A visit to the Ålands devolved Parliament, the Lagtinget:  the following morning, we phoned the VW garage in Mariehamn to arrange for them to check the camper's engine, receiving a helpful response from the service manager; we arranged an appointment for 1pm today. We were away early and drove along to re-visit Eckerö church (see above right). On a beautiful sunny morning, the Åland countryside looked so peaceful. On the way into Mariehamn, we called in at Kattby church in the morning sunshine (see above left) (Photo 12 - Kattby Church). Around by the eastern harbour at Mariehamn, we had time this morning to revisit the Islands' devolved Parliament, the Lagtinget (see right) (Photo 13 - Lagtinget in Mariehamn).

Although politically part of the Finnish state, Åland (pronounced Aw-land) enjoys a unique status as an autonomous and demilitarised self-governing region of Finland, made up of an archipelago of 6,700 islands and skerries. The largest, Main Island is home to 90% of the 27,000 population. Åland was first settled by people from Sweden, and historically the Ålanders have spoken Swedish and retained their Swedish culture and identity. It was part of the Swedish Kingdom until 1809 when disastrous defeat in war forced the Swedes to cede all of Finland including Åland to Tsarist Russia. The strategically placed islands were fortified as the Russian Empire's western extremity. With the Bolshevik Russian Revolution in 1917, representatives of Åland's municipalities met secretly to demand re-unification with the Swedish motherland. Finland also seized the chance to declare itself an independent republic in 1917, citing the same principles of self-determination as the Ålanders, but refusing to acknowledge Åland's claim. They even imprisoned the islands' leaders on charges of high treason. The issue of Åland's constitutional future was referred in 1921 to the newly formed League of Nations, which true to its later sad history, proposed a compromise solution. Finland was granted sovereignty over the Åland Islands, but was obliged to guarantee the Ålanders their Swedish language, culture and self-governing status. The Autonomy Act established the devolved Åland Parliament, the Lagtinget, which now exercises autonomous government and control of its own budget in matters of education, health, transport, industry, policing, postal and communications services. The Finnish State retains law-making powers in foreign affairs, civil and criminal law, customs and state taxation. A portion of taxation revenue is assigned to the devolved Åland government which manages the islands' budget. Under the Autonomy Act, Swedish is the official language in Åland, used by state authorities, and is the language of tuition in schools. But such is the indifference towards Finland that most Ålanders can neither speak nor understand Finnish and regard the Finnish language as an irrelevance.

The Lagtinget receptionist greeted us for our re-visit with news of a final session of the Parliament before the summer recess at 1pm today, which we were welcome to attend; unfortunately this was just at the time of our garage appointment. She did however show us the parliamentary chamber where the 30 member Lagtinget holds its plenary sessions (see above left) (Photo 14 - Ålands' devolved Parliament). We also viewed again the series of murals in the parliamentary lobby illustrating the Islands' history; these conclude with the scene of the Ålanders' delegates storming out of the Helsinki parliament in 1921 after Finnish rejection of the demands for the Islands' re-unification with Sweden (Photo 15 - Pictorial history of Åland) (see above right). We talked at length with the Lagtinget receptionist about constitutional and current issues, and learned that Finland gained one additional EU parliamentary seat at Strasbourg in the post-Brexit re-allocation but this was not awarded to Ålands, still a matter of controversy. We also learned that the title of Lagtinget (meaning Law Assembly) had been changed from Landtinget (meaning Regional Assembly) at the time of the 1993 constitutional revision to emphasise Åland's law-making autonomy. We also discussed Finland's and Sweden's NATO application which she said was supported by the majority of Ålanders in the face of Putin's aggression. Although Swedish-speaking, she clearly identified with Finland, referring to Sauli Niinistö as"our President". It had been another memorable encounter, and again we had learned much.

Sailing ship Pommern moored at Mariehamn harbour:  having eaten our lunch sandwiches sat in the Lagtinget gardens (see left), we drove along Mariehamn's main street to re-visit the sailing ship Pommern. Åland had once maintained one of the world's largest fleets of merchant sailing ships lasting into the 20th century. One of these the Pommern, a steel-hulled sailing ship built in Glasgow in 1903, is now moored at the quayside near the Maritime Museum at Mariehamn's harbour. This was of particular interest to us since she had operated the grain route from South Australia, holding the record for completing the home run to England around Cape Horn in 86 days. These sailing merchantmen had loaded grain at the South Australian ports of Port Pirie and Port Germaine on whose piers we had stood on our visit to our daughter in Adelaide (Photo 16 - Sailing ship Pommern) (see right). It was now approaching 1pm and we drove out to the Mariehamn VW garage. The service manager came out to meet us, and an hour later he reported they had fixed the camper's turbo. The engine was still running noisily on acceleration which he put down to fuel injection irregularities; it would be too big a job to undertake further investigations, but he assured us the camper was safe to drive. We could only take his word for that, and no charge was made for the checks.

