0:00:02 > 0:00:04BIRDSONG
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Search and rescue teams are crossing Iceland's central plateau.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25A few kilometres below them, a huge reservoir of molten magma
0:00:25 > 0:00:28shakes the ground as it makes its way to the surface.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35The question is not IF an eruption will take place,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37but when...and where.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Icelanders have turned their unstable, cold, rugged island
0:00:45 > 0:00:48into one of the most modern and culturally-rich nations on earth.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53But they still keep one foot in the wild
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and a very careful eye on the beast stirring beneath them.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Over what turns out to be an explosive year,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and through the eyes of wild foxes...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08..an eider duck farmer...
0:01:11 > 0:01:12..and Viking horsemen,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15we'll see why everything on Iceland
0:01:15 > 0:01:18remains uniquely connected to the land underfoot.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Under the eerie glow of the Northern Lights,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Iceland is in the iron grip of winter.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Lying close to the Arctic Circle,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52with just a few hours of light a day,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54it has endured months below zero.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15At this time of year, it's hard to imagine Iceland's fiery origins,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18but the island emerged as molten lava
0:02:18 > 0:02:20from deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It's one of the planet's newest pieces of land.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Everywhere are reminders of how little time it's had
0:02:32 > 0:02:34to shed its raw, rocky character,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and how closely it's connected to the very centre of the earth.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Iceland is so new and so isolated in the North Atlantic
0:02:52 > 0:02:54that, until relatively recently,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57there were no land mammals here at all.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12But during the last Ice Age,
0:03:12 > 0:03:17when it was connected to Greenland by ice bridges and ice floes,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20a very tenacious predator turned up.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28The Arctic fox.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Iceland's first land mammal,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37in its many colour variations, was here to stay.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47But how it survived on Iceland without any of its regular prey,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52like lemmings, has long fascinated scientist Ester Unnsteinsdottir.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58'This is an Arctic species, it's adapted to the Arctic winter,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00'which is really cold.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03'And you can see it on the thick fur,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07'it's the thickest fur in the universe, so very well insulating.'
0:04:08 > 0:04:11It's actually better than a polar bear's
0:04:11 > 0:04:12against the biting cold.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Enduring extreme weather is one thing -
0:04:21 > 0:04:25its biggest challenge on Iceland is finding food.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28They need to eat.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31And if they don't have enough food in the wintertime,
0:04:31 > 0:04:37especially before breeding, they don't manage to breed properly.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41There is a remarkable lifeline.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46An arm of the Gulf Stream helps to keep much of Iceland's
0:04:46 > 0:04:49long, rocky coastline ice-free.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52So even in winter, foxes can scavenge
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the washed-up remains of fish, seabirds and sea mammals.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Only the toughest foxes hold on to a slice of good shoreline territory
0:05:16 > 0:05:18and get the chance to breed.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22But first, they have to find a mate.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41A dark male appears to have won over a brown female.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45A white male is desperate to mate with her, too.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And succeeds in grabbing her attention.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02For a while, he seems to have outfoxed his rival.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13But it doesn't end well for him.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17The white male will have to try elsewhere.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Hopefully, this brown female, with the victor in tow,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27has the strength she'll need to have a family.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38For the weak or the inexperienced, winter is a punishing time.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Less than half of all foxes survive.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Sea mammals have an easier ride.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58The ice-free waters offer
0:06:58 > 0:07:01some of the best fishing in the North Atlantic...
