Gullholmen

Gullholmen was first mentioned as a fishing village in the late sixteenth century, though it may be older, and it has been fished from ever since. The island is tiny, so the houses are built up against each other on the rock with lanes and steps between and no gardens to speak of, and the effect from the water is a solid block of white and pale timber on grey stone. Herring brought the money in the good centuries and its collapse took it away again. Skepparhuset, a museum in an old skipper's house, shows how a family lived in one of these rooms, and a well-kept stone cottage of the nineteenth century survives. No cars; a small ferry from Orust.

What to look for

• Houses built against each other - lanes and steps, no gardens.
• A fishing village recorded since the late 1500s - and possibly older.
• Skepparhuset - one family's rooms as they were, in an old skipper's house.
• No cars on the island - the ferry from Orust and then on foot.

When to go

June to August, when the museum and cafes open. Half a day.

Good to know

The island is very small and quickly seen. Almost everything shuts outside summer. Ferries are weather dependent. There is little shelter and no shop worth the name.

Nearby

Karingon is north; Orust is the mainland side.