Sandhamn

Sandhamn is on Sandon at the outer edge of the archipelago, and it was a pilot station and customs post long before it was anything else - ships waiting for a pilot into Stockholm anchored here. The Royal Swedish Yacht Club built its clubhouse in 1897 and the place has been the country's sailing centre since, with the Round Gotland Race starting from these waters each summer. The village is wooden houses along narrow lanes with the harbour on one side, and on the other the island turns to pine forest and genuine sand beaches at Trouville, which is unusual in an archipelago of bare rock.

Background

The name means Sand Harbour. Records first mention Sandön in the 1280s, as a gift from King Magnus Barnlock to the Stockholm abbey of St Claire, and until the 16th century it was called Svenska Sandön and belonged to the village of Eknö by. By the close of the 17th century one pilot lived on the island, and under Charles XI (1660-1697) the passage outside was opened to commercial shipping. By the mid-19th century piloting was the islanders' main income and Eknö by had been abandoned. A regular steamship service to Stockholm began in 1865. Around a hundred people live here all year, rising to 2-3,000 in summer, and the harbour can take 350 ships.

Source: Wikipedia, "Sandhamn"

What's there

• A wooden village along the harbour - narrow lanes, old pilot station.
• The yacht club of 1897 - and the sailing that follows it.
• Sand beaches at Trouville - rare in a rock archipelago.
• Pine forest across the island - a twenty-minute walk over.

When to go

June to August; boats thin out sharply after. A full day or overnight.

Practical notes

Regatta weeks fill every bed and every table. Out of season it is nearly closed. The boat takes over two hours from Stockholm. Prices are high for what is offered.

Nearby

Moja is north-west; Stavsnas is the mainland pier.

Key facts