this is laufskalarett, one of the biggest roundups in iceland.armer has a small piece of the paddock. you help each other out to put the correct horses in the correct part. this takes a while, but it works. i think we can definitely fit this one in my hand luggage. due to covid, this amazing spectacle has seen fewer people able to attend this year's event. usually it is packed with people, tonnes of people, everybody drinking, laughing, singing. it is much more quiet right now. so it is a little bit different but it is cosy, it is nice. you've got all the nearest family and friends, so... in normal times, a huge ball would be held after the event, that thousands of people would attend. but in farm houses across the countryside, icelanders are still celebrating in their own ways, that their faithful equine friends have made it home safely for the winter. all sing along. well, we are not in a great hall and no—one is drinking mead back there, but i think it is fair to say that when it comes to celebration, the old viking spirit is alive and well. n

this is laufskalarett, one of the biggest roundups in iceland.ing results? choral singing. canterbury cathedral is one of the most important places of worship in england and it�*s where archbishop thomas beckett was brutally murdered in 1170 by supporters of king henry ii. for hundreds of years, it�*s attracted visitors from all over the world, and one of his biggest draws has been its stunning stained glass. there�*s a magic about it. it changes all the time, with the light. our wonderful early mediaeval stained glass windows were made by the superstars of their time and they are truly some of the best in the world. behind the creation of these mediaeval masterpieces was the sophisticated and international artistic trade. most of the glass in the early and high middle ages was made in what is now northern france and southern belgium, that sort of region. they would make sheets of glass and then pack them into straw and onto barges and just send them across the rivers and across the channel to england. craftsmen, master masons, travelled all over

travelled to the north—west of iceland to attend one of the biggest roundups in the country, known as laufskalarettng out at this landscape, it's not terrible, is it? icelandic horses have been bred over the years to be friendly and trusting of humans, which means you can travel across the countryside in a unique fashion. the way we travel, when we are travelling without horses, we can stop and swap. so we're always having a fresh horse and we can keep up the tempo and we ride faster. we ride, stop, swap, go. we could go on forever, actually. this is a way to get the wild horses come with you. up, up, up, up, like this. whoa! most horses can trot, canter and gallop. but not every horse can do a special gait which does notjust get you across the harsh terrain but gets you across it quickly and comfortably. it feels like you're sitting on a soft sofa. they are very, very smooth. only one foot at a time is on the ground so moving like a fast walk, actually. we reach the final leg of our ride and to complete we have to cross an ancient trail which goes straight across this lake. but as we swap our hors