Shortly after returning from our Klarälven timber rafting adventure an advert popped up for an activity provider from whom you could rent canoes from, for a really rather reasonable price. They were also in Sweden, but on Lake Båven in Södermanland (by this point we are getting a little concerned about how pointed Roberts’ Google suggestions are). Once Robert saw this and just casually floated out “So you know how we enjoyed Sweden and we said it looks fun to canoe, well how about this …..” we were building a spreadsheet before we knew it, and looking at finances to see if we could make it happen.

This was a great trip for getting into the wilderness, whilst not being too remote, and being quite easy to organise. Read on for all the ins and outs of what we organised, what we didn’t need to, and what we then actually got up to. There’s probably enough information here for you to be able to have a good head start on us if you’d like to organise a similar trip, but drop us a message if there’s anything else you’d like to know, it’s such a lovely place to visit.

Katrina diligently looking at the map on lake Båven. We were treated to incredible weather.

What we were looking to get out of the trip

We have established that Sweden is a beautiful country with a smaller population than the UK, and even smaller than just Greater London! Sweden’s population is approximately 10.7 Million, the UK as a whole 69.5 million, with Greater London being between 10 and 18 million, depending on where you draw the line (and that’s a whole thing in itself!). Now bear in mind that Sweden is around 1.8 times larger than the UK geographically, there are plenty of trees and wide open spaces, which is something that we both crave now that we have experienced it; so the major goal for us was to get back into the trees on this adventure. On our last trip to Sweden we built a timber raft and floated down the Klarälven river. We just couldn’t get enough of how beautiful the country was then, and knew we’d want to go canoe touring there at some point, so this felt like a great opportunity to do so. Now when it comes to canoe touring we are not afraid of little portaging (our longest on the NFCT was around 14 miles!), but if we can get away with it we keep them to a minimum, which would definitely be a possibility when looking to explore a single lake. We were also looking to head out around September, which is a time we do not fancy going for too many swims, so flat water was the name of the game.

Really what we were after was an opportunity for us to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, spend some time in the woods, and do what we love: canoe touring.

When was this adventure?

We undertook this adventure in September of 2025. A rather dry year for Sweden with us being reliably informed by locals that they had not had the “right sort of rain” all year. This seemed to mean that most of the rainfall had been in short sharp showers, but this ran into the sea too fast and did not soak into the ground. For Lake Båven this meant that there was a good half a metre less water in it than there normally was for this time of year. When we paddled around it, it was clear how far the water had dropped with tide lines being obvious all around the edges.

The weather for this period was also unseasonably warm with the temperatures not dipping below the mid teens and (believe it or not) getting up to 30°C on one rather lovely afternoon.

All the way around the edge of the lake it was clear that the water level had dropped a fair bit this year.

A little about Lake Båven

The lake is a rather large lake with a shoreline reported to be over 500km long and an area of some 64 square kilometres with over 360 islands. It has a myriad of branches and skerries (a small rocky island, or reef too small for human habitation). The local flora and fauna is thriving, with some of the islands bearing protected bird sanctuaries for periods of the year. During the defined protection periods you are not even permitted within 100m of the shore, let alone land. These areas seem to be working well, with Ospreys and Black-Throated Loons being a highlight. We got to see and hear both of these interesting bird species.. The water is surprisingly clean, with many swimming spots around the lake being granted excellent bathing water quality. The clean water is also one of the reasons why there are Wels Catfish and Fresh Water Mussels thriving in the lake. Believe it or not we also go to see both of these as well! Much to Robert’s annoyance he did not manage to get any good pictures of any of them.

These are the signs that denote that the island is protected between the 1st April and the 31st July.

Logistics and how we made it happen

This one felt quite easy, as we used the basis of our logistical plan we had already put together for our Klarälven Timber Rafting adventure earlier in the year.

Who and how many to go with

For this adventure the two of us wanted to get away and spend some time together as just the two of us. The prospect of paddling between islands sounded fantastic. As there was only going to be the two of us on such an adventure we needed to take extra precautions as if anything happened it would only be us two to manage the situation. For this reason we tried to make this trip as low risk as possible, both in the getting to and from, as well as the canoeing itself.

