Gamli bærinn Brjánslæk

Breiðafjörður is the second biggest fjord in Iceland as it stretches 70 km where it is widest. Where the fjord gets more shallow there are almost uncountable number of islands but if we would have to guess a number, they would be around 2800. Many of those islands were inhabited few decades ago but now almost all are uninhabited. Flatey is the one exception. Flatey is the biggest of the islands in Breiðafjörður. It also is the only island in Breiðafjörður where inhabitants live the whole year round. The inhabitants count as many as 6 persons but during summertime the population multiplies. Many of the other islands in Breiðafjörður used to be inhabited not so long ago like Hvallátur, Svefneyjar and Akureyjar. All the islands have one thing in common. They are all made by the force of glaciers in the ice age. The islands are mostly flat and the geological layers are similar to the ones on the Westfjords. In most of the islands there are many plants and the birdlife is diverse with puffin, eider and black guillemot being the kings of the fjord along with the White-tailed-Eagle. The history tells us that the people that lived in Breiðafjörður never had to deal with shortage of food because of the plentyful gifts of nature such as birds, fish and shells. When there were bad conditions and food shortage was common in Iceland, people fled to Breiðafjörður bay where there was plenty of food for everyone.

Vatnsfjörður nature reserve is an area of total 20.000 ha. 80% of the area is rocky and barren but the lowlands is mostly covered with birchwood. From Vatnsfjörður it's perfect to visit most of the Westfjords. It takes you about one and a half hour to drive either to Látrabjarg, to Selárdalur or even to Ísafjörður. it takes you half an hour to drive to Dynjandi and it's a one hour sail from Brjánslækur to Flatey island.

The swimming pool in Laugarnes is a beautifully placed small pool with stunning views over Breiðafjörður. You can either float around in the small concrete pool or lay down in a smaller pool closer to the shore.

A donations box is placed by the dressing rooms, the local youth club owns and looks after the pool.

The large fjord of Arnarfjörður, which lies between the villages of Bíldudalur and Þingeyri, is entirely a nature reserve. the magnificent fjord ends in four small offshoot fjords: Geirþjófsfjörður (north), Fossfjörður and Reykjafjörður (south), and Trostansfjörður in the middle. Thickly vegetated with rowan and birch, Trostansfjörður is a very isolated and peaceful place to explore, and the derelict remains of a farm provide added interest. The fjord is thought to be named after Saint Drostan fromScotland.

Iceland owes its name to Hrafna-Flóki or Raven-Floki. After a long navigation from Norway, he took land in Vatnsfjörður fjord. As a navigational aid, he brought some ravens along, which he let loose at sea, directing him to land (hence the nickname). Flóki only stayed for one winter, as he was not prepared for the cold and hardship. They lost many animals during the stay and understandably got disgruntled. In the spring, Flóki hiked to a nearby mountain top. Seeing the surrounding fjords all full of ice, he announced that this cold and inhospitable place should be called Iceland.

There is a hotel at Flókalundur with a restaurant and gas-station. A memorable natural pool is down by the sea.

Hellulaug is a geothermal pool, located just off the highway, close to the beach in Vatnsfjörður. It is quite lovely to chill out in the pool(38°/100,4 F) while looking out over the fjord.
The pool cannot be seen from the road, but there is a parking lot next to the path that leads to Hellulaug. The pool is 60 cm deep.

Þingmannaá river runs from Þingmannadalur valley down to Vatnsfjörður fjord. In the rivers canyons you will find charming waterfalls, explorers can walk behind one of the waterfalls and view it from behind the cascading water. One of these waterfalls had a role in the television show Nonni and Manni from 1990. A parking lot is located about 100 meters from the road and to reach the waterfall, a 5 minute walk from the parking lot.

Surtarbrandsgil (e. Lignite canyon) was put on the Icelandic environment protection list as a natural phenomenon in 1975. The main reason for the protection was to pretect the fossils of the flora which was to be found in mud and lignite layers between the basalt layers. Thease plant fossils are from the tertier time.