Grisslehamn is a thriving and historic fishing port where picturesque wooden houses blend with lovely gardens, small craft shops, tiny harbourside sheds selling smoked fish and a busy tourist centre as well as the ferry to Eckerö in Åland.

The town is named after the grissla (guillemot), a bird that used to be very common in this area, though we saw no sign of them at all on our visit. We docked in town in the early morning and set off immediately for a look around while the weather was still pleasantly warm. The small canal next to the marina was a peaceful little place, with beautiful red wooden houses and wooden boats moored in the waterway.



While it is an old fishing town, there are some lovely large homes set in botanic grounds on the main road, pointing to a degree of prosperity at the turn of the century.



The harbour is the natural centre of life in a coastal town and Grisslehamn is no exception. While the fishing activity is not as hectic as it used to be, there are still shops selling smoked fish (and doing a brisk trade) and many old boat sheds that give you an idea of what this was like in its hey day.



One thing that Grisslehamn is well known for in Sweden is as the place where Albert Engström lived and worked. He is a well known Swedish artist and writer who is particularly remembered for his pen and ink satirical cartoons. His studio and museum in Grisslehamn is dedicated him. Despite his background in Småland, Albert Engström became one of the greatest interpreters of Roslagen's beautiful surroundings and its inhabitants. His studio can be reached by a two kilometer stroll through lush, lovely wooded countryside. One little nook that took my fancy was a small bridge over a gurgling brook, which was reminiscent of the bridge in Claude Monet's garden in Giverny that I visited several years ago.



Lars-Göran was very keen to show me Albert Engström's studio and when we arrived at the location, I could see why. It is a really unique structure, built literally on the edge of a cliff and it looked really unusual.



The view around the bay is spectacular, with a tiny, sandy bay to the south.



There are then sandy stretches sweeping around to the granite cliffs where the studio stands. It really is an amazing place to have as a studio - what a panoramic view he must have had in any season and what inspiration for his work.



We are going to head southwards again, partly because Lars-Göran hates the landscape around here (too many pine trees and dark, dark forests) but also because two of the kids have rung and want to go sailing with us. So we have arranged to pick up Lars-Göran's youngest son and his girlfriend at Gräddö on Saturday for a day's sailing, then pick up his oldest daughter at the same place on Sunday for a few days sailing in the outer archipelago. That means a mammoth shopping trip to stock up on the food and drink that they like to have, fill up our water tanks and start our southward journey.

We have had time to look at the electronic charts more carefully and we see that there is an inner route between the mainland and the islands along the Väddö Canal. It looks as though we can sail a large portion of it and will only need to motor a couple of nautical miles along a narrow channel with opening bridges at both ends. No locks, thank goodness! The canal area is really pretty with houses lining both shores.



At one point we saw the world's tiniest lighthouse. Someone has placed it as a marker on some rocks near the shore and it looked really cute when we sailed by.



Sometimes, particularly on the island side of the route, the landscape opened up into meadows, with trees used as windbreaks and we saw sheep, cows and horses out grazing in the afternoon sunshine. We even caught a glimpse of the tower of a church through the trees.



It was a pleasant way to sail and the only wait we had was for the two bridges to open, but that was fine and there were not many boats out and about. At the second bridge (a swing bridge) we went through all alone.



The weather forecast for the weekend is somewhat depressing and I'm hoping that it will be better than they are saying. After three weeks of hot, dry, summery conditions, a cool change came today. This was welcome for us and made walking around Grisslehamn and sailing along Väddö Canal much more pleasant than if it had been baking hot with no wind. However, on Saturday they are forecasting rain, rain and more rain which would be a real pity for the kids if they came out sailing.

Anyway, we have dropped anchor in a small bay opposite Barnens Ö and will see what the weather gods bring over the next couple of days.

Fingers crossed.