For this trip it was just the two of us enjoying the outdoors.

The traveling bit

So in this section we are going to detail the traveling parts. We could not believe how simple this was to sort out. We literally figured out the how within an hour. The specifics of timing took a little more work, but all in all, for an international adventure, it was pretty simple.

How to get to and from Sweden?

This was as simple as booking a set of return flights. We flew from London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda Airport (the closest international airport to Stockholm City Centre) with SAS. Due to the advanced time that we were booking this trip we also found that the long stay parking at Heathrow was sufficiently cheap that driving to and from, and parking for the week at the airport, worked out the most cost effective for us.

How to get from Stockholm to the start?

After a surprisingly short amount of Googling we found that the easiest and cheapest way to get from Stockholm to Kanotcenter in Skebokvarn was as simple as a train followed by a bus. The tickets for which we purchased online using SJ, the primary passenger train operator in Sweden. Fortunately the timetables worked out with reasonable time periods between the train and bus. This ensured that the travel was relatively easy. Fun fact: you can get the train and bus tickets with SJ. Saves hassle of also figuring out buying bus tickets at the time, and SJ have a good delay policy, so that can help with the worry about missing connections.

The incredible weather that greeted us when we landed at Stockholm Arlanda airport.

How to get from the end back to Stockholm?

To get back from Skebokvarn was as simple as getting back on the bus going the other direction and catching a train back to Stockholm. Simple.

Supplies

After a bit of research, we found that while canoeing on Båven there would be only one small supermarket in Stjärnhov, and so we would really need to take all the food we would need for the week when we set off from Skebokvarn. Due to the success of our shopping trip previously in Stockholm we employed a similar approach.

Food and drink

Google maps is fantastic for finding supermarkets in a defined area. After a quick bit of looking around we found that there was an ICA supermarket within easy walking distance from our hotel. This supermarket was sizable enough that we could get plenty of shelf stable food for us to comfortably eat for a week. We do enjoy exploring a new supermarket. A quick tip is to get Google Translate on your phone (the offline version does allow Google Lens use too), so you can see what the ingredients and cooking instructions are.

Stove fuel

It is almost impossible to transport fuels for camping stoves on an airline. For this reason we had to pick up fuels in Stockholm. We wandered into a Naturkompaniet and picked up some petrol for our MSR Dragonfly stove without issue, but they also had standard gas canisters too.

The gas tight cupboard in Naturkompaniet is cool.

Maps

Whenever we go anywhere we like to have a physical map. Some people collect fridge magnets, we collect maps (we are growing quite the cartography cupboard!). We popped back to our favourite maps shop in Stockholm, Kartbutiken. We easily located the two Kartförlaget maps that we would need: Katrineholm 49 and Nyköping 50. These covered the whole lake between them.

Accommodation

When planning we were looking to keep the cost down as much as possible, while also making it an experience wherever possible. We were willing to flex on this depending on how novel the options were. When looking for hotels that could take us for the single night Robert stumbled upon the opportunity to spend the night on a 1900’s ship; the Mälardrottningen. It also somehow was also one of the cheapest options for that night as well. The room was quite compact though!

For all the nights canoeing the accommodation was easy, wild camping was the name of the game, and we found some beautiful spots. There are a few pictures throughout the Itinerary section showcasing these.

After the canoeing we had another night in Stockholm before flying home, and we found a compact room in a hotel that was incredibly close to the train station (like almost in it!), where we would need to catch our connection back to the airport on the last morning.

Our compact room on the Mälardrottningen, it had everything we needed. Yes, that is all the floor space in the room!

Overview of our itinerary

The overall trip was nine days, with us canoeing for seven days. After our previous experiences with procuring supplies and navigating public transport we opted for an afternoon to get all our supplies in Stockholm, and a night in Stockholm before our flight the final morning, to make sure we weren’t panicking about being late or delayed at any point.

