Does anyone else remember that cute little lullaby that begins "There's a lake in South Australia, Little lake with lovely name..." made famous by Rolf Harris? I found myself humming that as I drifted off to sleep, ready for our own journey across Lake Vättern. Though unlike Carra Barra Wirra Canna, this is no little lake as you can see.




Lake Vättern is Sweden’s second largest and Europe’s fifth largest lake. With a surface area of 1912 square kilometres, a length of 135 kms, a width of 31 kms and a maximum depth of 128 meters, it is quite a large body of water and this presents us with something of a quandry. We have studied the chart of the lake and saw that it remains quite deep almost all the way to the shore. Should the wind turn when we are heading in a particular direction, we would have trouble finding any sheltered place to moor, except at the very few scattered harbours here and there. The lake is also well known for its high waves and strong current in adverse winds. If winds come from the south, there is 135 kms with nothing in the way to break the motion of the water and strong winds can produce sharp, high waves that cannot be underestimated. Also, this is a freshwater lake and so the water behaves in a different way to the salt water we are used to sailing in. Fresh water is lighter and this produces much higher waves than in the same winds in a salt water environment. We are not afraid of waves and we have every confidence in the sailing abilities of our boat, but I know the pets do not like it when conditions are rough.

The other problem is time. You can see from the map, Motala is in the northern part of the lake, as is the town of Karlsborg, where Göta Canal continues. If we travel 100kms to the south, we must also allow for the same time to get back and as we prefer to sail rather than motor, we need very favourable winds in order to do that in a reasonable time. So in view of that, we have decided to concentrate on the northern area of the lake, with its well known archipelago.




North of Vadstena we passed by stately homes on the shore and admired the fabulous vista they must have from their windows. In the sunshine, everything looked fresh and beautiful and I again admired the passing kaleidoscope of golden canola fields with the dark background of pines, beautiful traditional red wooden farmhouses with their white edges and the glittering, deep blue water.




We sailed for a couple of hours then lost the wind totally. The water around us was flat and mirror-like so we started the engine and motored along for a quarter of an hour until the wind returned and we were able to sail at around 5 knots up towards the archipelago. As we approached the islands, the wind increased and we reefed in sail as we were not keen to head into unknown waters at a bracing 7 knots. I wonder why it is that when you are out in open water with no obstacles, you often get little or no wind, but come to a tight, shallow place the wind invariably picks up?

We managed to find a lovely secluded bay on Lilla Aspön and we settled down to enjoy the sunshine among the islands, with forest birds twittering around us and peace and quiet to sit and think. What a lovely place!




The northern Vättern archipelago is both very beautiful and quite unique. It consists of roughly hewn rocks, polished granite slabs and windswept pine woods. In addition, the entire archipelago is largely uninhabited, so it has the feel of a real wilderness. The surrounding coastline is just as varied, with dramatic rocky beaches and shallow bays with sandbanks.

The next morning, we sailed along the shore past the bridge at Hammar there were cottages peeping out from among the reeds.




At this point, there is a narrow, buoyed opening past the tiny village and you can choose several ways to continue. We decided to follow the wind that seemed to be taking us in a north west direction, leading to Askersund, the most northern town on the lake. As we passed by the tiny hamlet of Hammar, I noted that although it was a very small place, they still had a beautiful, nineteenth century neo-classical church, whose tower high on a hill could be seen from far away.




We had no real preconceived notions of what to expect around here as this is a part of Sweden that neither of us has visited before. It was quiet on the water and we drifted along happily admiring the farmlands on either side of the narrow channel. To our right on a small headland, we saw a farm with a yellow house framed by the passing clouds and with a view across the waters.




Turning to our left, we saw a large dairy farm, with many barns and outbuildings. It was painted in the traditional falun-red and was also framed by the majestic display of gathering clouds. I sensed that they heralded rain, but they were really a sight to behold. The weather over the last few days has been somewhat sultry, with morning sunshine, followed by gathering clouds, a quick, often violent thunderstorm, then sunshine again. I feel a little like I am in the tropics rather than in Sweden.




Just as I thought, the rain pelted down for about ten or fifteen minutes and then the sky cleared and we continued on our way. The chart showed us that in order to get to Askersund, we had to follow a narrow waterway, pass through a tight, shallow opening and cross a small lake. I checked that the depths were okay along the proposed route and we decided to roll in the sails and motor along the narrow channel as we had no idea of what sort of traffic we'd meet on the way. We did meet a few motor boats, but nothing major. As we rounded a bend towards the narrow opening to the lake (Alsen), we were rather surprised to see this magnificent manor house.




I am often taken by surprise when we come to a place that I think of as being "in the middle of nowhere" and we are confronted by a palace, a manor house or a magnificent church. According to the chart, this is Stjärnsund Manor (also called Sternsund). It is perfectly situated at the point where Alsen joins Lake Vättern. The present building dates from the early 19th century. Unfortunately there was nowhere we could moor in order to get a closer look, so we continued through the narrow opening, past the cottages that form part of the estate and along to the town of Askersund.




One of the most striking sights as you approach the town is the church bell tower high on the hill. Again, it dominates the surrounding areas and the warm, soft colours invite you to come and make a closer inspection, which we intend to do as soon as we figure out where the harbour is!




We did find the harbour and left the boat there for a couple of hours while we walked around this charming town and admired some of the very old homes. There is a lot of history here, I suspect and we intend to spend a couple of days here looking around, especially as the weather is beautiful at the moment.




The guest harbour is "centrally located" and what that means is that it is noisy. You have camping grounds to the left, a main road to the right and behind you is the main entertainment stip of pubs, cafés and commercial boat traffic. Directly where you moor is a small park along the shore, with icecram stand, pathways and a swimming area. All in all, I feel like a goldfish in a bowl, so I thought it was better for us if we did not stay there overnight, but instead take Fiona around to a quiet bay on the other side and lay by anchor instead. We can take the dinghy into town tomorrow, but at least we can have peace and privacy tonight.




The next day we went to visit the church. It was built in the mid seventeenth century by Count Johan Oxensterna (the owner of Stjärnsund manor) after the old, medieval church burned down after being struck by lightning. The most striking pieces in the church were the wood carvings on the pulpit and altar pieces. These pieces, crowned with the coat of arms of the count are painted in gold and white, which is somewhat unusual in Swedish churches. The altarpiece pictured here shows the Last Supper in the lower section, the Crucifixion in the centre and the Resurrection at the top.





We then wandered around the whole town. While there is a certain attraction to the sights and sounds in a big city, there is something really special about small towns like Askersund. I like the slower pace that gives you ample time to look at the lovely old wooden houses, painted in their rich, warm colours. The town's opldest part dates from 1776 (a fire had destroyed the town earlier) though the street layout dates from over a century earlier.




The centre of town was full of small, varied shops with unusual and fascinating window displays. Along the narrow, cobblestoned streets, there were tiny, cosy cafés catering to all tastes and you could spend a lot of time soaking up the scents of newly baked bread and the relaxed atmosphere here while you sit drinking coffee for hours. And everywhere you go, the roads offer a glimpse of the water, no matter where you are in town.




This has been a restful couple of days in this pleasant town and I feel sure that it is not going to be the last time we are here. Now we have booked a time three days hence to do the next stretch of the canal, so we must make our way southwards to Karlsborg on Vättern's western shore. Warm and sunny weather is forecast for the foreseeable future, so I hope we can have an easier crossing than we had in the rain soaked eastern sections. Wish us luck!