0:07:03 > 0:07:07..attracting not just seals, but whales and dolphins.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13The fertile seas were a good reason for humans to settle here, too.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21The first Vikings colonised Iceland just over a thousand years ago.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Down the generations, through fishing and farming,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28they have carved out a unique way
0:07:28 > 0:07:31of dealing with the many limits to life.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Most of Iceland's people, just over 300,000 of them,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40are descended from the original settlers.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And many still work the land in tried and tested ways.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Even their livestock traces back to the animals
0:07:48 > 0:07:50the Vikings brought with them.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Purest and most admired is the Icelandic horse.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06It's smaller and much hardier than most other breeds.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Owners give them a little help towards winter's end,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14but mostly, they tough out the cruellest of weather.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21The best way to raise livestock here is to keep the animals semi-wild.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25It gives them the character and spirit to survive
0:08:25 > 0:08:27in this austere volcanic landscape.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39But with little prime grazing land,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Icelanders could never rely on their livestock alone.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Long ago, the arrival of squadrons of swans, ducks and geese
0:08:50 > 0:08:53would have offered relief from dwindling winter rations.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00One species offered much more than a meal.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Eider ducks are among the millions of birds that are drawn to Iceland
0:09:08 > 0:09:10from all around the North Atlantic.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19These days, Thor Bjornsson makes an unusual living from them.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23But he can't start work until the eiders have finished pairing up
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and have come ashore.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42He, and the birds, are waiting for spring.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Exposed all winter to brutal Atlantic storms,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Iceland has been blanketed by huge volumes of snow.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14When that melts, it fills thousands of streams and rivers.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20And cascades over some of Europe's
0:10:20 > 0:10:22largest and most powerful waterfalls.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Iceland is so new and remote
0:10:51 > 0:10:55that relatively few species have made it here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Its hardy pioneers are always under pressure.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Even now, it's a race to make the most of longer, warmer days ahead.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18After a winter of famine,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22male ptarmigan are hungry to reach the buds, packed with proteins,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25which are swelling at the top of willows and birches.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32It's a precarious high-wire act
0:11:32 > 0:11:36for a bird that spends the majority of its time on the ground.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Down on the coast, Thor is impatient
0:11:47 > 0:11:50for the eiders to get on with mating.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Millions of other migrating and resident birds
0:12:01 > 0:12:04are already nursing eggs, set to take advantage
0:12:04 > 0:12:08of what will be a very short, but bountiful summer.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15BIRDSONG
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Eventually, the eiders return to the western islands of Breidafjordur,
0:12:27 > 0:12:28finding the same nest scrapes
0:12:28 > 0:12:32that their mothers and grandmothers used before them.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The mother duck cradles her eggs in a pillow of down
0:12:40 > 0:12:42collected from her own breast feathers.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47There is no other duck down like it.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54It's this down that Thor wants to harvest,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57but he'll need his extended family to help gather it.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Thor's farm consists of nearly 300 small islands.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09And they'll have to deal with over 3,000 wild eider ducks.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16It's going to be a busy few weeks.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Spring has finally reached Hornstrandir,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29the craggy, lonely, north-western corner of Iceland.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40After a severe winter, this female fox
0:13:40 > 0:13:44is hanging around one of only two den sites.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51The lack of food over the past few months will have taken its toll,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53but now she has to step up a gear.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57She's looking after not just herself...
0:14:08 > 0:14:10..but six newborn cubs.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Her work is cut out.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20She's a mum with a sky-high milk bill.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Just to keep up production, she's going to have to spend
0:14:23 > 0:14:26the next weeks hunting fulltime.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Arctic foxes are feisty opportunists.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50They may be small, but when livestock arrived on Iceland,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54they soon worked out how to kill animals much larger than themselves.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00In response, the early settlers began hunting foxes
0:15:00 > 0:15:02to keep their numbers under control.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Today, foxes still take livestock
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and the hunting quotas enshrined in law in the 13th century
0:15:11 > 0:15:13are still in force.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18On Iceland's marginal land,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23the challenges facing both fox and farmer cannot be underestimated.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Making a living out here is tough.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34For farmers like Halldor, horses are their pride and joy.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42These days, Halldor and his son-in-law, Snorri,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44mostly breed them for riding.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Horses are still better than 4x4s
0:15:53 > 0:15:56on Iceland's rough tracks and mountain passes.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Just as sturdy and dependable
0:15:59 > 0:16:02as when they were the backbone of Icelandic communities.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE:
0:16:52 > 0:16:55The finest horses became highly-regarded status symbols.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19SNORRI IN ENGLISH: You had a lot of respect if you had the best horse.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Even if you were a poor farmer,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23if you had the best horse, you had respect.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27HALLDOR SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:17:27 > 0:17:30SNORRI TRANSLATING: "Really important for the young guys to have a nice horse
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"when they were looking for girls.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36"When you came with good clothes, on a nice horse,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37"you had a good chance."
