I am not sure what more there is to add - a few more photos maybe.
Our original plan was to stay overnight at the lake side parking at Lidkoping, perhaps taking an afternoon ride along the cycle way. We didn't - the bright sunny photos belie the single digit temperatures and an icy wind blowing straight down the lake from the Arctic. The only other vehicle in the place was hot hatch pulsating with drum and bass. It was occupied by a lone young male who sat motionless contemplating Vänern's grey expanse - the outer manifestation of his inner hopelessness? Maybe he was just at a bit of a loose end.
We gave up on Lidkoping and decided to head up the eastern shore of the lake to Sjötorp , another overnight stopping place that had received very positive reviews on Campercontacts. Though the main road was rarely more than five kilometres from the shore the huge expanse of water remained invisible. The landscape was dead flat.
A throwaway comment as we drove along - maybe the lake was once much bigger and we are driving along the old bed. A bit of googling later revealed just how much of an understatement that was. The Ancylus Lake formed an enormous body of fresh water, the huge Vänern lake was a little bay in this giant freshwater ocean - an end result of the last ice age. We are not talking about millions of years ago but 7500 years before present - Neolithic farming by that point spread well beyond the eastern Mediterranean to the Seine valley and the north of Poland. We live on a highly dynamic planet.
We arrived at the Sjötorp parking - a lovely spot - only to discover that it was a really popular weekend destination for Swedish motorhomers - every place was taken. We did have a plan B, we headed to Sundsörn Camping, a few kilometres to the south, next to the bridge to the lake island of Torsö. In sunny weather it would have looked great. In drizzle - the back of beyond - a notice in the parking area instructed new arrivals to book-in at the cafe by the bridge. It was a long walk.
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| Spot the ever intrepid Gill |
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| 'Bridge Cafe[ |
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| Stylish in a homespun way |
In the end the place was OK, the facilities clean and functional. As in previous sites statics predominated, mostly locked-up, once more 'zombie-land' - just us and a German camper on the tourist field.
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| good facilities |
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| lake view - in drizzle |
Next day - Monday - plenty of space at Sjötorp. It's easy to see why it is so popular, a pretty spot where the Gota Canal locks join Vänern lake.
You pay for parking at the lock-side cafe - very friendly and helpful people. There's a really good place next door selling smoked fish and homemade dressings. We bought some smoked salmon topped with lemon pepper for lunch. It was so delicious we called back later to buy a portion of the herb topped salmon for tomorrow.
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| Smoked fish shop |
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