Near Kastelholms slott, Sund - Thursday, 8 September

Geoff
Looking at the map, I was curious about the two islands (East and West Simskäla) immediately north of where we were. They seemed impossibly remote. Turning out of our campsite, we turned right and followed the only road. In fact, I realised that our site hadn't been on the island of Vårdö, it was on Sandö. I said yesterday that the islands merge into each other sometimes and that was the case here. After a short drive along the forest lined road, we went on to a causeway with a single track over a bridge, with traffic lights. The road was a pinkish colour in the sunshine, being made of the local red granite. Either side of the bridge was water as far as the eye could see, with trees surrounding it and the odd wooden house of boat shed. Traffic was so light as to be almost non-existent.

At the tip of Sandö, the road continued along a causeway for maybe half a mile before abruptly coming to an end at a ferry point. We could see the ferry in the distance, stopped at the far side. It is a chain ferry that takes traffic 1.5km to East Simskäla. Further on, a bridge leads to West Simskäla (and you can't go any further from there). There was a sign which we didn't really understand which we thought gave the times the ferry operated and we didn't want to wait so we turned round and headed back the way we'd come. In retrospect, I think that if we'd waited a bit longer, the ferry would have come our way. Anyway, we drove slowly, soaking up the beauty and remoteness of the expanse of water all around.

We retraced our steps of yesterday, crossing the bridge by the Bomarsund Museum, pulling off into the car park on the other side. We wanted to explore what was left of Bomarsund Fortress. It was built by Tsarist Russia in the early 1800s because, at the time, Finland and the Åland Islands were part of the Russian Empire and Russia wanted to protect its possession against what they thought might be an attack by Sweden. This never actually happened. What did happen, in 1854, was an assault by a joint British-French force, which overran the fortress very quickly as, at the time, it was only quarter built. Altogether, something of a shambles on Russia's part. On the island of Prästö, the other side of the river from the fortress, is a walk of about 5km, taking in points of interest relating to the fortress. I'd have liked to have walked it but there wasn't enough time. We just looked around at the fragments of wall that remain, seeing also an engraved stone commemorating the 1854 assault erected on the occasion of a visit by HRH The Earl of Wessex in 2015. Apparently, the first Victoria Crosses were awarded to some of the fighting force.

Both the Puttes and Prästö campsites nearby were closed for the season, unfortunately. We might have stayed in the Bomarsund car park as there were a couple of festival loos there but it was too early. As we passed by the hamlet of Vartaga, I caught sight of a shop, a K-Market, so we took the next turn to get to it. Amazing to find a decently stocked little supermarket in such a location. All we really needed was bread. Just opposite the shop was a sign pointing to "Bokboden". I guessed what it was but it was a little gem. It was a small shed painted pale blue. On opening the door, we were bathed in light from the windows at the back. Inside were two chairs with a little table between them and at the side were some shelves of books. This was a little community library.

We then went on to find Jankarlsgården, a free open air museum of mainly farm buildings, and the nearby Kastelholms slott (castle). We had a quick look but decided to leave these until tomorrow. We are tucked away in a secluded spot for the night so we shall be the first visitors in the morning. There is free wifi at the castle entrance, a short walk away.

Amanda

Today we decided to see how much further we could get in the same direction. Although the site was great we were not sorry to leave all the insect life behind. We are both sporting some large, hard bumps! Some more lovely bridges led us over a couple of islands northwards, and then there was a long causeway heading in the direction of the furthest island, Enklinge. This must have been constructed recently, because the satnav thought we were on a ferry! The causeway stopped in the middle of the water, with a barrier across it, and we could see a ferry on the far side. Our guess is that eventually the causeway will go right across. There was no sign of the ferry moving, and no other vehicle in sight. An incomprehensible sign made us think that maybe we would have a long wait, and we would only have to come back again, so we turned round and retraced  our steps. It was no hardship, enjoying the views in reverse in the beautiful weather. In fact a later googled translation proved that the sign merely gave notice of some minor disruptions to the service.

After a few miles, and in the middle of nowhere, we saw a sign to a shop off the main road, and drove through a grassy lane to find a full blown and very well stocked supermarket. By the car park was a little blue hut with a sign "bokboden". A peek inside revealed shelves of second hand books, and a table and chairs, all very cosy!

We stopped for lunch across the bridge from yesterday's lunch stop, on the island of Sund, in the car park for Bomarsund Fortress. It is referred to as ruins, but in fact the fortress, conceived and built by the Russians at the beginning of the 19th century, was never completed.  The remains cover a large area, and we wandered around happily for some time. The history is very interesting and includes a successful joint British/French raid in 1854.

The campsite by the fortress closed for the season yesterday, and a quick nip back over the bridge confirmed that the Prästö site was also closed. So we went on a few more miles, still on Sund, to check out the opening times tomorrow for an open air museum and castle which we want to visit. The museum hadn't yet closed for the day, although there was no one around except the young lady manning the reception building. She was extremely helpful, and saw no reason why we couldn't stay here overnight! So, manned with guidebooks to read in readiness for tomorrow, we are tucked away in a shady corner of the car park with access to loos, and the option to wander around the museum this evening  viewing the buildings from the outside if we wish, We are even told that there is wifi 200 metres away at the entrance to the castle, although we have yet to check it out.