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Every spring, Halldor checks on his pregnant mares.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54He hopes his favourite stallion will be the father.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59The very best foals will be much admired at the end-of-year round-up,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02but Halldor has no control over their arrival.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06They give birth to their foals in secret.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Often after dark, and without help.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Halldor has to trust that his mares are robust enough to cope.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37Over 3,000 eider ducks are now settled on eggs on Thor's islands.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49He and his family carefully comb each rocky outcrop,
0:18:49 > 0:18:50looking for nests.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Thor's unusual livelihood allows him
0:18:55 > 0:18:58to spend time in the wildest parts of Iceland,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01among the nature he loves so much.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'I started about 1970.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08'And I was 14 years old then.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13'I found it very, very nice to be with the birds, like this.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17'Collecting down and all the wildlife around it.'
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Thor carefully sets the eggs aside, removes the down,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and will re-cushion the eggs in soft, warm hay.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33The female ducks can then return to their duties with no harm done.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37His yield is limited by the number of birds that return each year.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Some years are better than others and...
0:19:45 > 0:19:49..we get up to 55 kilos of eiderdown.
0:19:51 > 0:19:57Normally, it's about 65 nests in one kilo of down.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Eiders have proved tricky to domesticate.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Their down can only be farmed from wild birds.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08To increase overall numbers,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Thor collects and rears a few offspring
0:20:11 > 0:20:13that may not otherwise survive.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18'A lot of young ones, eider ducklings, die in many ways.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23'Bad, er...weather, wet and windy.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25'They cannot get enough food.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28'So normally, they maybe raise up one duckling,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30'two ducklings, something like that.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32'We take one or two eggs from the nest,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'depends how many eggs are in the nest.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40'When we started here, it was about something between 500 or 600 eiders
0:20:40 > 0:20:43'nesting in the homeland area, but now it's more than 1,000,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45'so they come back.'
0:20:48 > 0:20:51While his eggs are incubating, Thor gets down to business.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59Nearly three quarters of all eider duck down comes from Iceland,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01and it's all gathered by hand.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Thor's family painstakingly pick the down clean
0:21:06 > 0:21:08before it's bagged up for sale.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13Most becomes a cosy filling for high-end duvets, quilts and jackets.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Its secret may lie in the way the fibres flex and lock together,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26creating thousands of minuscule air pockets.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It's such effective insulation
0:21:29 > 0:21:32that it's been used to keep astronauts warm in space.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39This is duck down that's flown to the moon and back.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43CHIRPING
0:21:46 > 0:21:51After a few days under a heat lamp, Thor's ducklings begin to hatch.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53They grow quickly.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57In the wild, eider ducklings can fledge after just a month.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59CHIRPING
0:22:03 > 0:22:04But under Thor's wing,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08they stand a much better chance of making it to adulthood.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10CHEEPING
0:22:24 > 0:22:26For these first days, at least,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29they only have eyes for their new duck dad.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35They won't follow him around long-term,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38but Thor will have to spend the rest of the summer
0:22:38 > 0:22:40as a stay-at-home father,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44teaching them skills they'll need to become wild birds.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51The longest days of the year are approaching,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54when the sun barely dips below the horizon.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56The fullness of summer
0:22:56 > 0:22:59is only really felt around the island's edges.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Hardly anything lives on the vast, ash-covered central plateau.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Its many volcanoes erupt too frequently and violently
0:23:16 > 0:23:19to give life much chance.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25It's like a sleeping giant that everyone's turned their back on,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28but dares not forget is there.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Watching over the fox family,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Ester is spending more and more time on the Hornstrandir peninsula.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53The cubs have been weaned,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56but Mum's workload just gets bigger by the day.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Sibling rivalry can be lethal.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08It's thought that each fight reinforces their rank in the family.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Dogged determination decides who gets most food
0:24:13 > 0:24:16and who, ultimately, survives.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40This mum seems to be made of particularly stern stuff
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and is providing for all six of the cubs.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57She's raising her family close to one of the most prolific
0:24:57 > 0:25:00seabird colonies in Iceland.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04There's lots of tempting food on offer.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08The problem is that it's perched on sheer walls of rock.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32If ever there was a high-stakes game, this mother is playing it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47One false step and she will plunge hundreds of metres
0:25:47 > 0:25:49onto the rocks below.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Her cubs will effectively die with her.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55SQUAWKING
0:26:18 > 0:26:20She's found a kittiwake.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24But with a growing family,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28she will have to risk her life over and over again.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Today, she has the cliffs to herself,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37but until the 1950s, foxes were in direct competition
0:26:37 > 0:26:41with the people who eked out a living on this far-flung peninsula.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48'It was very harsh, even for humans, you know. It was really tough.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52'Bad winters and, er...not easy to survive.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56'So, both for humans and foxes.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59'And they were probably using the same resources,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01'both space and food,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03'so they were feeding on birds and eggs.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05'And that's what people were also feeding on.'
