Ytra Lón Farm & Retreat — Ytra Lón, Iceland
A working sheep farm and silent retreat on Iceland's Langanes peninsula
Ytra Lón is a working farm on the Langanes peninsula in North Iceland, in the Þórshöfn postal district and well away from the usual tourist circuit. Mirjam and Sverrir run it with their family. Lambs are born in the stables each spring, and the table draws on the land: lamb and eggs from the farm, trout from the lagoon, rhubarb and vegetables from the garden.
Guests stay in nine 25-square-metre studio apartments, each with a kitchenette and private bathroom, plus a patio and a hot tub. Evenings gather at the bar in Gamli Bær. The restaurant is not always open from September to May, so winter stays are generally self-cooking.
The retreats are built around stillness. The seven-day individual retreats, self-catering year-round or all-inclusive from May to September, open with a 'Connecting to the Land' session with Mirjam and close with 'Grounding it in'. In between there is a journal, a river, a beach and a hillside, and no obligation to do anything. Group offerings include the Arctic Empath Retreat for up to 14 people, which mixes Arctic Energy sessions, yoga, Norse mythology, journalling and art, and a Writers Retreat around the poets of the northeast coast. Mirjam also offers Arctic Energy Healing, a meditation-based distance practice.
Beyond the farm gate, guided jeep and hiking tours run from May to August. They reach the Skoruvík bird cliffs and the gannet colony at Stóri Karl, the fishing village of Skálar (abandoned about fifty years ago), and the lighthouse at Fontur. In early May, a three-day stay lets guests follow the lambing.
Traditions: Arctic Energy Healing, Energy Healing, Meditation, Yoga, Norse Mythology, Journalling
Programs: Individual Self-catering Retreat, All-Inclusive Self-guided Retreat, Arctic Empath Retreat, Writers Retreat, Join Arctic Farm Life (Hero Experience), Excellent Birding Sites, Langanes Birdcliffs and Ruins, The Lighthouse at World's End