We arrived in southern Sweden on the short ferry ride from Helsingor in Denmark. Although separated by only a few miles, the Swedish landscape seems infinitely more interesting than Denmark. Our first excursion was up to the Kullaberg peninsula, a stunning and rugged coastal nature reserve where we enjoyed a good day walk.

Pam continues to blend in well with the locals, on a number of occasions people have approached her and chatted on in the local language, they always seem surprised when she exclaims "pardon, please could you say that again" in English!

It is blackberry season here in Sweden so we have been filling our boots and our freezer with the little fellows and will be enjoying a sprinkling on our breakfast cereal long into the autumn!

We have discovered that one of the best places to park up for the night here is at one of the many lakeside swimming beaches which have excellent facilities including barbeques, loos and of course swimming piers which we have been enjoying going for a dip off.

The Gota Canal which connects the North Sea to the Baltic Sea has been another highlight and we enjoyed a great day of cycling along the tow path watching the boats go up and down the locks. We also came across Sweden's largest ice cream parlour which Pam particularly enjoyed!

We stayed with friends John & Jenny in Stockholm where we enjoyed a couple of days of sightseeing around this fabulous city as well as their magnificent hospitality. I must say I've had a few unusual drinks in my time but gin, elderflower cordial, sparking water and a pear ice cube just about tops the list, nice work John I will be adding it to my repertoire :-)

Next stop Finland.....