0:27:08 > 0:27:10On the remote island of Grimsey,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13they still gather eggs from the massive summer colonies.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Its long coastline and towering cliffs of resistant volcanic rock
0:27:21 > 0:27:25provide ledge space for thousands of kittiwakes and guillemots.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And burrows above for puffins.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32BIRDSONG
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Across Iceland, there is still the taste for seabird eggs.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47A traditional and free-range alternative
0:27:47 > 0:27:49to battery-farmed chicken eggs.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54These days, the kit may be relatively modern,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57but it still requires an old-fashioned head for heights.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Timing is crucial.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Eggs are scooped up right after laying.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19The theory being that as soon as the birds realise
0:28:19 > 0:28:21their egg has gone, they'll re-lay.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26The collectors simply delay the hatch by a few days.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The length of cliff which each collector sweeps
0:28:57 > 0:28:59is strictly controlled.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Today, these eggs are sold through supermarkets,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10or traded for autumn berries from the mainland.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33For many, foraging remains a part of everyday life,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36tapping into the rich natural resources around them.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49The most remarkable resource of all is the heat beneath their feet.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58The island lies over the edge of two continental plates
0:29:58 > 0:30:01that are pulling away from each other.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Iceland is being stretched apart in the middle.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09It's the easiest place for boiling molten rock
0:30:09 > 0:30:11to rise towards the surface.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17This readily heats groundwater,
0:30:17 > 0:30:19which, day to day, can be rather useful.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Long ago, Icelanders discovered how it could slow-cook
0:30:24 > 0:30:27one of their most celebrated foods, lava bread.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Every household has its own secret recipe for roobrau,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37but each loaf will be baked in much the same way.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Once the dough is bucketed up, it will be placed in a hot spring -
0:30:45 > 0:30:48nearly every rural community has one -
0:30:48 > 0:30:51and then left for 24 hours.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06The immense geothermal power on offer
0:31:06 > 0:31:09has transformed the lives of all Icelanders.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13They live just south of the Arctic Circle.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Yet, modern, ground-heated greenhouses
0:31:15 > 0:31:18allow them to ripen vegetables and fruits
0:31:18 > 0:31:21that wouldn't otherwise stand a chance of growing here.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30They've created a sustainable bubble
0:31:30 > 0:31:32in which plants and their pollinators
0:31:32 > 0:31:36defy the limits of growing on raw, northern rock.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44But along with their daily bread, Icelanders are fed updates
0:31:44 > 0:31:47on the many earthquakes that occur on the island.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50It's as routine as the weather forecast.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53And this year, it seems, more important than ever.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00In late May, a swarm of 200 earthquakes
0:32:00 > 0:32:04register under the Bardarbunga volcano in central Iceland.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09It lies under Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajokull.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13And eruptions in the past have caused catastrophic floods.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24There's no evidence as yet that magma is on its way to the surface,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26but pilots overflying the area
0:32:26 > 0:32:30are asked to keep an eye on any changes to the ground below them.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39On this extraordinary island,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41ordinary life simply goes on.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46There have been over a dozen eruptions
0:32:46 > 0:32:48in Halldor's lifetime alone.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Right now, he has more immediate concerns.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01One of his mares has just given birth.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Like many creatures that evolved on open grassland,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10the foal's instinct is to get on its feet as quickly as possible.
