Flat Six in the Faroes
Is this the most unlikely destination ever for a Porsche road trip? Total 911 heads for roads less travelled in a 991…
Written by Chris Dearden
Photography by Iris Dearden
PART 1
OF A TWO-PART NORTH ATLANTIC ADVENTURE
Chris and Iris pass through Viðareiði, a village on Viðoy that’s about as far north in the Faroes as you can get
It’s a favourite occupation in our house on a wet Sunday afternoon: crank up the logburner, uncork a bottle of red, bring down the crate of maps, and plan the next 911 road trip. We have a simple rule: no idea is too crazy to at least consider, especially when the wine is flowing. When I suggest Iceland, though, Iris’ initial reaction is understandable. “Really? But this would be for Total 911, right? Not Total Extreme Off-Roader…?” A fair point. But, like many Malbec-fuelled ideas, the more objections that are put up, the more attractive it somehow becomes.
Vague notions of a car ferry from Scotland are soon dispelled. If you want to take your own car to Iceland, there is only one way to do it – and that’s from Denmark. First thing on Monday, a phone call is made to the offices of Smyril Line. For those of us used to driving down to Dover and hopping onto one of 10 crossings a day to Calais, this conversation is a reality check.
Our options are either to sail on Saturday, or to wait and sail the next Saturday. But might we like to stop off for three nights in the Faroe Islands on the way? We’ll let you know after we’ve found out where they are. After less than an hour’s research, a decision is made: yes, we will have three nights in the Faroes (300km northwest from Scotland, and 430km southeast of Iceland, we’ve discovered).
The decision is, I admit, more “Why not?” than “This looks unmissable’’. Sometimes you just make lucky decisions, and this proves to be one of them. And so Total 911 to the North Atlantic is born, albeit not without clocking up some serious kilometres through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Denmark first. But when the mantra is “Road trips are fun. Always”, they should just add to the fun of the trip.