As I have often discussed, a big part of my motivation for running Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine is the great people I have known through this part-time passion project. Sadly, I have not met all of these people, but that is a feature of our time. I stay in touch with these people on social media or email. I follow their Iceland content on social media, and they follow me. On Twitter (now X), I got to know one of the biggest Iceland enthusiasts ever. This is the Brit Lee-Anne Fox – she loves Iceland; she is a great photographer and has been here many times. Like many Iceland enthusiasts, I have met through Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine, she is so well-traveled around Iceland, and I would not be surprised if she knew Iceland even more than I do! I have meant to interview Lee-Anne for a while now, and now it is time. Lee-Anne graciously accepted my interview request, so here is the interview without further ado.
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Thank you
Jon Heidar, Editor of Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine
Hey Lee-Anne – thank you for taking the time for this interview. Can you tell my readers about your background?
Hæ Jón! I’m married to my own Jon & we have two brilliant daughters, one VR artist and one equine vet, and I work part-time in the NHS as a clinical coder. I’ve always loved words and forms of communication, whether medical terminology, sign language, runes, or attempting to get to grips with your beautiful language! I love reading in my spare time and proofreading, too. I also love to get out walking in nature; I’m lucky to live on the south coast of the UK, and being by the sea provides endless changes of mood – the same view can be so different from day to day – much like in Iceland! You are very generous in assessing my photographs, but Iceland does all the heavy lifting. I’m just out there with my phone, and you can barely take a step in Iceland without tripping over a great photo! But I’m just a happy snapper compared to proper photographers like Sophie Carr. She is terrific, and it was a pleasure to meet her in Iceland in May 2021 to bond over our mutual love of the place!
How and why did you become interested in Iceland?
A colleague of Jon’s proposed to his now-wife at Gullfoss and told him about it. We’d always wanted to see the Northern Lights, so Jon organized a family trip for us in October 2015. He did all the planning because I had my head in the sand about the whole idea; it seemed an expensive gamble for a non-guaranteed event!
Can you tell me about your first trip to Iceland?
Once we had arrived, I quickly realized that I was glad to have come whether or not we saw the aurora because the scenery was so stunning, other-worldly, bleak, and beautiful. A ‘magnificent desolation,’ as Buzz Aldrin described it, in the moon landing team’s mission practice there. We stayed in Reykjavik and drove out and back to many places. We visited the classic Golden Circle, the waterfalls along the south coast (starting a long-standing and light-hearted rivalry between us as to which is the best. Naturally, I’m right, and it’s Skógafoss!) The hot springs (& delicious bread!) at Laugarvatn, the sulphuric geothermal area at Seltún, amongst other highlights. I was captivated by the language even then, with bits of words we saw repeated, whose meanings became apparent, like -foss and flug- and -vatn, and I was eager to learn how to pronounce these strange letters and combinations. We even saw a faint glimpse (not enough to get a photo, but just enough to say we had seen it!) of Aurora one night! We left satisfied, and I thought that the adventure was over. But over the ensuing months, the thought of Iceland wouldn’t leave me, and I felt such an intense yearning for it and knew we’d have to return. So we started to plan a ring road trip for the following October, and thus, the habit was born!!
How often have you visited Iceland, and what was your most memorable trip here?
I’ve been seventeen times now; Jon is lagging a few behind me. I have been twice to the Iceland Noir book festival without him, and once more alone to have a go at driving myself! It’s hard to pick an absolute favorite trip. Still, I think it’s a sort of tie between three trips: May 2021, when we were finally able to get back over after our first year without a trip at all in 2020, thanks to Covid. This is when we visited the Fagradalsfjall eruption in its ‘geyser’ phase, spouting every 8 minutes or so. It was the most phenomenal experience of my life (family aside!). The roar of it like a jet engine, the heat of it even from our safe distance on the viewing hill (before that was cut off by lava), the smell, even the little bits of cooled tephra that rained down upon us when the wind was in that direction. Seeing the lava erupting and running in its rivers was something we’ll never forget. I’ll probably never take a better photograph either!
Attending Iceland Noir
Another contender is Iceland Noir in November 2022. This is when I had the unexpected pleasure to meet the author Arnaldur Indriðason at an event at the British Embassy. I had befriended the new ambassador, Bryony Mathew, on Twitter. This I did by recommending to try the cinnamon snúður at Brauð and Co!
I also took my first ever helicopter flight out from Reykjavik to Lake Kleifarvatn (incidentally the location of one of Indriðason’s books, The Draining Lake!) thanks to your anniversary competition for the Stuck in Iceland magazine! So, huge thanks to you and Norðurflug for making such an incredible experience possible! And finally, in late July last year, I hiked the Laugavegur trail in the Highlands. That was an incredible experience, with such immense and stunning vistas and a privilege. So it’s hard to pin down a favorite with such treasures to choose from – and to be honest, on every trip, we come away with an experience that has genuinely wowed us!
What are your favorite Icelandic artists and authors?
I love listening to Bubbi Morthens, Ylja and have recently discovered Elín Hall’s gorgeous vocals. For authors, it’s hard to pick. I love to read anything written by Icelanders or set in Iceland. This has provided me with a huge range of diverse literature to enjoy across all genres. A special mention must go to Quentin Bates. He writes his great novels set in Iceland. I also recommend other translators, & bold publishers like Corylus and Orenda who bring us these works in English. But my book of the year last year was Ýrsa Sigurðardóttir’s The Prey. This book is a chilling thriller with shades of the Dyatlov Pass incident – brilliant!
What are your favorite places and activities in Iceland?
I’m a sucker for a waterfall! And Iceland has 10,000 odd of them. There is plenty of potential there to keep me coming back for more for some time yet! Visiting the local swimming pools – there’s almost always one in every town. This is a great way to connect with the locals, and for a fraction of the cost of the fancy spas! Horse riding is another great activity to experience the extra gait that the rockstar-looking Icelandic horses possess. Most stables offer rides to suit all abilities or none. It’s also a good insight into bygone days. In the past horses were the 4x4s of their day. Icelandic history, the perseverance and resilience of the people through times of great hardship, is another aspect of the country that I find endlessly fascinating. The rich culture of storytelling from those days that has gifted us with the Sagas.
What advice do you have for those visiting Iceland for the first time?
The weather is changeable; you can experience all the seasons in a day (in an hour, at times!). Layers are your best bet, and good waterproofs are a must! It’s often not as cold as you might think, but the wind can worsen it. Suppose people are staying in Reykjavik for a short break, not driving. In that case, I always recommend the cinnamon rolls at Brauð & Co. I also recommend the chocolate and fabulous ice cream creations at Omnom, FlyOver Iceland to see the country in a unique way, and the Lava Show for the same reason. Go on a Golden Circle tour, and if you have time, a South Coast waterfall one is excellent, too. I recommend signing up with Stuck in Iceland for many helpful discounts! If you’re driving, pay attention to weather forecasts and road closures. If Icelanders say you shouldn’t drive, don’t think,’ Oh, I’ll be OK, ‘because they KNOW what they’re talking about! Don’t be so slavishly attached to your plans that you take foolish risks – be ready to be flexible with a Plan B.
Some people come, stay in Iceland, and go home. But others go home, and Iceland stays with them. You have been warned!
Follow Lee-Anne on X (@Avid_eva) and Bluesky @onefootiniceland.bsky.social