0:33:39 > 0:33:40It seems healthy.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58The new foals will stay close to their mothers
0:33:58 > 0:34:00for most of their first year.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07But it may be the last Halldor sees of them for a long while.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17Soon, all his horses will move up the valley and into the mountains.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20It will give these lower pastures a break.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26But the move is also important to encourage the foals to run free.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30If they're to survive their first winter,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32they need to become resilient.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41Horses from all the farms around here
0:34:41 > 0:34:44are allowed to return to their roots.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Just like the ancestral wild horse of the Eurasian Steppes,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50they'll roam in large herds
0:34:50 > 0:34:52and won't see their owners
0:34:52 > 0:34:54for many months.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58You want to keep this wildness a little bit in the horses.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00And this is the best place to do that.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05And it's also really important that young horses go there, foals,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08to learn this as quickly as possible.
0:35:08 > 0:35:13This strengthens their mind a lot to do this.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Because you never know in Iceland, if... Just...
0:35:17 > 0:35:20If it gets lost on the mountains,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23they know how to help themselves.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28I think also for the growing of the horses and the young horses,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33it's, like, it grows much better and stronger on the mountains.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38The Skagafjordur region prides itself
0:35:38 > 0:35:41on producing the very best Icelandic horses.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Strict rules control the breed.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52A horse sold abroad is never allowed to return,
0:35:52 > 0:35:56having lost the magic mix of wildness and trainability.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01This is the trait Halldor's foals must develop
0:36:01 > 0:36:04if they are to do him proud at the end-of-year round-up.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23The short summer is pressing on.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Wild eider ducks are already leading their young broods out on the water.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38The eider is a diving duck
0:36:38 > 0:36:41that spends the whole winter living at sea.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43It's vital they become powerful swimmers.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Thor's ducklings, too,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54must begin learning how to face the trials ahead.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Younger members of the family lead the way.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10They get very quickly very big and strong.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14And we bring them to the sea every day, or sometimes twice a day,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17to feed in the sea and swim a little bit.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Here, they'll build up their muscles and sharpen their instincts.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27They're still vulnerable to the cold
0:37:27 > 0:37:29and to ravenous black-backed gulls,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32so the children must guide and protect them.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38First days, we have to look very well after them
0:37:38 > 0:37:40because they want to go away.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44So we try to gather them and so they don't swim away.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49This wilful streak is good.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51It means they haven't been tamed.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10All in all, it's a fun way for the kids to connect with nature.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23And the smallest member of the family
0:38:23 > 0:38:25gets to talk down to someone else.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50It's home-time.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55The ducklings are gently herded and counted back in.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57Where they'll fluff themselves back up
0:38:57 > 0:39:00in readiness for the next stage of their training.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09For now, it's job done.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16BIRDSONG
0:39:16 > 0:39:20In Hornstrandir, the Atlantic Ocean is slowly gnawing
0:39:20 > 0:39:24at what remains of a very ancient and immense lava flow.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33On its unforgiving edge, the mother fox has defied the odds.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45All six of her cubs are still alive.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Although life is a challenge, they currently stand
0:39:47 > 0:39:51a better chance in Iceland than elsewhere in the Arctic.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59'There's very few Arctic foxes left in Scandinavia.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03'And they have been endangered for many, many years.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08'But they're facing troubles that we are not facing here in Iceland.'