Day 1: Travel - Getting to Mälardrottningen Yacht Hotel (Stockholm)

We kept thinking about this day as being a series of legs. It really did help with not feeling like there was too much in the day:

Drive to the Heathrow airport at a ridiculous time of the morning (it wasn’t that ridiculous - Katrina).
A bit of a bumpy flight to Stockholm Arlanda (somehow Robert slept through most of it even though he didn’t do the early driving - Katrina).
Surprisingly spacious and empty train ride into Stockholm Central Station.
A warm walk to the Mälardrottningen Yacht Hotel, where we then settled into the compact space.
Shopping trip for maps, fuel, and food (always our favourite bit).
Reconfiguration of the equipment and food redistribution between our packs.
A quick dinner at Max Burger. We often chose a fast food restaurant with a high turnover before heading into the wilderness, as eating in such establishments significantly reduces your risk of food poisoning (which is definitely something you don’t want to start a trip with!).

We have got traveling with canoe expedition kit through an airport down. Believe it or not in this picture we have all our gear for the week!

Day 2: Travel / canoeing - Mälardrottningen Yacht Hotel to Kanotcenter (Skebokvarn) to Fornborg Island (Lake Båven)

The day started well with breakfast on the Mälardrottningen where we got to finally try some Abba Kalles Kaviar Original Smoked Cod Roe. This comes in tubes and is something we heard about years ago as an ABBA fact. Apparently the band ABBA had to ask the food manufacturer ABBA if they could use the name before appearing on Eurovision. They were told yes, as long as people did not get them confused (how?!?). Well some 5-ish years after hearing this fact and it being burned into Rob's brain we finally got the chance to try some. It was far sweeter than we were expecting and can see why it is a thing. Did we get confused with the band? No, of course not. Did it stop Katrina singing ABBA? Also, unfortunately, no.

The Mälardrottningen was quite the experience. We left there bright and early ready for the adventure ahead of us.

Another traveling day split into the following parts then happened:

A walk to the central train station. This walk was not far but as we were carrying all the kit and food in one, we can say it was not a quick one.
Train to Gnesta. This was quick, clean and nowhere near full. We found ample space for us to place all our luggage and get a seat.
We had about a 40 minute wait for the bus that stops just next to the train station. Lie quite literally the other side of one of the platforms. While standing there we could see a bakery, and we do like an international pastry or two. Katrina made a quick pastry dash and picked up some sweet treats for us to enjoy for lunch.
A bus ride to Skebokvarn which helpfully stops almost opposite Kanotcenter.

Our experience of the Swedish train network has been fantastic.

This is where we started our expedition and met Mikael and his two wonderful dogs. We had a good chat about the options we had for the canoe rental. We spent a good half an hour discussing the different routes and potential shuttle options. We settled on a rough clockwise tour of Båven, starting and ending at Kanotcenter, camping along the way on islands. We were given leaflets on "Right of public access paddling” and “Lighting fires and the right of access to private land” which are written from an informative and practical standpoint. Many leaflets and posters we have been handed before have been more hypothetical, but these even had guidance on specific bird species behaviours and what it means. We especially like the tag line “Don’t disturb - don’t destroy” This is a sentiment that we can get behind.

We then had a massive kit faff to get everything from the most compact form we had for traveling on public transport, to being the most useful for loading a canoe.

Setting off from Kanotcenter and heading out onto Lake Båven.

Canoeing out from the Kanotcenter we set off out onto Lake Båven looking for somewhere to camp for the night. The weather was fantastic, with quite bright sun, and a gentle breeze. After some truly delightful paddling we came across a spot on Fornborg island. We have never known a place with as many mushrooms. It seemed like there were mushrooms growing out of everywhere. We pulled the canoe ashore and set up camp for the night. We settled in by cooking some food and watching the sun go down.

