Brändöskär
The wildest and most beautiful of all the islands, Brändöskär, is located far out in the Gulf of Bothnia and is consequently exposed to the weather and can often be very windy. Its best features are some terrific upland scenery with plentiful mosses and areas of heathland interspersed with smooth rocks along the coast, ideal for sunbathing. At the island’s southern point there’s a wooden fishermen’s chapel dating from 1774 whose altarpiece depicts an impressive fishing catch; ask locally for the key if the chapel is locked.
Hindersön
People have lived and worked on Hindersön, one of the bigger islands here, since the sixteenth century. Then, fishing, farming and catching seals were the main occupations; today, this is the only island north of Arholma in the Stockholm archipelago which is still farmed. Much of the island is covered with spruce forest, though, if you look carefully, you may also find wild strawberries, Arctic raspberries, the rare Siberian primrose and ghost orchid; ospreys (fiskgjuse in Swedish) also nest on the island.
Kluntarna
Kluntarna has a little of everything – small fishing villages, dense pine forest and thousands of seabirds such as black guillemots and cormorants as well as waders like the greater ringed plover – and is a good choice, especially if you’ve only time to visit one island. Visitors are requested to show special respect for the delicate environment since the entire island is a protected nature reserve.
Rödkallen
Far out in the outer archipelago, south of Luleå, is Rödkallen. Site of an important lighthouse which once guarded the difficult southern approaches to Luleå, this tiny island offers fantastic sea and sky views; parts of it have been declared a nature reserve and the barren, rocky landscape is characteristic of its exposure to the elements.