This morning I cooked my egg on top of a hot spring! The weather is cold and windy but there is some blue sky as we prepare for a long journey ahead.

We take a little detour to visit a pretty little church in a beautifully peaceful setting. The weather has become very still and warm.

We start heading north via the ancient Kjölur Plane. The name refers to the plateau between the glaciers Langjökull in the west and Hofsjökull on the east at an altitude of 650 m above sea level. You could say we were off-roading. Well, technically we were on a road but we seemed to run out of Tarmac. Thank goodness for our 4x4 bus! It's an amazing route through a vast expanse of nothing but rock, a mountain or two and a couple of rivers. We meet a few cars along the way and Siggi informs us that they are all hire cars who are not allowed to use this road which is only for 4wd vehicles and is only open in the summer.

As our journey progresses the clouds grow heavy and the rain begins to fall. Not very encouraging for our plans to bathe in the natural hot spring of Hveravellir. When we finally arrive, it is freezing and raining and we discover there are no changing rooms, only toilets which are a good walk from the pool. Undeterred, we decide to change and wear our clothes up to the pool where we will divest and take the plunge. Some of us decide to have a quick look at what the pool actually looks like. It is a postage stamp! We expected something more luxurious. We all decided that it wasn't worth the effort, that is except for Phil who remained resolute and started stripping off. The rest of us went in pursuit of broccoli soup, cheese and ham toastie, and for me the smoked lamb and flatbread.

What should have been a two-hour stay was severely curtailed and we set off once again along the gravel track. Finally we re-join the main road and spend the night at Hotel Varmahlid, located in one of Iceland’s most important horse breeding areas.

The hot water in the Varmahlid smells very sulphurous and showering is not at all pleasant!