Day 3: Canoeing - Fornborg Island (Lake Båven) to St Valö Island (Lake Båven)

We started the day with some rather heavy mist, some might even say it was fog. We could not even see from the island to the shore and neither of us liked the idea of canoeing somewhere new using compass bearings and dead reckoning alone, so we decided to take it easy and wait for the mist to burn off to the point we could at least see the shoreline we would need to follow.

When we set off on the water there was still a light mist and very little wind. It felt wonderfully ethereal drifting over the calm waters just waiting for what would loom out of the mist next.

Our view out onto the lake, believe it or not this picture was taken at about 10:00 after some of the mist had burnt off.

As the sun burnt off the mist we could finally start to appreciate the sheer scale of the lake.

We were told that there were a couple of castles around Rockelsta and Sparreholm, and we were eager to see what a Swedish castle looked like so decided we’d paddle in that direction. Fortunately the mist had reduced enough that by the time we got to the first castle we could see it clearly! The two castles were not what we were expecting, they were fascinating buildings, but to our eyes looked more like manor houses we would find in the UK. After an interesting day of this investigative paddling past castles, we found a truly magical place to camp on St Valö island. We got to throw up the hammock and enjoy the late afternoon sun shine while watching squirrels go about their business.The vegetation on this island is so unlike anything we have seen before. We don’t use this phrase often, but it genuinely seemed magical to us.

The island where we camped had fantastic views and many squirrels.

Day 4: Canoeing - St Valö Island (Lake Båven) to Gillingestugan Island (Inbåven)

This day started a bit more overcast than we’d had so far on the trip. It was actually a nice relief after the heat of the day before. Setting out we had our sights on getting into Inbäven (still part of the same lake, but named separately) and head up to somewhere around Boxtorp. By around midday the wind had picked up, but fortunately in a favourable direction to allow this to happen. As we were passing Saxänden for the first time we got an idea of the scale of the lake. In a south easterly direction the lake went on further than we could see! Thankfully the waves behaved themselves and stayed small, and by the time we got into Bocksfjärden the wind had dropped and the sun had come out. We found a delightful place to stay on a small island with a fantastic landing location. We tucked ourselves away on top of the island. We had to be careful as there were a good number of dead standing trees but we found a spot that we deemed safe enough to set up.

During the night, just as Robert had fallen asleep, a rather loud owl in the one tree to the right of us made the loudest screech we have ever heard from a bird. Robert woke up with such a start that by the time he was sitting bolt upright, Katrina, who was still reading, burst out laughing. Thankfully the owls moved on and eventually (once the adrenaline had worn off) we managed to get a good night's sleep.

Our campsite for the night with only one small tree to the right where the owl decided to serenade us.

Day 5: Canoeing - Gillingestugan Island (Inbåven) to Majholmen Island (Lake Båven)

Another misty morning, and the densest fog so far. Believe it or not it took until around 10:00 til we could see the shore from the island. We had a slow morning but the best thing about this route was we could make it as long or as short as we wanted. If we did not like the look of weather then we did not feel any pressure to push through.

We headed off to go down the, delightfully short, River Natan. Canoeing down this narrow river was a true pleasure. After the (literal) thousands of miles we have tandem canoed together we could navigate this twisty river without even needing to utter a word to each other. Somehow a connection between us and the boat was sufficiently strong that we could just enjoy it and not even need to think. The beautiful surroundings just seemed to seep into us. In that moment we realised this is what we had come here for, this feeling of peace and togetherness not only with each other but also with nature around us.

In the slow moving clear water we saw fish swimming, including some of the fabled catfish. As we quietly wound our way along we happened to startle an Elk that made one heck of a loud noise, and crashed its way through the woods running away as fast as its legs would allow. We could see so many tracks where various animals had come down to the riverside to drink. What topped this experience off though was that we were just at the right time of year to have small leaves falling like confetti around us. Words fail us to describe just quite how pleasant that section of river was in that moment, but hopefully you can understand how connected we felt from the description.

We then made it up to Stjärnhov and got out at the swimming spot. This was a cracking place to call into after a few days of being on the water. We got to drop off rubbish, pick up cold drinks, use an actual toilet (still a long drop though), and enjoy ice cream.

