Icelandic horses + Mosfellsbakarí lunch

The Icelandic horse is not a pony. It is small and woolly and has been bred for a thousand years in isolation to move in a gait that does not exist elsewhere — the tölt, smooth enough that you could hold a full cup of coffee at speed. They are also, famously, opinionated.

Laxnes Farm in Mosfellsbær is fifteen minutes outside the city and the right place for a first ride. They give you waterproofs, boots, a helmet, and a horse picked for how nervous you are not. Guides take you through lava fields and along the Varmá river. Two hours in the saddle is the right dose: long enough for both of you to find the tölt, short enough to walk off.

On the drive back stop at Mosfellsbakarí — the best bakery in Mosfellsbær, a fifteen-minute loop off the Ring Road. Ham-and-cheese croissants, proper skonsur, decent drip coffee. Eat in the window seat and watch the town go by.