Uto

Uto was mined for iron from at least the eleventh century and the workings ran until 1879, leaving open shafts flooded with green water, spoil heaps and a row of miners' cottages from the 1700s that still stands. The deepest shaft goes down over two hundred metres. The island is large enough to need a bicycle - roughly twelve kilometres long - with a network of tracks through pine forest, past small lakes, out to sand beaches on the eastern side and the windmill on the high ground. There is a hotel, a bakery known well beyond the island, a hostel and camping. It is quieter than the northern archipelago.

The landscape

• Flooded mine shafts - worked from the eleventh century to 1879.
• Miners' cottages of the 1700s - a surviving row.
• Tracks through pine and past lakes - about twelve kilometres of island.
• Sand beaches on the east side - and a windmill above.

When to go

June to September. A full day or overnight.

Practical notes

Boat schedules thin sharply outside summer. The island is too big to walk comfortably - hire a bicycle. Mine shafts are fenced and not enterable. Accommodation books out in July.

Nearby

Alo is joined by bridge; Nynashamn is on the mainland.