Wild Orchids at Nåtö Nature Walk south of Mariehamn:  we decided this afternoon to re-visit Nåtö south of Mariehamn for the Naturstig (nature walk) to see again the wild orchids which grow there. Back through the town and out along the narrow peninsula to the south, we parked by the magnificent wooden post-windmill (Photo 17 - Nåtö wooden post-windmill). Immediately at the start of the nature walk, we found a large patch of mixed lemon-yellow and ruby-red Elderflower Orchids growing side by side in profusion, called in Åland Adam and Eve Orchids (see left). We followed the path around and out to the eastern shore, seeing many more Elderflower Orchids and Early Purple Orchids with their taller, more bluey-mauve flowers showing white markings as the florets opened. The path circled back through a more forested area of pines and spruces (see right), and returned through open wooded meadows. This delightful nature walk truly lived up to its name with the variety of wild flora seen growing there: Lily of the Valley, White Wood Anemones, pollarded Hazel trees, Juniper bushes, a carpet of Birdseye Primrose, clumps of Marsh Marigolds in wetter ground, Cowslips, Water Avens, Herb-Paris and Solomon's Seal both in early bud. See our photo-gallery of Ålands wild flora: Wild Flora of Ålands

Back through Mariehamn we returned out to Eckerö and re-settled into Söderhagen Camping for a final night. Later as we settled up with Sven for our 3 nights' camp, he told us more about the horrific impact of Covid on the Islands' way of life: in 2021, the public ferries were unable to operate for 5 months, and government subsidies were necessary to keep access to the islands open and food supply maintained. For this long period the islands were entirely cut off from the outside world. Later as the evening grew dusky, a pair of Muntjac deer scampered around the campsite, and by the time we turned in it was markedly chill.

Kvambo Church in Saltvik:  the following morning, we first drove down to Degersands at the southern tip of the peninsula to walk down to the deserted shore-line which enclosed this beautiful bay. Here we sat on the shore side rocks drinking in the peace of this magnificent setting with the morning sunlight sparkling on the surf lapping over the rocks (see left) (Photo 18 - Degersands Bay). Finally leaving Söderhagen, we headed into Mariehamn to shop for provisions at Spar Hallen. In the fish kiosk, the girl serving us turned out to be Latvian and was surprised to learn that we knew her home town of Jēkobspil in the Daugava valley. We headed north through Godby (click here for detailed map of Åland Islands) to re-visit the 13th century Church of St Mary in the village of Kvambo in Saltvik (see right) (Photo 19 - Kvambo Church). Unfortunately the church was locked so we were unable to see the interior.

Jan Karlsgården Skansen:  from Saltvik we cut across to Route 2, the main road out to Prastö and Vårdö, and turned off through the grounds of Jan Karlsgården Skansen. This was founded in 1931 to preserve traditional wooden historical agricultural buildings and windmills from around Åland, re-erected here in this beautiful rural setting. Admission was free and in bright sunshine we were able to wander across the hillside looking at the farmstead with its Åland flag proudly fluttering on the flagpole (Photo 20 - Jan Karlsgården Skansen). On walking down the hill towards the fjord (see below left) to photograph the preserved post-windmill and traditional fencing where the apple trees were just coming into blossom, the old windmill was nowhere to be seen; it had been destroyed by a severe storm in 2019 and awaited restoration. We walked back past the 3 windmills aligned along the bedrock granite hillside, and the summer pole still bearing last year's greenery decorations and lying ready to be re-dressed afresh this coming summer.

Wild camp at Bomarsund Fortress:  we continued eastwards towards the ruins of Bomarsund Fortress to investigate the two possible wild camp spots we had identified for tonight. The first was near the ruins of the former Imperial Russian garrison town of Skarpans, amid wonderful native Ålands terrain with pines and birches and extensive outcrops of bed-rock granite. It was in a beautiful setting with a small gravelled, grassy flat parking area and picnic table; this certainly looked an attractive spot for a wild camp. The other possible spot was along the dirt road out by the ruins of Prästötornet, one of Bomarsund's outlying defensive towers across the sound on Prästö island. This would be more exposed but overlooked the channel separating Bomarsund from Prästö beyond the bridge. We drove along past the ruined remains of Skarpans out onto the main road, but horrors - the arched Prästö bridge was no longer a thing of beauty to be photographed against the channel and backdrop of Bomarsund fortress walls. It was now totally shrouded with scaffolding and closed to traffic. For a moment it also seemed that Prästö and Vårdö were inaccessible. Hesitantly we crossed the replacement temporary bridge alongside onto Prästö, gazing in amazement at all the building work taking place on Prästö's once elegantly arched bridge. 200m further and we turned off onto the dirt road leading out to Prästötornet on the northern tip of the island. But at the far end, the lane was gated off close to the grassy area and tower ruins where we had thought to wild camp. We therefore left this and returned over the temporary bridge to Skarpans and our first wild camp option.