After the luxury of lunch with cold drinks and fresh crisps we headed back out on the water working our way back down Lake Naten to the river Natän, out into Inbåven, and finally back out onto Båven. We island hopped our way out to Majholmen, where Katrina needed to pee. We pulled up on a sandy beach and Katrina dashed off into the woods. A few moments later she came happy bouncing her way out of the woods exclaiming “there’s a campsite around the next bend!” and she wasn’t kidding! A campsite to us meant that there was a sheltered sandy cove, a dedicated fire circle with grill, a flat space for tents, and (luxuries of luxuries) a dedicated long drop toilet with seat and door. We sure know how to live. We could not quite believe what we had stumbled across. It was only about 14:00 in the afternoon but we decided to call it a day there and then. We definitely were not going to find a better site that day.

We proceeded to set up camp and do a spot of washing (clearly knowing how to live vicariously!), which in the warm windy weather had our clothes dry in less than a couple of hours. Regardless of what the weather was going to do, we would then have enough clean clothes to get us to the end of the trip.

The fantastic campsite that we happened to stumble upon. Note the towels hanging up after our swim.

With the weather so warm, and being in our own little cove, we took the opportunity to have a mid week swim. The water was bracing and made us feel alive and much cleaner, even if we didn't use any soap. After getting out of the water we found a nice warm rock to bask in the sunlight on, and watched the ospreys circling on thermals above us until it was time to make dinner. Then as the evening drew in, the wind dropped, the sky remained clear, and we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

This was one of those days we dream of when thinking about adventures.

This picture does not do justice to how beautiful the sunset was over the lake.

Day 6: Canoeing - Majholmen Island (Lake Båven) to Prästön Island (Lake Båven)

We had seen a forecast that said a weather front was coming in sometime in the afternoon, and the prospect of paddling across a wide open water in wind and rain did not fill us with joy. We got up with the sun and got on the water in quick time, leaving this beautiful spot in our wake.

It was a brighter morning than the last few, and an hour or so in we saw what at first looked like a stick floating in the water, but as we got closer it turned out it was a snake swimming with its head out of the water. Now we have seen water snakes before, which are usually swimming under the water, but never a snake swimming along with its head out of the water!

After island hopping for a couple of hours we found an island that looked promising for camping on from the water, but when we got out and had a look we decided that it might be good to keep paddling a bit longer and see if there was anything better.

Katrina pointing out a snake skin on the rock next to where we got out the canoe.

All of a sudden the atmosphere somehow changed. Both of us felt it and one thing we have learnt in the outdoors is “If it does not feel right then stop”. This has saved us on numerous occasions and as we just floated around the next headland we were presented with a view of the weatherfront that had been predicted. A huge wall of black clouds was looming on the horizon. That cinched it for us, so we turned the canoe around and made a dash for the island we had found earlier.

We got our stuff out of the canoe, found a good spot to pitch our camp, and threw up the tarp and tent. Within half an hour of us getting the tent set up the rain came. Now don't get us wrong, we don't mind paddling in the rain (being from the UK) however, we were so glad we were not in this wind and rain on the lake. The couple of claps of thunder we heard shortly after the rain began also confirmed to us we made the right decision. Thankfully the rain just let off as the sun was setting, providing us with another beautiful sunset to end the day.

The sun setting beautifully over our camp at the end of another fantastic day.

Day 7: Canoeing - Prästön Island (Lake Båven) to Aspön Island (Lake Båven)

The weatherfront that had blown in yesterday was still with us in the morning. However we know the least wind is in the early morning and thankfully the rain had let off, so we got to put our camp down in the dry.

We were pleased to get the camp down in the dry. Note Katrina using the paddle as a walking stick down the somewhat slippy path.

With the weather the way it was we decided to see if we could find somewhere a little closer to the Kanotcenter to de-risk the last day. We made a dash towards the large island of Adön to find somewhere to set up. We could see that there were many little islands in the sounding area and there had to be at least one good camping spot around there.

