Eiði
Eiði is a small village on the northern tip of Eysturoy island in the Faroe Islands, sitting on a flat isthmus with high mountains rising behind it and the open Atlantic on three sides. It is best known internationally for its football pitch, which sits on a narrow ledge beside the ocean with no barriers between the playing surface and the sea, and has been widely described as one of the most dramatically sited sports venues in the world. Offshore, two basalt sea stacks called Risin and Kellingin, the Giant and the Witch, rise 71 and 68 metres from the water respectively, and local legend holds that they are the frozen remains of two trolls who tried to drag the Faroe Islands back to Iceland.
A Village at the Top of Eysturoy, Famous for Its Oceanside Football Pitch and Two Petrified Trolls
Eiði occupies a narrow strip of flat land at the very northern end of Eysturoy, the second-largest island in the Faroe Islands. The village name refers to the isthmus on which it sits, a term used in Faroese for land that connects two larger land masses, and the geography is immediately apparent: the sea is close on multiple sides and the mountain of Eiðiskollur rises steeply behind. The football stadium sits on the western edge of the village where the ground falls away to the Atlantic, with the playing surface positioned so that a ball kicked over the far touchline would drop directly into the ocean far below. The pitch has been photographed from above extensively and frequently appears on lists of the world's most scenic sports grounds. It is currently used as a campsite when not in use for matches.
The sea stacks Risin and Kellingin are visible from the road above Eiði and from viewpoints near the village. Risin, the Giant, stands 71 metres tall, and Kellingin, the Witch, at 68 metres, both rising from the sea just off the northwest tip of Eysturoy. The Faroese legend attached to them describes a giant and a witch from Iceland who came at night to tie a rope around the Eiðiskollur mountain and drag the Faroe Islands back to Iceland. They worked through the night but lost track of time, and when dawn broke they were turned to stone where they stood. The white Eiðis Church, completed in 1881 in stone rather than timber at the villagers' insistence due to concerns about wood supply, stands in the village centre with distinctive green doors and gold trim. From Eiði a short drive east leads to a viewpoint where binoculars are positioned to view the sea stacks from above.
Eiði is also the starting point for the Eiðiskollur hike, a challenging ascent of the 352-metre mountain directly behind the village that gives wide views over the sea stacks, the surrounding ocean, and the north of Eysturoy. The trailhead for Slættaratindur, the highest peak in the Faroe Islands at 880 metres, is also accessible from the Eiðisskarð area a short drive from the village. Eiði is about 45 minutes from Tórshavn by road, crossing the bridge from Streymoy onto Eysturoy and then following the west coast of the island north. The village has basic services including accommodation options for those wanting to base themselves in the north of Eysturoy.