It took a while to find a flat spot on the parking area grass, but we finally settled in and set up camp. It truly was an attractive spot to camp, surrounded by pines and birches and looking out over the bed-rock granite outcrops (Photo 21 - Skarpans wild camp) (see above right). We sat enjoying the beauty of the peaceful surroundings. The bright late afternoon sun was still warm, but it would doubtless become chill when the sun set later. The only disturbance was a very occasional local car passing along the dirt road to isolated dwellings, and the distant noise of traffic along the main road. During the evening the temperature did drop, and the sun was just setting as we turned in.

The Prästö Kulturstig (Historical Trail) around Bomarsund graveyards:  we enjoyed an undisturbed night in this peaceful spot, and woke to an overcast, drizzly morning. Crossing the temporary Prästö bridge again this morning showed fully the extent of renovation works taking place on the arched bridge; it was taking over 2 years to complete and was not due for re-opening until 2023. Our plan for today was to walk the 5.5 kms circuit of the Prästö Kulturstig (Historical Trail) around the Bomarsund graveyards.

Following Tsarist Russia's punishing defeat of the Swedish Empire in the 1808~09 war, Imperial Russia gained possession not only of the whole of Finland but also the strategically positioned Åland Islands; they immediately began to fortify and garrison the Åland Islands as a furthest westward defensive outpost of the Russian Empire. Work began on construction of the massive fortress at Bomarsund as defence against Swedish retaliation. This epic project to create a fortress to accommodate a garrison of up to 2,500 troops would take decades, and brought to Åland thousands of soldiers, penal gangs of construction labourers, craftsmen, quarrymen and masons. Such garrisons were the most ethnically and religiously diverse communities, reflecting the breadth of the Russian Empire. Civilians with their families, along with civil servants, and merchants, were stationed here in the township of Skarpans (near the ruins of which we had camped last night) which grew up around the fortress of Bomarsund. The massive walls of Bomarsund fortress, which covered a huge area by the channel between Sund and Prästö, were faced with precisely cut granite blocks quarried locally in an attempt to make the fortress cannon-proof. But when an attack from the west came, it was not from Imperial Russia's old adversary Sweden. In 1854, the Western Allies sided with Ottoman Turkey against Tsarist Russia in the Crimean War, and a combined British~French naval squadron attacked Bomarsund. The enormous and seemingly impregnable fortress had been under construction for 40 years and, despite its planned scale, was in fact only 25% completed. Despite its formidable defences, Bomarsund was no match against the Royal Navy's more modern weapons and tactics, and fell within a matter of days. The Russians surrendered the fortress, the incomplete construction work of four decades was destroyed by explosives, some 2,000 Russian POWs were transported to prisons in Britain and France, and under the terms of surrender the Åland Islands became a demilitarised zone which it remains today. The fortress was never rebuilt.

During the 19th century Russian occupation of Bomarsund Fortress, Prästö Island was the site of the fortress' military hospital and extensive areas of burial grounds, with many of the garrison and civilian population dying from epidemics. Surrounded by sturdy walls of granite blocks, six graveyards covered the island of Prästö, divided into sections reflecting the religious origins of the many nationalities buried here from around the Tsarist Empire: soldiers and POW construction workers drafted to this western outpost of empire, together with merchants and civilians attracted to the settlement which developed around the fortress. Today's walking route around Prästö island would take us past the remains of these graveyards.

Across the width of Prästö, we parked by the Vårdö ferry on the island's eastern side, and set off back along the road for the start of today's walk (click here for map of Prästö Kulturstig). The first of the granite-walled graveyards we came to was the New Russian Orthodox burial ground begun in 1842 with five surviving stone monuments: one to a Russian merchant and his family, and another to a military engineer and his infant son. Nearby was a small area for Catholic burials; these would have been Poles drafted here as POWs from the crushed Polish national rebellion against Russian rule in 1830~31. Only two of the gravestones survive. The next graveyard was for those of Lutheran faith, mainly Finnish and other non-Russian soldiers and their families. The Lutheran burial ground was consecrated in 1846 and is still in use for local Lutheran burials from Prästö. The way-marked pathway led across to the far side of the Orthodox cemetery, shelving through dark pine woods along the lower slopes of an escarpment, then climbing its way up through the rocks of a low cliff, finally mounting the sheer upper section of the rocky escarpment on a wooden step-way. At the foot of the escarpment ascent, we found this year's first specimens of Chickweed Wintergreen shyly nestling in the damp shade beneath the wooden steps. The path emerged onto the magnificent bare granite-slabbed summit plateau of Ångsbergen. We followed the route across the plateau, its exposed granite outcrops dotted with stunted pines and covered with extensive carpets of dry, crusty lichen (Photo 22 - Ångsbergen plateau-top) (see above left). Despite today's gloomy weather, this was truly exquisite terrain covered with Bilberry, Lingonberry, and bed-rock granite outcrops. At the fell-top plateau's highest point, a wooden observation tower gave a panorama across Prästö's multi-green forest-scape to the surrounding sea (see above right). Bomarsund Fortress' Notvik defensive tower stood out on the headland above the northern sound, and to the south, we could see the sound from which a British~French fleet attacked Bomarsund in 1854.

