Going green on the Faroe Islands: the future of voluntourism

Like many destinations across the world, The Faroe Islands has almost been a victim of its own social media success with many of its trending attractions paying a price

Tom Breathnach at a charming Airbnb cottage

I’m at a literal standstill, overlooking the most incredible valley in the far-flung Faroe Islands: the Danish-ruled archipelago located between Iceland and the Shetlands. There’s a wind-swept native sheep eye-balling me at close quarters while a jaw-dropping backdrop of a 19th century Lutheran church yields to a plunging valley line. Saksun, as it's named, is one of the Faroe Island’s most popular attractions but here on a winterish February afternoon, there is nobody but me in what is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever seen. The perfect place for a hike, then. But there’s just one thing stopping my tracks: a turnstile, a credit card machine and 75 Kroner (€10) entry fee. Welcome to the Faroe Islands, fully charged.

A Highland calf in the Faroe Islands