Log out, switch off, and enter an ecosystem of pure natural beauty With 365 islands, one for each day of the year, The Weather Islands make up Sweden’s westernmost outpost, a place where ships moored back in the 15th and 16th centuries while waiting for better times. These days, however, there is no waiting for the good times. This is a place where people come to just be, surrounded by crystal-clear sea, stillness, seals and porpoises. In other words: a destination for your bucket list – the good times are here. By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Pia Hansson
“People get here and feel as though time stops,” says Pia Hansson, who runs the inn on Storö, the main island. “It’s like nowhere else. There’s no TV, no radio – it’s like stepping right into a mini ecosystem where everything you need is right there. You could be standing in the pilot’s lookout with 360-degree views as the wind howls all around. We embrace nature – we’re right there at the heart of it.” And at The Weather Islands, they walk the talk. They have their own recycling, 60 | Issue 125 | June 2019
their own treatment plant. As there’s no freshwater on the island, they desalt it themselves, adding some minerals for a pure, refreshing flavour. “You don’t just leave the taps running,” Hansson insists. “It brings an awareness: there’s a desperate scarcity of drinking water on this planet, and we’re going to look after it.” In fact, The Weather Islands have been a pioneering destination when it comes to responsible tourism for a long time
now. Everything is done with sustainability in mind, and the idea is that guests take that experience of being at one with nature with them when they leave: the feeling of sitting on the cliffs with the salty waves crashing in towards them. The next goal is full self-sufficiency, including with regards to electricity. “We’re nearly there, I suppose,” says Hansson. “We’ve already got sun panels, we fish for our own seafood… We’ve got no one to rely on but ourselves, and that’s in a way what makes being on the island so unique.”
A warm welcome Currently, there are 16 rooms, ranging from family rooms to a number of small, en-suite rooms with west-facing terraces, perfect for watching the magical sunset. As of next summer, another dozen-or-so en-suite double rooms will