0:40:08 > 0:40:13Ester believes the big problem for Arctic foxes in Scandinavia
0:40:13 > 0:40:16is the northward march of the red fox, due to climate change.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21As it moves into Arctic fox territory,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23the red fox takes over their den sites,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27competes for food and even kills adults and young.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36The Arctic foxes on Iceland remain out of reach.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38The island is an important stronghold for them.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Mum's job is nearly done.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48In the next few weeks, the cubs will leave home.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58Hunger may force them into taking livestock,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00where they risk being shot.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15The odds are that not all of these cubs will survive
0:41:15 > 0:41:18the coming winter, or go on to breed.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23But the Arctic fox has an almost heroic ability
0:41:23 > 0:41:26to turn hardship into opportunity.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32This mum's given them the best possible start in life.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53This far north, the limits to life
0:41:53 > 0:41:56for animals and humans, are very stark.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00So Icelanders have never been shy of taking from nature.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Traditionally, they've harvested everything from seabirds to whales,
0:42:07 > 0:42:11fish to seals, some of which they still take today.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17But it's clear that if you live on an island,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20especially one so remote and northerly,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22you cannot take more than you need.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Ever since the Vikings first landed,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32fishing the rich offshore waters
0:42:32 > 0:42:35have been fundamental to the country's economy.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39In the 1970s, Iceland even used gunboats
0:42:39 > 0:42:43to defend a 200-mile fishing limit around their coast.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49Today, with careful management,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52their fisheries are some of the most sustainable in the world.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Their long-term thinking has helped other countries, too.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Icelandic rivers are important spawning grounds
0:43:11 > 0:43:13for the Atlantic salmon.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20But in the 1980s, salmon started to decline,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22due mainly to overfishing
0:43:22 > 0:43:24by commercial operations on the high seas.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32By raising funds to buy out the netting operations,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35effectively paying them not to fish,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38millions of salmon were given a chance
0:43:38 > 0:43:41to return to rivers, from Norway to North America.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48The problem is far from over.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Striking a balance between harvesting and protecting
0:43:51 > 0:43:53is an ongoing effort,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56but Icelanders manage it in their own unique way.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00It's a country where hunting and gathering
0:44:00 > 0:44:03sit side by side with modern life.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13A nation with a dynamic economy, built around Reykjavik,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16the most northerly capital city in the world.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Cheap, clean, renewable power warms homes,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24keeps the lights on and provides mains' hot water.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Even city pavements have underfloor heating.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Reykjavik's Opera House celebrates music and drama
0:44:34 > 0:44:37inspired by the original Icelandic sagas.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42But Icelanders are necessarily rooted in reality.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48They can never forget they're living over a huge
0:44:48 > 0:44:51and widening tear in the earth's crust.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55And as summer draws to a close,
0:44:55 > 0:45:00the giant reservoir of molten rock under them is beginning to stir.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Back on the Breidafjordur islands, wild eider offspring
0:45:11 > 0:45:14are learning what to eat by watching their parents.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35It's Thor's job to introduce his ducklings to the kind of food
0:45:35 > 0:45:37that will keep them going out on the open water.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43When they grow up, they'll be diving mainly for molluscs,
0:45:43 > 0:45:46which they eat, shell and all.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50Tiny crustaceans, stirred up from the shoreline,
0:45:50 > 0:45:51are good starter foods.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01In the end, Thor, as a surrogate duck dad,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03can only give them a helping hand.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13Little by little, they spread their wings,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15foraging a little further from home,
0:46:15 > 0:46:18becoming a little wilder every day.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25But they swim then between here, close to the island
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and go on their own trips feeding,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31but they always come home in the evening.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35So they find something in this ocean to eat,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40so it make them a good start in their new life in the world.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Eventually, Thor leaves them on their own.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52His nurturing work is done.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56Nature will take over from here.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02But Thor hopes their homing instinct
0:47:02 > 0:47:05will bring them back to his islands next year.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20In the high pastures, ripening blueberries
0:47:20 > 0:47:24and the turning leaves mark the slide to autumn.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Even though the first snows are dusting the mountains,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35it's a time eagerly awaited by farmers
0:47:35 > 0:47:37in the northern area of Skagafjordur,
0:47:37 > 0:47:42for it also heralds the event of their social calendar,
0:47:42 > 0:47:43the annual round-up.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24The horses might die up here in winter blizzards,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28so farmers join forces to gather up the different herds
0:48:28 > 0:48:30and drive them all down the valley.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34For this year's foals,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37it's a complete surprise to be near humans again
0:48:37 > 0:48:39and it goes against the grain.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04But this independent spirit
0:49:04 > 0:49:07is exactly what Halldor and Snorri want.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10It's what the Vikings saw in the ancestors of these horses
0:49:10 > 0:49:13when they traded them from Mongolia
0:49:13 > 0:49:16and brought them to Iceland over 1,000 years ago.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30This is horse-trading nature's way.
