Lidö

Lidö lies in the northern archipelago, near Räfsnäs and Kapellskär. Here you find some of the northern archipelago's most undisturbed natural woodland. There is rich birdlife to be watched, including ospreys, goshawks and sea eagles. Large areas of the idyllic island are undisturbed and are perfect for rambling. If you want to discover more of the coastline, there are canoes and rowing boats available for renting.

There is a farm on the island, Lidö Gård, which is run by young islanders. They have a farm shop in the guest harbour selling products from Lidö and the surrounding islands. There are also guided tours available from an official archipelago guide who can tell you about the history of Lidö as well as explain about the island today.

Lidö Säteri is an inn and conference centre which stands on a height overlooking the guest harbour. This magnificent guest house was built in 1769 as a home for Mattias Holmers, a captain in the Swedish East India Company. There is other accommodation available in the hostel and cottages. Canoes and rowing boats can be rented from the inn.

- Kanonberget on the island's north eastern point was a defence post in the past and there is still a cannon standing here. From here there is a magnificent view out across the Sea of Åland.

- Lidö Gård is an organic farm with livestock.

- Kvarnen (the mill) can be seen at the pier and was built in the 19^th century

How to get there
Waxholmsbolaget boats serve Lidö all year round from Rävsnäs pier. During the summer, Blidösunsdsbolaget goes to Lidö directly from Strömkajen in Stockholm. There are also several taxi boats in the area.

Accommodation
Lidö Krog & Konferens
Hostel with 38 beds in the main building and small cottages to rent. Open from May to September.
Camping at Österhamn

Food
Lidö Värdshus (inn)

Shopping
Farm shop, café and small shop with fresh bread.

Guest Harbour
Båthusviken has room for about 55 boats. Natural Harbours

Natural harbour 
in Österhamn with outside toilet.

Nature
On Lidö there are groves rich in flora and here you find some of the northern archipelago's most undisturbed natural woodland. The island is flatl and the woodland is dominated by fir trees with just small numbers of broad leaf trees. There are selected valuable broad leaf trees around the old manor.

Following the northern coastline and north east of Österhamn is a special type of vegetation called "rocky fir tree woodland" with pine trees more than 200 years old. There are a number of fields which are remain from historical agriculture. At Lidö Gård (farm) in 2002, they started trying to restore the original agricultural landscape. There is a lovely coastline meadow at Norrsundet which is rich in flora. The island has very rich bird life including birds of prey like spotted nutcrackers, ospreys and goshawks that nest on the island. Other species include rosefinches, chiffchaffs, wrens, black woodpeckers, stock pigeons and herons. Sea eagles often pass Lidö, particularly during late summer and autumn.

History
The island's history has been documented since the Middle Ages. People have lived off the land, fishing and hunting. The population was at its highest during the 17^th century when there was a large archipelago farm there. Baron "Traveller Bengt" Oxenstierna took ownership of the island around 1630 after his travels around the world, and he built an impressive baroque house in 1634 overlooking the sea. It was razed to the ground during the Russian ravages in 1719. The stones were shipped to Arholma where they were used to build the Arholma Beacon. The existing manor was built on this site in 1769.

From 1920 to 1945, Lidö was home to Sweden's largest mink farm. In 1945 the island was acquired by Stockholm city and in 1998 it was transferred to the Archipelago Foundation.