Fljotshlid (Fljótshlíð) Detour
Fljotshlid (Fljótshlíð) Detour
Fljotshlid is the fertile hillside dotted with farms, east of the town of Hvolsvollur. By taking road 261 and then gravel road 250 you have an interesting detour between Hvolsvollur and Seljalandsfoss.
The journey gives the opportunity to visit Hlidarendi, a farm associated with Njál's saga. Widely acclaimed as the best of Iceland's Mediaeval literary masterpieces, Njál's Saga is a complex tale with many interwoven threads.
One of the sagas larger than life characters is Gunnar of Hlidarendi who marries Hallgerdur, femme fatale of Icelandic literature, against the advice of his wise friend Njall. Things can only end badly, and they do. Gunnar is outlawed for a killing but refuses to leave his farm, giving his enemies carte blanche to murder him. They ambush his farm one night but as Iceland's most skilled archer Gunnar defends himself well. When the string of his bow snaps, he asks his wife for a lock of hair to replace it. She refuses, reminding Gunnar of the time he had slapped her in anger. And this is the end of Gunnar, though not of the story!
Beyond Hlidarendi, look for Þorsteinslundur, a small woodland garden with a pretty waterfall and nearby Gluggafoss, a lovely two-tiered waterfall visible from the road, near the junction with gravel road 250.