The well-marked path wound its way across the fell-top and descended the steeper granite slabs on northern side of the plateau, to drop down through the pines, Bilberry and Lingonberry to a forest track-way which branched off through pine woods. Here banks of Lily-of-the-Valley (Kielo, Finland's national flower) were just coming into bud along with elegant Dog-Violets. Just along the trackway through a grove of tall pines, we paused for our lunch sandwiches, sitting on a pile of cut birch trunks. The forest track emerged at the western side of the island into an open meadow which had once been the former Orthodox cemetery where the majority Russian Orthodox community at Bomarsund had been buried. It was consecrated soon after the occupation of Åland in 1815 near to the military hospital on Prästö. Most of the wooden Orthodox three-barred cross grave-markers, for the thousands of burials during the thirty years of the cemetery's usage, have long since disappeared; the only evidence now of burials are the undulations of the uneven ground, now grazed by sheep. By 1842 this burial ground had been filled, leading to the creation of the New Orthodox Cemetery on the island's eastern side which we had passed earlier. At the northern end of the former graveyard where the forested hillside edged the sheep meadow, sturdy granite-block walls enclosed cemeteries segregated for Jewish and Muslim burials from Bomarsund. The first area contained six surviving Jewish grave-stones engraved with Hebrew text on one side and Cyrillic on the reverse. It is not known whether other Jewish burials were made here, but in 1854 the Jewish community at Bomarsund numbered around one hundred. Just by the Jewish cemetery's wall we found lovely specimens of blue Hepatica flowers (see left), the only ones we had seen this late in their flowering season. We also found more Spring Vetch, the maroon flower of the pea family recalled at this location on a previous visit. The far enclosure was for Muslim burials; no grave-markers survive and although some mounds remain, it is not known how many burials were made here. Little is known of the Muslim community at Bomarsund, but it is likely they were POWs who worked as labourers. The first half of the 19th century was for Russia a period of conflict with Islamic nations, with repeated wars against the Ottoman Turks and numerous rebellions in the newly occupied Caucasus provinces; it is likely therefore that Muslims at Bomarsund were POWs from these conflicts.

From the far corner of the former Orthodox cemetery, past the sheep and lambs now grazing the meadow, the path climbed over a rocky outcrop at the head of a small inlet, dropping down to pass one of the former stone quarries where masons had cut and shaped the octagonal granite blocks for facing the fortress' walls. We had driven along this lane yesterday looking for a possible wild camp spot along by the outlying defensive tower at the northern tip of Prästö just opposite the Notviks tower across the sound. Built as much to impress as for defence, little now remained of the once sturdy structure which over the years had been plundered for stone and brick building materials. From here. a two kilometre foot-slog back along the dirt road brought us to the main road across Prästö island. 400m along the road, we turned off on the southern side by the former Russian telegraph station. This had been built in 1912 when the Russians had attempted to re-occupy the Ålands militarily in defiance of the 1856 demilitarisation treaty that had ended the Crimean War sack of Bomarsund. Beyond the site of the original Bomarsund military hospital, we followed the track-way around past houses and gardens of the modern South Prästö settlement. The path circled around close to the water's edge to emerge back at the road close to our start point close to the Vårdö ferry.

Sandösunds Camping on Vårdö Island:  we were just in time for the free-of-charge chain-ferry which conveys vehicles over the narrow sound to the next island of Töftö (click here for detailed map of Åland Islands). Here a causeway-bridge crossed onto Vardö Island, a fruit-growing area with fruit tree frames stretching across the fields. Through Vardö village past the sturdy-looking church, we turned north through Lövö village towards the island's tip where a dirt lane leads to Sandösunds Camping set in a forested clearing alongside Sandö Sund (Sound). Parking on the flat bed-rock slabs, we eventually found the enigmatic owner Olof Salmi whom we had met on the 2 previous occasions we had camped at Sandösunds. We pitched down at the shore-side camping area looking out to the waters of an inlet of Sandö Sound (see above right) with the distant low-lying islet of Adö on the skyline. The first of the trip's mossies buzzed around our heads as we settled in, a sign of things to come! Despite the disappointing weather, today's walk around Prästö had provided another feast of Ålands wild flora: Wild Flora of Ålands

Stallhagen Micro-Brewery pub:  we woke to a hazy sun on a still morning, and breakfasted looking out across the waters of Sandö Sund inlet. Sandösund Camping's facilities were good with fully equipped kitchen but a long trek carrying bowls of washing-up from the camping area. The morning drifted by and it was gone noon by the time we were away. Leaving George's reserved plaque, we headed back towards the Prästö ferry to shop for provisions for our forthcoming weekend on isolated Brandö Island, and to re-visit the  Stallhagen Micro-Brewery pub. We just reached the ferry in time to drive straight on board for the next crossing. Across the width of Prästö and Sund to Godby, and we turned north for a lunchtime beer at the  Stallhagen Micro-Brewery pub.

