ICELAND [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I was very
pleased indeed to read Mr. Stanley Unwin's article on Iceland in The Spectator this week. I have been for- tunate enough to visit this delightful country in the course of duty, in one of H.M. Fishery Protection Cruisers, and can en- dorse all he says. But it is not necessary to wait until the " Season " to be able to enjoy a holiday there. For the ski-ing enthusiast there is the most wonderful sport in February, March, and April. Icelandic ski-ing bears the same relation to the Swiss variety as cross-country running does to track run- ning. For a healthy party nothing can equal the delights and thrills of a round trip of twenty or thirty kilometres uphill and down dale, over streams, mountains, past protruding rocks and lava masses, and hot springs, with occasional vistas of distant glaciers and volcano craters. The view from the top of Mount Hengell (near Reykjavik) across Thingvellir, with the wonderful lake of Thingvalla Vatn at the bottom, in the snowy season of March, is one of the most beautiful in the world (and I have been round the world). .
Some of the younger members of the staff of the British Consulate in Reykjavik are enthusiastic skiers, and are always ready with advice and assistance on the subject, or indeed with help in any way, for British visitors. Incidentally, they tell me that their usual summer holiday consists in a camp- ing tour in the interior, with ponies and light tents (which can be hired quite cheaply). I can think of few better ways of spending the long vacation, for a student.
There is a very up-to-date small hospital in the capital (the Landsspitali) whose staff speak English, and are always pleased to see doctors and students from Great Britain.—Yours faithfully, MEDICAL OFFICER, ROYAL NAVY.
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