With tourism set to reach an all-time high in the Faroe Islands this year, travellers should seek out the archipelago's slower roads and newly opened sub-sea tunnels. Only minutes out of Sørvágur village on the island of Vágar in the Faroe Islands , the road crept towards a sheer verge above the ocean and I passed a signpost fixed with a distinctive sign. It wasn't marked with any numbers or words, just the image of a bright-yellow flower on a green background.
Ahead, the road zig-zagged, climbing past sod-roofed houses and a field of fidgety sheep, then vanished abruptly from sight through a dark mountain tunnel. Road signs usually warn users about speed limits, hazards or the presence of livestock or wildlife. So it took me a moment or two to work out its meaning.
The yellow flower on the sign is a marsh marigold from the buttercup family and it is the national flower of the Faroe Islands. With some of the strongest winds in Europe , no trees grow on the archipelago, so it is often this glossy buttercup, called sóljuleiðir in Faroese, that colours the grasses, ridges and clifftops. That day, however, the flower also was a siren call.
The signs on which it appeared were an invitation to drive away from the main highways, tempting me and other visitors to the lesser-travelled – and most beautiful – roads in the Faroe Islands. These "Buttercup Routes" are not just about getting somewhere quickly or on time. Rather, the vibe, excitingly, is Driving Miss Daisy meets .