Family fishing, Iceland

Iceland - Fishing with a 10 year old

Going home from school at the end of the summer term is a great feeling; leaving the day before school finishes to go fishing in Iceland certainly had Tom, my 10 year old son, excited.

The two of us departed early on a Sunday morning, followed down the driveway by cries from my wife, directed to Tom, of “be careful” and “wear your life jacket”. Travelling with one child is so very different to travelling with two although I’m not sure that I’ll be allowed to leave one of them behind next time we go way. Tom definitely felt more grown up and was pleased to take responsibility.

We flew to Reykjavik from Stansted on Iceland Express – good value I thought at under £100 each and only a short flight. Three hours later we were met at Keflavik Airport by Po who was to be our guide and companion for the three days we had arranged, and we were quickly on our way to the Svartá River.

The Svartá is a small salmon and trout river just south of the Arctic Circle and was ideal for Tom’s casting skills. Iceland in July is the land of the midnight sun, terrible if you can only sleep in the dark, but perfect for Tom and I who, in our excitement fished late into that evening. Tom fished hard under Po’s friendly, expert tutelage, but sadly to no avail on the first day. To give Tom a break, we thought we would spend one afternoon doing something different. We set off to enjoy the scenery and examine our surroundings and ended up climbing what Tom described as a mountain, I thought was Everest and Po said was in fact a small hill.

On our last day the fishing suddenly came on much to Tom’s delight. I managed to drop his first fish back into the river after we landed it and was roundly castigated for my incompetence – it appears 10 year olds like to eat their trophies. On our way back to the airport at Keflavik Po persuaded us to visit the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s most popular attraction. The geothermal springs cover half an acre, and many visitors venture into them to experience the revitalising waters, or enjoy the considerable spa facilities. We certainly let the side down (obviously not something we would have been allowed to do had my wife been there) – a 10 and 45 year old splashing around noisily while onlookers serenely steamed.

The highlight of Tom’s holiday was catching and eating a salmon. For me, it was a wonderful way to spend some time with my younger son in a magical place.

Iceland is the perfect destination if your time is precious. Long weekends are no problem with direct flights taking only three hours and some fantastic rivers relatively close to Reykjavik.