Stallhagen Micro-Brewery is the islands' only micro-brewery which, from its foundation in 2004 by Brewer Christian Ekström, has continued to increase its range and output of high quality, hand-produced beers; these range from a light honey-beer, a pilsner-style lager, a brown ale, through to the monumental 7% dark Baltic Porter. We had first visited Stallhagen Micro-Brewery pub in 2012 when Christian Ekström the brewery's founder showed us around the brew-house, and each time we are on Åland, we take the opportunity for a re-visit. Today, a new outdoor seating area had been added since our last visit in 2018, meaning that on a sunny day the pub bar was empty. We ordered our beers and sat inside to enjoy them along with the familiar Stallhagen traditional atmosphere (see left) (Photo 23 - Stallhagen Microbrewery Pub). What was immediately noticeable was the increased number of customers speaking Finnish, rather than Swedish which had been the norm for Åland; the barman clearly spoke fluent Finnish, and we had in the last couple of days seen many more Finnish-registered cars. Later in conversation with one of the other members of staff, we learned the reason for the increased proportion of Finnish visitors. During the periods of Covid lockdowns, the border with Sweden was inevitably closed; but with the islands being part of Finland, Finns (who were prevented from going abroad) could travel to Åland. The habit had clearly stuck, and more Finns than we had been accustomed to seeing over here were still travelling to Åland.

We drove back to Godby to shop at Mattsons' supermarket, but stocks and variety were sadly lacking, particularly for fresh meat, fish and vegetables; perhaps this was an after-effect of distribution problems caused by Covid. We needed to cross to the S-market to complete our shopping. It was 4-30pm by the time we were finished to drive back across the width of Sund and catch the Prästö ferry for the final time, and return to Sandösund Camping to re-pitch in our reserved spot looking out over the inlet with the sun still shining brightly.

Lövö Naturstig (Nature Walk):  after a warmer night, we woke to a heavy mist covering the Sandö Sund inlet which separated Vårdö's northern peninsula from the intermediate island of Sandö. As we were drinking early morning tea, 2 very large hares scampered past. Our plan for our final day on Vårdö was to walk the 4.5kms circuit of Lövö Naturstig (Nature Walk), which starts directly from Sandösunds Camping, and climbs over the red-granite bed-rock fell-side up to Lövö village, and back around through forest to the campsite by the sound (click here for map of Lövö Naturstig). We set out along the campsite driveway at just after 10-00am, and at the road-crossing and start of the path we found the first of today's floral gems, a patch of elegant Lily of Valley in fuller flower than those seen on Prästö 2 days ago, and beyond the boathouses (see above right), some beautiful specimens of Chickweed Wintergreen and tiny May Lilies still in tight bud. The ongoing path, clearly way-marked with white paint marks on boulders and lines of cairns, advanced upwards gaining height steadily across the hillside on an almost clear pavement of lichen-covered, glacially-scoured slabbed granite bed-rock outcrops, scattered with stunted pines and spruce and floor-covering of Bilberry. We paused frequently for photographs in this peacefully idyllic paradise (see above left) (Photo 24 - Lichen-covered Lövö fell-side). This granite slope gave a living text-book lesson in soil formation: the layers of lichen caused fallen pine needles and moss to accumulate in hollows in the bed-rock; this composted over time to form a thin organic layer of proto-soil, where young pine saplings or green-leafed plants such as Bilberry could take root. But what was so marked this year was how dry the fell-side was and the lichen so crumbly; the newly-formed thin soil layer and layers of moss were so barren dry and peeling away from the bed-rock slabs, killing off the newly germinated young plants and pine saplings. Rain was so badly needed. At one point, a large hare paused on the skyline before scampering off. As we advanced up the fell-side, in a shady rocky hollow we found the next floral gem: a small patch of Lingonberry with the first flower buds of early summer (see left), the first seen this trip. On a low-growing pine, we were able to distinguish clearly the male and female cones (Photo 25- Male and female pine cones).

Towards the top of the slope we reached a temptingly convenient granite boulder to sit for our lunch sandwiches (see above right), revelling in the peace and beauty of this magnificent wild terrain. Among the lichen clumps growing at our feet, we again found examples of the tiny red trumpet-shaped fruiting heads and spore bodies of lichen (Photo 26- Lichen spore bodies). Continuing up the final part of the slope to the radio mast, the terrain changed from open pine-forested, lichen-covered fell-land to green, deciduous woodland with ground-covering of wild Lily of the Valley. Reaching the dirt road, we found a magnificent patch of Solomon's Seal with its characteristic curved branches and creamy-white pendulous flowers (see right). The ongoing route wound over bed-rock slabs around behind old buildings to emerge down at Lövö post-windmill (Photo 27- Lövö post-windmill) (see below left). Almost at the road in Lövö village, the ground was covered with bright yellow and purple Heartsease Wild Pansies and scattered among these flowers of Meadow Saxifrage. Lövö had been the site of a 2 year long Peace Congress in 1718~19 to negotiate an armistice during the Great Northern War in hostilities between the Imperial Russians under Peter the Great and the Swedish Empire under Charles XII; some 1,200 delegates encamped here, indulging more in feasting than securing a conclusive peace treaty in this lasting and destructive war.

