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A trip report by Olle Persson, shared by Långholmen Kajak – the Swedish part of Northkayak.
The artists Bruno Liljefors, Anders Zorn and Albert Engström, the flying baron Carl Cederström and the newspaper magnate Torsten Kreuger (brother of the financier Ivar) could hardly have been wrong when they held their hunting parties on Bullerö and the surrounding islands in the early 20th century. Something special must have drawn them here – and it did. This is where the outer archipelago ends. To the east lies the open sea; on the inside, the wide Bulleröfjärden separates it from the inner archipelago, and far to the west you can see the forested ridges of Nämndö. Bullerö lies in solitary majesty at the very outer edge of the islands. Bruno Liljefors' hunting lodge, on an old hay meadow with a glimpse of the sea, still stands and is now a museum.
Start and finish: The bridge abutment at the bridge to Hölö, just south of Stavsnäs. There is no parking, so it is best to be dropped off and picked up. Alternatives are Björnö Nature Reserve or Björkvik jetty at the southern tip of Ingarö.
Distance: 36 km
Difficulty: Medium; difficult in windy weather.
Map: A terrain map or chart of the southern Stockholm archipelago, scale 1:50,000.
The trip offers: Outer archipelago, the Bruno Liljefors museum, open bays and open sea.
To avoid the heavy boat traffic at Stavsnäs, we launch our kayaks in the strait at Hölö Bridge a little further south. We paddle south through a narrow canal and soon round the southern tip of Hölö. The large, wide Nämndöfjärden opens up ahead – but the waves are high, the wind is a fresh southerly and the boat traffic is heavy. It is a weekend in the holiday season. Our small group hesitates before the crossing, drifting with our hearts in our mouths along Hölö's steep, inhospitable cliffs, where there is nowhere to land in case of a capsize.
We get almost halfway back to Stavsnäs before we pluck up the courage and, during a lull in the boat traffic, paddle across Nämndöfjärden as fast as we can in a tight group. We stay together mainly to be more visible, but also to be ready for an assisted rescue if anyone capsizes in the choppy water. Camping is not allowed in Munkö Nature Reserve on the other side of the bay, but there are options on the skerries to the east, such as Limskären.
The next day we make our way through the narrow, almost completely reed-choked strait between Söderholmen and Ladholmen. Via the northern tip of Aspö, around the bird sanctuary at Stora Finnholmen, across the sailing route north towards Sandhamn and past Melskären, we reach the old settlement on the southern part of Bullerö the following morning. The old wooden houses huddle together under a few tall deciduous trees among the rocks behind the steamboat jetty. A few fishing families once lived here; today it is the home of the reserve's caretaker, and the neighbouring buildings offer hostel accommodation for a small number of guests. For kayaks, the best place to land is the bay just north of the steamboat jetty.
The caretaker's house at Bullerö jetty.
To the west the sky seems to be darkening fast. We play it safe, quickly pack up and get into the kayaks to be closer to the inner archipelago before evening – we do not want to be stuck out here if the weather turns. The sound of a ship's horn makes us look up. Slowly, as if in slow motion, the old archipelago steamer Waxholm III glides towards the island to dock. It is an almost solemn sight. It is silent and completely calm, and the water lies smooth and mottled grey, merging with the sky. The red band around the funnel is the only thing that breaks the grey palette – apart from a kayaker in a red life jacket turning to port. For a moment, time stands still.
The spell is broken, and we manage to cross Bulleröfjärden before the rain arrives. We follow the strait between Kalvholmen and Långskär, rich in birdlife, up to Melskären, where we camp for another night.
When we cross Nämndöfjärden again, all the traffic has vanished. Low clouds with rain hanging in the air, a fresh wind and an ordinary weekday do not tempt the boating crowd – but for us the conditions are ideal. We stay comfortably warm as we keep working with arms and upper body, the tailwind gives plenty of chances to surf, and above all we have the archipelago almost to ourselves. The well-known boat of the archipelago doctor is the only one we meet before we turn in behind the northern tip of Hölö and have shelter all the way to the bridge, where we close the loop and are back at the start.
Bullerö is an island of just under one square kilometre in Nämndö parish, Värmdö municipality, at the very outer edge of Stockholm's archipelago. It is the main island of the Bullerö archipelago and part of Bullerö Nature Reserve, which covers some 900 islands, islets and skerries with the bays between them. The reserve is managed by the County Administrative Board, which has a caretaker on the island, where there is also a hostel. The artist Bruno Liljefors bought Bullerö in 1908 and made it his family's summer paradise. Every summer he invited distinguished guests, which helped make the archipelago popular among Stockholm's upper class. Since 1967 the island has belonged to the state. There is a museum dedicated to Bruno Liljefors and nature trails. If you are not paddling, you can get here by water taxi from Stavsnäs in summer – check current timetables and book in advance.
The Bruno Liljefors museum on Bullerö.
MS Waxholm III was built in 1903 at Bergsund shipyard in Stockholm for the Östergötland archipelago, but was bought in 1908 by Waxholms nya Ångfartygs AB to serve the route north towards Arholma and Öregrund. Albert Engström was a frequent passenger. The ship took part in the so-called Blidösund War, when rival shipping companies competed for passengers, and was requisitioned by the Swedish Navy during the war. In the 1950s it served as a reserve boat in the inner archipelago. From 1964 to 1991 it lay as a floating grill bar in Vaxholm, but it has been restored and now sails on charter in the archipelago.
Open bays and busy boat traffic call for a seaworthy kayak, a bright life jacket that makes you visible, and clothing for wind and rain. See our sea kayaks, inflatable kayaks and kayak accessories. Want a longer route in the same area? Read a week through Stockholm's southern archipelago.
Text: Olle Persson
