They call Finland the land of 1000 lakes, and within minutes of arriving I had fallen into a green, sparkling one, which I realised, as the water seeped into my jeans, was also ice-cold. This is the Barösund region on the Finnish south coast, a stunning archipelago one hour’s drive from Helsinki . We’d only just checked in at The Barö ( thebaro.
fi ), a chic rural collection of 18 stilt-raised charcoal-hued cabins. With a floor-to-ceiling glass wall looking out onto the surrounding pine forest, my kids (aged nine, seven and four) were immediately drawn from our treehouse’s view to run out to pick wild blueberries and visit the lake. It was while I gingerly followed, stepping onto a moss-covered stone to cool my toes, that I tumbled into the crystal-clear lake.
The kids fell about laughing, of course — and they barely stopped beaming during our week-long Finnish break. We spent three days in this beautiful wilderness and four in Helsinki’s own cool splendour. At the Barö, it was a Famous Five-style experience.
The glass wall replaced a TV and we pulled back the black-out curtains in our cabin each morning to gaze out at eagles, woodpeckers and wandering deer. The sauna (of course there’s a sauna: Finland has 0.6 per person across its population) was next to a micro beach where the kids worked on sandcastles and built boats out of reeds.
Free bikes allowed us to hunt wild berries further afield, working up an appetite for the breakfast: a small but perfect arra.