvaged materials — slides set into the little hillocks, swings, seesaws, a climbing frame, and an old boat. It was built in 1979 by local craftsman Björn Guðmundsson, known as Bjössi, who wanted a place children could reach only by taking their time to find it. It is a genuinely charming spot for families, and under the low midnight light the painted timber and the fjord behind it photograph beautifully.

• Getting there: about 15 minutes by car from The Hvítá Inn to Borgarnes; park near Englendingavík in the old town.
• Distance and duration: roughly 2–3 km round trip on flat, family-friendly paths; allow about 1 to 1.5 hours with photo stops.
• Best timing: late June, roughly 22:00 to midnight for the warmest light on Hafnarfjall.
• What to bring: a warm layer and a windproof (the fjord edge is breezy even in summer), sturdy shoes, and a camera or phone; an eye mask helps for sleeping afterward.

Where to Stay

Base yourself at The Hvítá Inn, a countryside inn on the bank of the Hvítá river at Hvítárbakki in Borgarfjörður, with private-bathroom rooms. Its position about 15 minutes from Borgarnes means you can eat, drive over for the late light, walk the shoreline near midnight, and be back in a quiet riverside room soon after — no long return to Reykjavík required. Book direct on Ourhotels.is for the best rate.

Photo: Hornstrandir1 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.