The artists Bruno Liljefors, Anders Zorn and Albert Engström, the air baron Carl Cederström, the newspaper man Torsten Kreuger (brother of the financier Ivar) could not have been wrong when they moved their hunting adventures to Bullerö and the surrounding archipelago at the beginning of the last century. Something special must have attracted them. And very true! Here the outer archipelago ends. Outside in the east the sea is open. Inside, the wide Bulleröfjörður separates the inner archipelago. To the west, far towards the mainland and the inner archipelago, Nämndö's forest curtains loom. Bullerö rests in solitary majesty in the outermost strip of sea. Bruno Liljefor's hunting lodge located on an old hay meadow and with a glimpse of the sea still remains, now containing a museum.

Start and finish: The bridge attachment at the bridge over to Hölö just south of Stavsnäs. Parking is missing. Best is to be transported here and picked up. An alternative is Björnö nature reserve or Björkvik's jetty at the southern tip of Ingarö.

Length: 36 km

Difficulty level: Average. In windy weather difficult

Map: Terrain map of the Southern Stockholm archipelago at a scale of 1:50,000.

The tour offers: Ytterskärgård, museum about Bruno Liljefors, open bays, open sea

To avoid the heavy boat traffic at Stavsnäs, we have launched our kayaks in the strait at the Hölö bridge a little further south. We paddle through a narrow channel to the south and soon round the southern tip of Hölö. The big wide Nämndöfjärden lies open in front of us. But the waves are high. The wind is fresh and southerly and the boat traffic is heavy. It's the weekend in holiday time. Our small group hesitates before crossing the bay. We drift with our hearts in our throats along Hölö's steep and inhospitable cliff coast. In the event of a capsize, there is nowhere to go ashore. We make it almost half way back to Stavsnäs before we pluck up the courage and, in a temporary interruption in boat traffic, paddle across Nämndöfjärden as fast as we can. We keep the group together primarily to be seen better but also to be prepared for a so-called buddy rescue if someone capsizes in the bumpy lake. The Munkön nature reserve on the other side of the bay does not allow camping. But on the islands east of that, e.g. There are possibilities for glue cutters. The next day we make our way through the almost clogged narrow strait between Söderholmen and Ladholmen. Via Aspön's northern tip, after rounding the bird protection area around Stora Finnholmen, crossing the sailing route north towards Sandhamn and touching the Melskären, we reach the old settlement on the southern part of Bullerö the next morning. The old wooden houses crouch close together under some tall deciduous trees among the rocks inside the steamboat pier. A few fishing families originally lived here, but now the overseer lives here. In the houses next door, hostel accommodation is offered for a smaller number of guests. For kayaks, it is best to disembark in the bay just north of the steamer jetty.

The supervisor's residence at Bullerö jetty.

Waxholm III breaks the mirror water

In the west, the sky appears to be darkening rapidly. We take the safe bet, quickly pack up our pinals and crawl into the kayaks to quickly get back closer to the inner archipelago before nightfall. We don't want to be stranded out here if the weather gets bad. The sound of a boat siren makes us look up and look out towards the bay. Slowly, slowly, as in ultra-rapid, Strömma Kanalbolaget's "Waxholm III" glides towards the island to touch the jetty. An almost devotional view. It is quiet and completely windless. The water is clear and has a gray mottled tone that coincides with that of the sky. The red border around the chimney is the only thing that breaks the gray color scale. Except for a kayaker in a red life jacket wading to port. For a moment, time stands still. The spell is broken and we have time to cross Bulleröfjärden before the rain comes. We follow the strait between Kalvholmen and Långskär with a rich bird life up to Melskären where we spend the night again.

When we then once again get over Nämndöfjärden, all the traffic is blown away. Low clouds with the rain literally hanging in the air, fresh wind and ordinary everyday life are not inviting for boaters. But for us it's great conditions - It's warm enough as we have to work with arms and upper body all the time. Downwind offers numerous surfing opportunities. And perhaps above all, we get to have the archipelago almost to ourselves. The Archipelago doctor's well-known boat is the only one we then meet before we turn in behind Hölö's northern tip and have to lie all the way down to the bridge anchorage, where we close the circle and are back at the starting point.

Bullerön is an island of just under a square kilometer in Nämndö parish in Värmdö municipality and is located at the far end of the sea belt in the Stockholm archipelago. The island is the main island in the Bullerö archipelago and is part of the Bullerö nature reserve, which includes 900 islands, coves and skerries with intervening bays. The reserve is managed by the County Board, which has a supervisor on the island where there is also a hostel. The artist Bruno Liljefors bought Bullerö in 1908 and made the island the family's summer paradise. Every summer he invited famous guests there, which contributed to popularizing the archipelago for 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 don't paddle or have other flotation devices, you can get here by taxi boat from Stavsnäs. In summer, there are two trips per day. Booking must be made in advance.

The museum dedicated to Bruno Liljefors on Bullerö.

MS Waxholm III was built in 1903 at Bergsund's shipyard in Stockholm to service the Östgötaskärgården but was purchased in 1908 by Waxholm's new Ångfartygs AB to serve the route north towards Arholma and Öregrund. Albert Engström was a frequently seen passenger on board. The ship took part in the so-called Blidösund War when different shipping companies fought for the favor of the passengers. During the war, the boat was called up to the Marine Administration. During the 1950s, Waxholm III was an extra boat in the inner archipelago. In the period 1964 – 91, the ship was located as a floating barbeque in Vaxholm, but was renovated and now runs on order traffic in the archipelago.

Olle Persson