200m along the road from Lövö village, Österängsvägen farm-trackway turned off; the light sandy Ålands soil in the surrounding tilled fields looked so dry and barren. The lane led around to enter dense pine and birch woodland; here the midges were so bothersome that, for the first time in Ålands, midge head-nets became necessary. The footpath meandered a winding way through the forest, with Bilberry, tiny May Lilies scarcely in bud, Chickweed Wintergreen, and Wood Sorrel with its bright green trefoil leaves carpeting the forest floor. On the far side of the forest, the labyrinthine network of paths finally emerged back at the campsite. All the other campers had moved on and we moved George to pitch looking out over Sandö Sund inlet (see right) (Photo 28 - Sandösund Camping) where the fresher breeze closer to the water kept the midges at bay. Today had been a memorable re-walk of Lövö Naturstig in bright weather, with a profusion of wild flora, but the barren dryness of the lichen-covered terrain gave cause for concern. See our photo-gallery of Ålands wild flora: Wild Flora of Ålands

Ferry on to Brandö, easternmost of Åland islands:  after an enjoyable 3 nights stay at Sandösund Camping, an early start this morning to catch the onward ferry to Brandö, the easternmost of the Åland islands. We had time to divert at Vårdö village to the well stocked small shop at Vargata for provisions, before heading out to the ferry dock at Hummelvik at the South-East side of Vårdö Island (click here for detailed map of Åland Islands). We were the first vehicle to arrive at the normally busy ferry port, and joined the Torsholma ferry lane; the other queuing lane was for those travelling to the intermediate North-Eastern islands of Enklinge, Kumlinge and Lappo on the way to Torsholma on Brandö. The ferry appeared in the distance and swung around to dock (Photo 29 - Ferry at Hummelvik for Brandö), for vehicles to disembark, arriving foot passengers to board the waiting bus, and queuing vehicles to board (see left). The morning had been overcast until now, but by time we were aboard drizzly rain had started and visibility was poor. It was far too wet for us to be out of deck for the usual photos as the ferry pulled away, and we settled into the ferry lounge for the 2½ hours crossing. We got into conversation with another passenger at the same table. She was a Swedish-speaking Ålander from Mariehamn, clearly an educated and like-minded lady; a retired teacher originally from Stockholm, her family was from Åland, and she was now crossing for a weekend at her family summer-house on Brandö. She also spoke English fluently without trace of accent, and we talked at length about matters affecting Sweden: about the changing nature of Swedish society with the numbers of immigrants; she asked about our travels in Scandinavia, surprised at the extent of our knowledge of Sweden and Finland. We discussed Finland and Sweden joining NATO, and the difference between the two countries' past attitudes towards their neutrality, the former arising from post-WW2 expediency, the latter as a cultural, ideological matter. All in all it was another rewarding conversation from which we learned much. It was a fascinating sea-scape for the entire crossing through the Ålands archipelago, passing a multitude of islets. But it was simply too cold and wet to venture onto the outer deck for photos as the ferry called briefly at the intermediate islands.

Arrival at Brandö:  at 13-55, the ferry finally docked at Torsholma. Our map showed the ferry port to be located on a tiny skerry just off the southernmost of the chain of islets which makes up Brandö, the easternmost district of the Ålands (click here for detailed map of Brandö). Brandö is not itself just one island, but in fact a lacy archipelago of a thousand islands, islets and skerries, the principle group of which are interconnected by bridges and causeways (see above right), so that on the map the road running the length of the Brandö island-group seems to travel as much over sea as over land. From the ferry port islet, the road immediately crossed a lengthy causeway to the larger island of Torsholma, and turned north over further causeways and bridges to begin the 20kms drive up the archipelago chain. With the entire surrounding sea-scape dotted with a myriad of islets and skerries, navigating the ferry channels throughout the Ålands archipelago must require such incredible skill and experience. The next major island in the chain was Baggholma which in turn was linked by bridge to Nötö. This in turn was further linked by bridges over an intervening islet-dotted channel to the main island of Brandö (click here for detailed map of Brandö) where Brandö village housed the island-group's church, school, small shop, and fire station. At its northern end Brandö was linked via bridges across a channel and intervening islet to the next in the island sequence of Björnholma. Here the road continued north to the ferry port of Åva for the on-going crossing to the Finnish mainland (itself a misnomer in this archipelago-world) at the northern tip of Åva island, the topmost (well almost!) of the Brandö archipelago.

