The last days of summer on the Swedish west coast in Hunnebostrand!

A month ago this was a tourists paradise! This very tiny little Island located in Hunnebostrand at the Swedish west coast has the great name; St Gorans Island, or in Swedish; St. Görans Ö. This beautiful little island is a very popular place for tourists and local residents during summer. The Hunnebostrand marina is located next to this Island and since the island is connected with the mainland by a small bridge it is easy to access the island.

Number of inhabitants is a little more than 2000 people.

The name Hunnebostrand can be derived back to the 15000s when it was called Hundebostrand.

The archiepelago area was once a safe resting place while waiting for better weather and a chance to get past Sote Head on their way south.

Hunnebostrand is a community that originally came with the first quarry on the west coast. The first quarry was opened in 1864 and the red and grey granite was distributed abroad as well as within the country. Nowadays, the quarries are closed and the community has transformed into a tourist paradise during summer and a fantastic community for the people living there. Much of the old authentic buildings are preserved and the old houses tell their story. Personally I am totally in love with these old genuine buildings.

As soon as I enter this Island I get the feeling of being out in the archipelago. In my mind this island has something for everyone! For those who just want to walk in a beautiful environment there are paths leading around this little island with small stairs and bridges where it is needed so it is possible to get around also with a pram or a wheelchair. Benches made of wood or stone are placed along the walking path so everyone has a opportunity to sit down and enjoy the view of the sea. During summer there are sunbathing people everywhere in rock crevices, on top of the rocks as well as on the small beaches.

Max depths 4,5 meter

Max båtbredd 15 m

Max max höjd 7,2 m

The channel was made by stone workers that dug and used explosives.

St. Gorans Island is located near the narrow passage Soten Canal that has very lively boat traffic during summer. The length of the channel is 4,8 km and with the fairways the length will stretch to 6,0 km. The Fjord outside, Sotefjord, is completely open to Skagerrak’s storms so the channel was built in 1935 in order to facilitate the passage of vessels. It is a very popular passage among sailors and boat- owners and for us on land it’s like a show of all sorts of boats. Since St Gorans Island is located in the north end of the channel the boats are all visible from the island when they leave the channel heading north.

This is what it is like during the summer months. But now, in September when the summer is ending and autumn is close, a visit to this Island is something quite different! It is quite and peaceful, almost devoutly. It feels like we are totally alone and the Island has again been taken back by nature. The only sound that can be heard is the gentle sound of waves hitting the rock.

A couple of seagulls decide to supervise us while we eat our food sitting on one of the wooden benches. One of them comes close and stair at us with one of his eyes as if he wants to hypnotise us to drop some of our food in his direction. They persistently stay on and don’t leave us until they are absolutely sure we have eaten it all and then they slowly move on to search for something else.

It is a special feeling to be on an abandoned and empty island that normally is full of laughing and screaming children that run around on the smooth wooden planks on the piers and their admonishing parents chasing after them or shouting from their selected spot for the day.

Now there is no one apart from us and an elderly couple taking a late swim in the sea.

I can not help but feeling a bit melancholy over the fact that the short sweet summer is over. It seems inconceivable that winter once again will wrap this beautiful and lively landscape in totally silent covered with snow, cold and ice.

I decide to take one last swim in the salty warm water to keep the feeling of being one with the sea in my memory. I will keep it there until next year.