Vopnafjörður farm grows tourism business with hall and museum

Tourism at Ásbrandsstaðir farm in Hofsárdalur valley near Vopnafjörður continues to grow, with the family now offering camping, accommodation, entertainment and a small museum, mbl.is reports.

Erla Alfreðsdóttir and Haraldur Jónsson began hosting travellers in 2012, choosing tourism instead of building a new cowshed. They started with a single container building that they found advertised in Bændablaðið and collected in Selfoss.

A campsite with a service building opened in 2016. It has since expanded, with additional beds added in other buildings. Guests have access to cooking and laundry facilities, electricity and play equipment for children.

“It is always growing. I think this summer has been our most consistent so far,” Erla said. During the busiest period, there were rarely fewer than 20 vehicles at the campsite, and many large families stayed there. Both Icelandic and foreign travellers use the facilities, including groups of Icelanders travelling together in motorhomes.

Tourism at Ásbrandsstaðir dates back further than the current business. A large new house was built on the farm in 1961. At the time, bands and theatre groups travelled around the country, and the municipality agreed with Erla’s maternal aunt that she would accommodate such groups for payment.

Many anglers fishing in the Hofsá river also stayed at Ásbrandsstaðir. Erla specifically mentions Lúðvík Jósepsson, a member of parliament and minister, who could count on having a room whenever he came to fish.

When mbl.is visited, Erla and her son Jón were busy doing laundry, cleaning and preparing for the next guests. Jón also runs a small shop in Vopnafjörður with his girlfriend.

Guests at Ásbrandsstaðir can also take part in various activities. In 2020, Erla began converting an old machinery shed into a hall and museum. She revived the name Glaðheimar, which had been used for a community hall at the old farm of Torfastaðir in Vesturárdalur valley.

“The building fully deserves the name, because there is singing and dancing there when the occasion arises,” Erla said. She plays the accordion, and when her daughter lived at home, they used to sing together. They sometimes played for foreign guests for entire days, while groups also come to barbecue and ask the family to entertain them.

Glaðheimar also contains the beginnings of a museum about postal carriers. Erla’s great-grandfather, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, bought Ásbrandsstaðir in 1900 and worked as a postal carrier. In 1903, he began carrying mail from Vopnafjörður to Skinnastaður in Öxarfjörður, and the route was extended the following year to Víkingavatn in Kelduhverfi.

His son Runólfur began accompanying him in 1916 and took over the work seven years later. They made 15 journeys a year, 10 in winter and five in summer. Winter journeys generally took 10 days, while summer journeys lasted just over a week. Postal routes to Fagridalur and across to Jökulsárhlíð were added later.

Glaðheimar displays photographs and texts about the postal journeys, along with old items connected to them, including wooden skis, sledges, mail trunks and postbags from different periods. The most valuable objects are a post horn and a letter case with a copper postal emblem and crown that Guðmundur used during his time as a postal carrier.