While looking for a good place to stop we happened to come across some beaver activity. Having spent a bit of time around bevors we can now not only spot their dams, but also their lodges and tracks. It is always cool to see animals working together towards a common goal. Needless to say we did not camp near the beavers and let them get on with beavering away.

The wind was picking up and the rain had just started, so we made a dash for an island and found an almost perfect place to get out and hunker down for the rest of the day. Once we were out of the boat we had a quick scout around and found a nice sheltered spot. Having a 3m by 3m tarp at the top of your bag does make the whole setting up a camp in the pouring rain so much more comfortable. After the tarp and tent were up it was time for a nice hot drink and a biscuit.

Believe it or not this picture was taken mid afternoon. Somewhere out there is a beautiful view of the lake.

The wind picked up and it rained biblically, not letting up for the next 10 hours! We were warm and dry so we could not complain. It was actually rather nice to listen to the rain and be all tucked up with a good book.

Day 8: Canoeing / Travel- Aspön island (Lake Båven) to Kanotcenter (Skebokvarn) to Comfort Hotel Xpress (Stockholm)

We awoke to rain. We had a bus to catch at 14:00. We played a bit of a game at this point, the longer we left it the more likely we would be able to at least take our tarp and tend down without standing in the pouring rain. We waited a few hours after the sun came up, and thankfully the storm seemed to blow itself out, leaving behind beautiful clear blue skies.

The tarp and tent were taken down, the masses of pine needles were shaken off, so then we packed up camp, and got on the water.

The amount of pine needles on the tarp and tent were significant. Believe it or not there were piles of them where the water had carried them off the tarp and tent.

Paddling the last 5km back to Kanotcenter just flew by. The pressing realisation that this trip was coming to an end also started to set in, unfortunately.

Once back at Kanotcenter Mikael greeted us with a smile and “did you manage to stay dry?”, to which we responded with big smiles, “mostly”. We had a good chat with Mikael, excitedly recalling all that had happened in the last week and how we would love to come back to this part of the world again.

We cleaned up our trusty rented canoe and placed it lovingly back on the rack ready for the next lucky people who get to take it out on an adventure.

The canoe that had taken us on a fantastic adventure back on the rack, ready and waiting for the next lucky people to take it out on the water.

As we were about to get on public transport we had to have another kit faff to get all of our stuff back into the most compact way to travel back on the bus and train, but it was mostly painless.

The bus and train journey back to Stockholm was uneventful (which is kind of how we like it!).

The short walk to Comfort Hotel Xpress from the train station was made much easier by the fact we were no longer carrying a week's load of food (and it was quite a bit closer than the Mälardrottningen! - Katrina).

In the evening we went out for a truly astounding meal at Bar Nordic. The pairings of flavours and textures were exceptional. It turns out we are big fans of smoked elk.

Oh no have we become those people who take pictures of food in restaurants and put it on the internet (but seriously, that smoked elk was something else!).

Day 9: Comfort Hotel Xpress (Stockholm) to Home (UK)

The call of the pastries was strong on our final morning in Sweden. We returned to our favourite Stockholm patisserie, Vete-Katten, and got there just as it opened and joined the queue out the door. The wait was worth it.

Now these were some good pastries, and well worth the wait.

Whenever we go to a different country we enjoy looking at the outdoor shops and assessing if there is anything that we could use on our adventures, so fuelled up with pastry, that’s what we did next. Unsurprisingly, Sweden set up for cold weather and we both found quality merino layers that promise to be warm and comfy for many years to come.

The train, plane and bus back to the UK were uneventful. We retired home well rested and looking forward to our next adventure.

Equipment

The kit list for this adventure looked remarkably similar to our Timber Raft trip down the Klarälven, just with a few more warm layers as we were slightly later in the year. This means we were rather comfortable on this trip equipment wise. For a full equipment list of what we took on this adventure please see our Equipment List (it’s a long one!). If this doesn’'t yet have a link, Katrina is still reviewing it, but it should be up soon!

