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 not have been wrong when they staged their hunting adventures on Bullerö and the surrounding archipelago at the beginning of the last century. Something special must have attracted them. And indeed! Here the outer archipelago comes to an end. To the east lies the open sea. On the inside, the broad Bulleröfjärden separates it from the inner archipelago. To the west, far inland toward the mainland and the inner archipelago, the forest ridges of Nämndö are visible. Bullerö rests in solitary majesty at the very outermost edge of the sea band. Bruno Liljefors' hunting lodge, situated on an old hay meadow with a glimpse of the sea, still stands, now housing a museum.

Start and finish: The bridge abutment at the bridge over to Hölö just south of Stavsnäs. No parking available. Best to be dropped off and picked up. An alternative is Björnö nature reserve or Björkvik dock at the southern tip of Ingarö.

Distance: 36 km

Difficulty: Medium. In windy weather, difficult.

Map: Terrain map Southern Stockholm Archipelago, scale 1:50,000.

The trip offers: Outer archipelago, museum about Bruno Liljefors, open bays, open sea.

To avoid the heavy boat traffic at Stavsnäs, we launched our kayaks in the strait at Hölö bridge a little further south. We paddle through a narrow canal southward and soon round the southern tip of Hölö. The large, wide Nämndöfjärden lies open before us. But the waves are high. The wind is fresh and southerly and the boat traffic is dense. It is a weekend during holiday season. Our small group hesitates before the crossing of the bay. We drift with our hearts in our throats along the steep and inhospitable cliff coast of Hölö. In the event of a capsize there is nowhere to go ashore. We get almost halfway back to Stavsnäs before we muster our courage and, during a temporary break in the boat traffic, paddle across Nämndöfjärden as fast as we can in a tight group. We stay together primarily to be more visible but also to be prepared for a so-called assisted rescue if someone capsizes in the choppy sea. Munkö nature reserve on the other side of the bay does not allow camping. But on the skerries to the east, such as Limskären, there are options. The next day we make our way through the almost completely reed-choked narrow strait between Söderholmen and Ladholmen. Via the northern tip of Aspö, after rounding the bird sanctuary around Stora Finnholmen, crossing the sailing route northward toward Sandhamn, and passing Melskären, we reach the next morning the old settlement on the southern part of Bullerö. The old wooden houses huddle close together under a few tall deciduous trees among the cliffs inside the steamship dock. Here a few fisher families originally lived, but now the caretaker resides here. In the adjacent buildings, hostel accommodation is offered for a small number of guests. For kayaks, the best place to go ashore is in the bay just north of the steamship dock.

The caretaker's residence at Bullerö dock.

Waxholm III breaks the mirror-like water

To the west the sky appears to be darkening rapidly. We play it safe, quickly pack up our things and climb into the kayaks to get back closer to the inner archipelago before evening. We don't want to be stranded out here if the weather turns bad. The sound of a boat horn makes us look up and out over the bay. Slowly, slowly, as if in slow motion, Strömma Kanalbolaget's "Waxholm III" glides toward the island to dock. An almost reverent sight. It is silent and completely calm. The water lies smooth with a gray-mottled tone that merges with the sky. The red band around the funnel is the only thing that breaks the gray color palette. Apart from a kayaker in a red life jacket veering 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 with its rich birdlife up to Melskären where we camp for the night once again.

When we then once again cross Nämndöfjärden, all traffic has vanished. Low clouds with rain literally hanging in the air, fresh wind and an ordinary weekday are not inviting for the boating crowd. But for us the conditions are ideal. It stays comfortably warm as we constantly work with arms and upper body. The tailwind offers plenty of surfing opportunities. And perhaps above all, we have the archipelago almost to ourselves. The well-known boat of the archipelago doctor is the only one we encounter before we turn in behind the northern tip of Hölö and have shelter all the way down to the bridge abutment where we complete the circle and are back at the starting point.

Bullerö is a just-under-one-square-kilometer island in Nämndö parish in Värmdö municipality, located at the very outermost edge of the sea band in Stockholm's archipelago. The island is the main island in the Bullerö archipelago and is part of Bullerö Nature Reserve, which encompasses 900 islands, islets, and skerries with intervening bays. 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 purchased Bullerö in 1908 and made the island the family's summer paradise. Every summer he invited distinguished guests, which helped popularize the archipelago among Stockholm's upper class. Since 1967 the island belongs to the state. On the island there is a museum dedicated to Bruno Liljefors and nature trails. If you are not paddling or have another watercraft, you can get here by water taxi from Stavsnäs. During summer, two trips per day are operated. Booking must be made in advance.

The museum dedicated to Bruno Liljefors on Bullerö.

MS Waxholm III was built in 1903 at Bergsund shipyard in Stockholm to serve the Östgöta archipelago but was purchased in 1908 by Waxholms nya Ångfartygs AB to serve the route northward toward Arholma and Öregrund. Albert Engström was a frequently seen passenger on board. The vessel participated in the so-called Blidösund War when different shipping companies fought for passengers' patronage. During the war the boat was requisitioned by the Naval Administration. During the 1950s, Waxholm III served as an extra boat in the inner archipelago. From 1964 to 1991 the vessel lay as a floating grill bar in Vaxholm but was renovated and now operates in charter service in the archipelago.

Olle Persson