Meet my Icelandic nemesis, the Kjalvegur route that winds its way through the central Highland plateau.

Shortly after taking this image the razor-sharp lava at the side of the road eviscerated a tyre when I pulled in to let a speeding 4WD past. When I managed to fit the spare – a job made more difficult due to the freezing rain, biting wind and the hire company not including all the tools in the toolkit – I soon discovered that it wobbled in a worrying fashion. It was only when I took the car to a garage that I found out that the spare wheel had a twist in it and I was lucky to have made it as far as I had.

So, round one goes to Kjalvegur but I will be returning for a rematch in 2016!