Navigation

The Kartförlaget 1:50,000 maps were a massive help on this one. Considering the size of some of the skerries that were still included on the map, figuring out where we were was relatively easy. The biggest challenge came when it was misty and not being able to see more than a few hundred metres, and even then, by hugging an edge we were still able to know roughly (within 50m or so) where we were.

Canoeing in the mist on such a serene lake was somewhat ethereal.

If you are looking to go to this part of the world when the bird protections are in place, it is worth noting that not all of the protected islands are marked on the map. You may only find that an island is protected when you approach and see a red and yellow sign on the shoreline, so keep this in mind by planning a few possible end points for your days.

Water

The water quality in this lake system was incredible in comparison to much of the UK. The water was clear and teaming with life. We saw in many locations fresh water mussels, and they are a good indicator species for the cleanliness of water (or known as just being notoriously picky - Katrina). From information at some of the nature reserves this area is home to the thick-shelled Unio Crassus Mussel, which is a species that has seen significant decline in population in other parts of the world due to pollution.

At the various bathing spots around the lake there were signs stating the cleanliness of the water and suitability for swimming too.

These were the signs that around the dedicated bathing spots.

Regarding how easy it is to paddle, all of what we paddled was flat water, so the going was generally good. However there are points were you could, if you did not set your route well, end up being quite far out from the shore in deep water if you’re not careful. Thinking about the route day by day and keeping a close eye on where we were with respect to what we could see really helped us avoid anything too risky.

Despite the size of the lake and the potential fetch, the wind had to get pretty high before we witnessed any sizable waves. When the wind did pick up we did witness wave super positioning, where there were large waves (with wavelengths of around 3m+but maybe only 200mm in amplitude) with smaller waves (wavelengths of around 800mm with an amplitude of about 100mm). This meant when these two sets of waves happened to hit the “right” point you could get a single crest at about 300mm. This was interesting to witness and paddle across, sometimes meaning our paddles not get quite as far into the water as we expected, resulting in a few splashes. We just made sure to keep the wave from hitting the boat side on and we were fine.

Camping locations

Finding a place to camp around Lake Båven was incredibly easy. When we initially spoke with Mikael At Kanotcenter and asked for advice as where is good to camp, and his response was “there are so many good places, just have a look around”, he was not wrong. To say we were spoiled for choice was an understatement. It seemed like there were great places to camp. Due to the very few people we saw out on the lake it was no surprise that we did not find any locations where people were already camping.

After a couple of days we got much better at spotting the sort of fire circles that were built in the area from the canoe.

In general the camp sites were very clean with little more than a fire circle and evidence of wood processing being present.

The camping locations were fantastic, to have a whole island just to ourselves was incredible.

Lessons learned from this trip

We have been trialling these simple questions to help us get the most out of learning we can get out of an adventure.

“What replicable new learning did we gain from what went well?”

Organising and executing a canoe adventure in Sweden is relatively easy and straightforward.
The small microfiber towels that we carry make excellent backup handkerchiefs if you happen to have a streaming cold and you wet out your two cotton handkerchiefs.
We can comfortably go on an in international adventure just the two of us.

“What replicable new learning did we gain from what did NOT go well?”

At the end of the trip we need to make sure that we have room that is big enough for us to organise our equipment before flying home. Trying to organise our kit essentially all on a double bed was a bit tricky.

No floor space for kit sorting meant we had quite a lot to do before we could find the bed when we needed it.

“What changes can we make to the way we go about doing things to improve our future adventures?”

Know that it is possible for us to put together a weeklong canoe adventure to Sweden in a morning.
A few smaller towels can be more useful than just one larger towel.
We can confidently look at other international adventures when it is just the two of us.

Would we recommend this trip?

This trip would be fantastic for a first, somewhat wilderness, canoe touring trip. It gives you a feeling of remoteness, and exposure to a large body of water, but with the relative lifeline of there being services easily at hand. The ability to hire all the specialist canoeing equipment from one place, where you can also get great route suggestions, significantly reduces the organisation burden.

Canoe Touring Lake Båven