Midsummer magic: Fine food, fairytales and flowers on a June journey through Sweden

Next week, the streets of Sweden's capital will empty, as Stockholm' s citizens set off on an annual pilgrimage. Midsummer has a special resonance in Scandinavia, and the celebrations of 24 hours of sunlight, which fall in mid-June, traditionally take place in the quiet coves of the archipelago.

There are over 24,000 islands in the archipelago, some accessible by bridges others reached only by ferry over the Baltic sea. The further you drift from the city the simpler and more earthy life becomes. 'There are no shops, no cars and we carry our luggage to the house with wheelbarrows. Until around midnight the sky is bright, and then it’s like dusk, with a red golden glow.'

 

The bus winds its way out of the city through tall pines and wooden houses straight out of Grimms' fairy tales. I'm on my way to the island of Sandhamn, whose population swells to over triple each summer. The hourly Cinderella ferry chugs past larger inhabited islands, and tiny islets, with sea-salt stained rocks.

On Svartloga, home to the world's smallest post office and one of the remotest enclaves, there is no electricity. But if you prefer luxuries, try Sandhamn. In 1897, the Sandhamn Yacht hotel was built as a boat club for the Royal Swedish Yacht Club.