0:49:45 > 0:49:46THEY NEIGH
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Somehow, each farmer must separate their own horses from the crowd.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02But they're judging everyone else's at the same time.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14No horse is broken in until it's at least four years old,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17so most of them have a mind of their own.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20But this is what they love about them.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25It's been the only way to raise horses
0:50:25 > 0:50:27in Iceland's harsh environment.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36Their return from the mountains, though, always brings deep relief.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16When all is done, Halldor and Snorri
0:51:16 > 0:51:18will lead the horses back to the farm,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21as generations have done before them.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08The land under their feet demands respect.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11And in this, of all years.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16High in the central plateau,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19the Bardarbunga volcano has sprung into life.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Over a thousand earthquakes in a single day
0:52:22 > 0:52:28suggest a huge volume of molten rock trying to reach the surface.
0:52:28 > 0:52:29But where?
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Fearing massive floods
0:52:32 > 0:52:36should the eruption melt the Vatnajokull glacier,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39search and rescue teams evacuate a vast area.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Hour by hour, scientists track the earth tremors
0:52:45 > 0:52:47that mark the movement of the magma.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50The column of hot rock is snaking northwards.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05Eventually, it breaks through a fissure in the plains,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07just beyond the edge of the glacier.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13It's big. Probably the biggest lava eruption
0:53:13 > 0:53:17that we have seen for 30 years or so, I would guess.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22As it turns out, nothing like it
0:53:22 > 0:53:25has been seen on Iceland for over 200 years.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40The fissure is about 400 metres long,
0:53:40 > 0:53:45but lava pours out at nearly 300 cubic metres a second,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47like a cut that won't stop bleeding.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53Underneath Iceland, the Eurasian plate is pulling eastwards
0:53:53 > 0:53:58and the North American plate is pulling westwards.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01Until this eruption, the island has been spreading apart
0:54:01 > 0:54:04at two centimetres a year.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Here, it's opening up ten times faster.
0:54:10 > 0:54:16The lava is a ferocious 1,200-degrees centigrade.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18It would melt even cast iron
0:54:18 > 0:54:21and incinerate a human being in seconds.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27This is as close as we get to seeing into the centre of the earth.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53The ground shakes as the fissure splits open even further,
0:54:53 > 0:54:57creating a rift that's 1.5 kilometres long.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14Pumped by pressure that's been building for centuries,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18superheated gas and water causes tonnes of lava
0:55:18 > 0:55:22to fountain up to 100 metres into the air all along its length.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27These are the same monumental forces
0:55:27 > 0:55:29that created Iceland in the first place.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34Over the next six months,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38the lava flow covers over 85 square kilometres.
0:56:45 > 0:56:4985,000 tonnes of poisonous sulphur dioxide
0:56:49 > 0:56:52is released into the atmosphere every day.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02In 1783, an eruption on Iceland
0:57:02 > 0:57:05threw up so much ash and sulphur dioxide
0:57:05 > 0:57:08that it's thought to have caused famine on a global scale
0:57:08 > 0:57:12and the deaths of six-million people worldwide.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Miraculously, this fissure allows the colossal pressure
0:57:18 > 0:57:22under Bardarbunga to be released slowly.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Had it gone off just a few kilometres away,
0:57:25 > 0:57:28explosively, under the Vatnajokull glacier,
0:57:28 > 0:57:30the picture would be very different.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41It's the ultimate reminder that the lives of all Icelanders
0:57:41 > 0:57:43depend on the raw forces beneath them.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53A wild life,
0:57:53 > 0:57:55uniquely connected to nature, it may be,
0:57:55 > 0:57:59but the remarkable people and animals that live here
0:57:59 > 0:58:02have learned how to work with the land,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04rather than fight against it.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09They've taken all of Iceland's opportunities
0:58:09 > 0:58:11and challenges in their stride.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15GENTLE BARK