Fisketorpet Camping at Korsö on Western Brandö:  at the Björnholma road junction, today we took a westwards minor road over bridge-linked islets to the island of Korsö. Through the hamlet of the same name we finally reached our goal, Fisketorpet Camping. We had exchanged a number of emails with Ingeborg the campsite owner, starting in 2019 when we had originally planned this journey. The Ålands trip had to be cancelled that summer because of the need for George's roof repairs; then the same trip in both 2020 and 2021 had to be cancelled because of Covid. Now third time lucky, we had finally made it to Brandö and Fisketorpet Camping. We had phoned Ingeborg two days ago from Sandösunds to remind her of our arrival today by Ferry from Hummelvik; she had said to phone again on reaching the campsite since the reception was closed out of season. As we arrived, Ingeborg's husband walked over, and from him we learned that his wife was ill; so perhaps we should not meet her in person after all this time. Fisketorpets Camping's shore-side setting amid granite outcrops and looking out over the sea to a distant horizon of islands was utterly stunning. We have over the years camped in many wonderfully memorable places, but this took the prize. If only the weather had been warm and sunny, and the sky and sea blue as during the last two weeks, it would have been a perfect idyllic paradise. But today, being miserably wet and grey with a chill NW wind blowing, this somehow took the gloss off Fisketorpet's perfection.

With all the shore-side granite outcrops, it was difficult to see exactly where we should camp, but Ingeborg's husband led us down to the supposed camping area, assuring us of the finest camping spot in the whole of Finland; we followed slightly incredulously. But he was right: sure enough George was pitched amid the granite outcrops surrounded by stunted Juniper bushes and somehow levelled on a high grassy knoll looking out seaward to the island-spangled skyline; unfortunately today misty rain clouds obscured the distant horizon. Shivering with cold and anxious to be out of the wind-driven rain, we quickly settled in, plugged into power and switched on George's heater.

Once inside and warm, we could reflect on the experience of our arrival on Brandö and the drive up the length of the archipelago. It was such a pity that toady's wretched weather and cold, misty rain had deprived such a journey of any views or opportunity for photos. Brandö's topography was utterly bemusing: we had envisaged arriving at one elongated island, but instead 'Brandö' consisted of a long, complex and belief-defying archipelago consisting of a series of islands, islets and skerries, interconnected by causeways and bridges over a multitude of intervening channels, inlets and sounds, with a narrow road threading its way incredibly up the length of this network of islands (click here for detailed map of Brandö). It was such a pity that our arrival on Brandö coincided with such a miserably wet, cold day so obscuring any views of this topography.

And the campsite was indeed a perfect idyll, or at least it would have been had the weather not been so cold and wet with wretchedly poor visibility. Camped among the shore-side bed-rock granite outcrops and stunted Juniper bushes, we looked out over a steely-grey sea with a myriad of islets scattered along the scarcely visible horizon; if only we could see and appreciate such an unprecedented outlook. These granite bed-rock outcropping slabs among which we were camped, and which make up the low-lying islands and skerries of the archipelago, were truly magnificent. Their surface was striated from the grinding and scouring effect of the retreating glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago when sea-levels were higher before the post-glacial land uplift. It was like camping among the pages of a living geology text book. But in this wretched weather, all we wanted to do was get out of the rain and get warm! Later as we cooked supper, the rain eased, but the evening remained chill and heavily overcast.

A day in camp at Fisketorpets Camping, Brandö:  magically we woke to a bright and sunny morning and first priority this morning was photos of this shore-side camp setting (Photo 30 - Shore-side pitch at Fisketorpet Camping) (see above left). And as we sat eating breakfast we could but marvel at this magnificent outlook over the sea towards the island-spangled horizon (see above right) (Photo 31 - Breakfast at Fisketorpet Camping). This wonderful location was an idyllic place to take a day in camp, and throughout the day we would break off to gaze out from atop the bed-rock slabs to gaze out seaward admiring this panoramic view around the horizon (Photo 32- Panoramic horizon view) (see above left). Exploring other corners of the campsite revealed more hidden coves with boat moorings and different views around the coast (Photo 33 - Wooded coastal cove) (see right), or along the Brandö archipelago (Photo 34 - Brandö archipelago).

Despite the campsite's wonderful location and its expensive price of €30/night, Fisketorpet's facilities were limited and basic with just one dry privy, a small kitchen cum common room with no hot water for washing up without boiling a kettle; showers were only available in the shore-side wood-saunas. It was always a matter of amusing irony when campsite owners in Finland or Sweden proudly offered us usage of their wood-fired sauna; our seemingly ungrateful response was thank you but we'd rather have a hot shower, and separately! For us, washing is a functional, not social activity; saunas are not a Scandinavian habit we were likely to acquire. But our rest day at Fisketorpet had been wonderfully restful and productive, and later as the evening became chill again, a magnificent golden sunset lit the cloud-decked western sky (see left) (Photo 35 - Fisketorpet sunset), a fitting climax of our stay at Fisketorpet.

Leaving Ålands and crossing to Finnish mainland:  after such a memorable stay at Fisketorpet, we were away early the following morning to enable us to reach Åva ferry-port at the northern tip of Brandö and be sure of a place on the ferry for today's crossing to the Finnish mainland (click here for detailed map of Brandö). We had been warned about the aftermath of a recent maritime incident at Hummelvik which had damaged  the large ferry M/S Altågeln normally operating the route to Torsholma. While this ferry was undergoing repairs, it would be replaced by M/S Viggen which normally covered the Åva~Osnäs half of the overall route. In turn Viggen had temporarily been replaced by a smaller ferry whose lesser vehicle capacity had caused severe delays with booked passengers having to wait until the next day. Although our Åva~Osnäs booking was not until the 12-30 crossing, we wanted to ensure an early place in the queue to guarantee a crossing today.

