Vodka with ice and fire and birdwatching

Suffering from Glastonbury withdrawal? Head to the Westman Islands for a party you’ll never remember, says Graham Little

It was 50% proof and 100% unwelcome. But this had become a battle for national pride, and I felt compelled to do my bit for the flagging reputation of Ireland. I swallowed a mouthful of warm vodka, retreated further into my sleeping bag and prayed that the sleep police would let me go back to oblivion. It was 7am.

The Westman Islands Festival has been officially named the Greatest Party in the World, according to a Rough Guides readers’ poll. I probably should have warmed up a bit lower down the Top 40, but I’d decided I was man enough to go straight to No 1. I was wrong.

Only two types of people go to the Westmans, a volcanic chain off the south coast of Iceland: bird-spotters, chasing the world’s finest collection of puffins; and hedonists, mostly chasing each other. For four days over the first weekend in August every year, these disparate groups collide on Heimaey, the largest and most beautiful island in the chain.

Heimaey itself would provide an interesting case study for a geography field trip. The walls of the volcano tower above most of the west of the island, though the last eruption — in 1973, I noted uneasily — blew one side of it away. What is left is a perfect volcanic cross section. Steep, grassy banks sweep down to the sea and provide a superb natural amphitheatre for the temporary stage erected in the hollow, facing back up the mountain.

...bird-watching will be what I go back for...

Vodka with ice, and fire - Sunday Times - Times Online

technorati tags:bird-watching, Glastonbury, Westman, Island, Festival