We were away from Fisketorpets by 9-30am for the 20 minute drive up the northern part of the Brandö archipelago to Åva. Back to the Björnholma road junction, we turned north crossing a watery gap on a causeway to the intermediate island of Söderholmen. Over another channel, the road passed the Brandö Fiskefabrik (fish factory) (see above right) to continue along the length of the larger island of Åva, and across a further channel to Bolmö, finally reaching the ferry port at the island's northern tip (see left). Apart from the pier extension work taking place, the port was deserted when we arrived just after 10-00 (see right) (Photo 36 - Waiting at Åva ferry-port); we now had a couple of hours to wait, but we had achieved our intention of securing our place. More vehicles gradually arrived, including a Finnish motorcyclist who said that the crossing should be quiet on a Monday morning; he added that last evening the Finland national ice-hockey team had beaten Canada in the finals to become world champions. The celebrations should mean that most Finns would be suffering from hangovers this morning!

The ferry arrived from Osnäs and a truck and a few cyclists disembarked; we continued waiting to board (Photo 37 - Åva fery-port). This was certainly a smaller ferry with decidedly less vehicle capacity. Eventually at 12-25 the barrier lifted, lower height cars were directed aboard and we finally boarded at the head of the central lane (Photo 38 - Boarding Åva~Osnäs ferry) (see left); we had our passage.

This smaller ferry had no lounge and passengers stayed in or alongside their vehicles for the 45 minute crossing. With Brandö and its northerly neighbouring island of Jurmö left behind, we finally said farewell to the Ålands, at least until July when we should return via Kökar and the Southern Line ferries after our stay in Mainland Finland. During the crossing we stood at the ferry's rail looking out at the passing islands (Photo 39 - Ferry crossing to Osnäs) (see right).

Arrival at Osnäs/Vuosnainen on Finnish mainland:  after what seemed a remarkably short crossing, the ferry docked at Osnäs (Swedish)/Vuosnainen (Finnish) and we drove ashore onto the Finnish mainland to set off on Route 192 (click here for detailed map of route). But we were not finished yet with crossing watery gaps; after a few kilometres, a further ferry awaited to take vehicles over to Kustavi. We began seeing familiar Finnish road signs, and also passing a multitude of speed cameras to trap unwary drivers speeding from arriving ferries! George had a further fill of diesel at a Neste station, and we continued on Route 192 almost to Turku. Here initially we joined the E8 motorway. A short distance further, we turned off onto the E18 motorway around the north of Turku through roadworks where the trunk road was being converted to Motorway standard. Finally clearing the roadworks and with traffic now light, the A1 motorway led out towards Salo, signposted for Helsinki (click here for detailed map of route).

Vuohensaari Camping, Salo:  into the town of Salo, we shopped for provisions at a K-Market; after the comparative paucity of variety in fresh foodstuffs in Mariehamn, this store was well-stocked. It was however a case of needing to re-familiarise ourselves with Finnish words for foodstuffs. With our shopping secured, we headed out through Salo town for tonight's campsite, Vuohensaari Camping just outside the town. The campsite was set on a lake-island, approached by a causeway from the town's industrial suburbs; it was shared with public leisure areas of parkland and lake-beach. When we arrived, it was heaving with townsfolk enjoying the warm sunshine. We were well-received by the English-speaking youngsters at the café-reception, but the price was expensive at €29 including a Camping Card discount. The camping area sloped every-which-way on the island's hilly ground and power supplies were limited. But we settled in and relaxed (Photo 40 - Vuohensaari Camping), weary after today's ferry crossing and taxing 84 mile drive around Turku. Facilities were brand new and sparklingly clean, with a fully equipped kitchen-common room and wash-up. The hot sun that had greeted our arrival soon dipped below the lake-island's tall trees, and the temperature dropped. Tomorrow we should begin our journey across Southern Finland and the next phase of this year's travels, which will be covered in the next edition.

Second edition from Finland to be published quite soon

		This week's Photo Gallery
		Top of News Page
		Wild Flora of Ålands
		Return to Home Page

	Demark 2019	Baltics 2018	Iceland 2017	Sweden 2016

Finland 2115 Norway 2014 Sweden 2013 Finland 2012 Baltic States2011 Australia 2011 Poland 2010 Czech Republic 2009 Sardinia~Corsica 2009 Slovakia 2008 Croatia 2008 Denmark 2007 Sicily 2007 Alsace 2006 Greece 2006 Hungary 2005 Pyrenees 2005 Slovenia 2004 Greece 2004 Home Page Site Plan Who we are  Publications  Contact Us

© Langdale-Associates (Publications) 2004~2023