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Nature Travels is proud to announce our new cutting-edge Interactive Map tool, giving an aerial overview of all Nature Travels wildlife, outdoor and adventure holidays in Sweden at a glance.

From My Maps to embedded maps

For some time now, Google Maps has had an enormously useful additional feature – the facility for users to customize maps with placemarks of their own. This My Maps feature has allowed users to interact with the Google Maps interface in a completely new way, creating personalised maps of everything from a world travel tour to the best places to buy ice-cream in London.

Various content can be added to each placemark, including text, pictures and even video. A pop-up displays the content when the marker is clicked. Being able to combine the enormous power of Google Maps with the ability to add personal customised content has proved hugely popular, but only quite recently has it become possible to embed My Maps in a website or blog, and only very recently has it become possible to do so reliably and easily. With this development the tool has become extremely useful to both tour operators and travellers. Where before users were forced to leave a site to navigate a map through the Google Maps interface, customised maps can now be embedded directly in web pages and blogs, giving the full functionality of Google Maps without the need to navigate away from the site you are viewing.

The Nature Travels interactive map feature

Sweden is a large and beautiful country, but its enormous range of outdoor holiday opportunities is surprisingly little-known. While some of our clients have a very clear idea what kind of experience they are looking for, many others are seeking inspiration, and our interactive map is an ideal and fun way to browse the wide variety of wildlife, outdoor and adventure holidays in Sweden we have available, with the ability to zoom in right down to street level with a choice of map, satellite or hybrid views. Clicking on each placemark will show a brief summary of the experience available at that location, including dates and prices. For full details, a complete list of links to the experiences is available down the left hand side of the page.

As transport networks become increasingly complex, a visual mapping system is an ideal way to find your way through the maze of possibilities for international and domestic connections. The Nature Travels map currently gives details of flights between the UK and Sweden, plus other useful connections to/from Norway and Dublin. With the growth of low-cost airlines, routes are being added all the time, and a visual map makes assessing the most convenient options much easier. As the concept develops, we are planning to add ferry and rail connections as well as other features to the map to further increase its usefulness.

Of course, the map is not only a map, but a full-featured route-finding tool, with the facility to display suggested routes and estimated travel times to/from or between any of our experiences. We hope that this will go a long way towards simplifying the planning process for our clients when travelling to and around Sweden.

How to make your own Google My Map

The joy of Google My Maps is that anyone can get involved, sharing information of almost any kind with the world. If you have been on a Nature Travels holiday to Sweden, you’re sure to have some wonderful tales to tell and some eye-catching photos (or even video) to share. Why not create your own Google My Map and share it with friends and family, or tell us about it and we’ll share it with the world?!

If you’d like to have a go at creating your own My Map, here’s how:

1. Go to maps.google.co.uk
2. Click “Sign in” in the top right hand corner.
3. If you already have a Google account, log in as normal. If not, follow the steps to create your own free account.
4. Back on the maps page, click the “My Maps” tab on the left hand side.
5. Click “Create new map”.
6. Follow the online tutorials to help you create your first map!

If you’d like to embed your new map in your blog or website:
1. Click on “link to this page” in the top right hand corner of the map.
2. Choose “Paste HTML to embed in website” or click on “Customise and preview embedded map”.
3. Place the code into your website or blog and you have your very own map!
4. Alternatively, simply choose “Paste link in email” to send a link to your map to a friend.

Google My Maps opens up a world of possibilities for sharing your memories and experiences of travelling. So get exploring!

Best regards

The Nature Travels Team

If the word “snowshoes” conjures visions of intrepid 19th century explorers trudging bravely across an Arctic landscape with tennis racquets tied to their feet, think again! Snowshoeing, while yet to gain significant popularity among UK winter sports enthusiasts, is fast becoming a major sport in many countries and is a fantastic way to get out and about in the wintertime. It’s also much less effort than you might think! There is a saying among snowshoeing enthusiasts: “If you can walk, you can snowshoe!”

Photo: Annika and Torkel Ideström

Modern snowshoes are lightweight and extremely comfortable, and the technique is very easy to learn. Most people find than within a few minutes they are completely at home on their snowshoes. As your knowledge of and your familiarity with the equipment improves, you will find your technique becoming more and more efficient, and your movements more and more natural.

Snowshoeing offers the winter outdoor enthusiast the freedom of the summer hiker, and allows you a free rein to explore both on and off the beaten track. What’s more, snowshoeing is a very flexible activity - you do not need to go to a special area to go snowshoeing - snowshoeing is possible anywhere where there is enough snow! Trails which may be well-known and familiar in summer take on a new, other-worldly character in winter. The landscape takes on a new freshness, and the clear winter air allows sharper long distance views than may be possible in the summer heat haze. And if you get lost, as a last resort you should be able to follow your own tracks home!

The real joy of snowshoeing is that it allows you to explore the quiet and uninhabited spaces of winter without the technical knowledge of the skier and with much less cumbersome equipment. For many people, whose experience of the winter mountains has been limited to the crowded and noisy ski slopes, snowshoeing comes as something of a revelation – a chance to escape the crowds and experience the calm beauty of a winter world far from the madding crowd back on the pistes. As the author Florence Page Jaques says in Snowshoe Country, “I love the deep silence of the midwinter woods. It is a stillness you can rest your whole weight against…”

Snowshoeing is an extremely accessible sport and can be practised on many levels. You may choose to follow well-marked cross country ski trails through the quiet forests keeping largely to flat country, or take to the hills for a uniquely intimate encounter with the winter mountain world, its silence and its grandeur, its shy wildlife and secret paths. It is a magical feeling to be the first to place your prints on a deep unbroken blanket of freshly fallen snow, as well as an exhilarating one to run headlong down a steep slope covered in light powder!

Snowshoeing is good for you, and good for the environment! It is an excellent form of exercise, and the cushioning effect of the snow means that there is less wear and tear on knees and other joints. The snow also protects the ground from the erosion which may be caused by summer outdoor activities. What’s more, because snowshoeing requires no infrastructure, it is not dependent on the damaging lift systems and associated developments which scar many of the world’s mountain areas.

Snowshoes work by distributing your weight over a wide area so that you don’t sink completely down into the snow as you would if wearing hiking boots. This “flotation” allows you to move through the snowy landscape much more efficiently, and is one reason why one of Sweden’s most fascinating predators, the wolverine, is able to pursue prey successfully through deep snow. Its broad furred paws mean that it can much faster across the snow than its prey animals like the reindeer, which distribute their weight over a much smaller area.

Snowshoes usually have a raised section at the toe, which improves maneuverability and makes it much easy to climb uphill. They are normally secured with simple bindings, and the heel is left loose. Special snowshoe boots are often not necessary, and snowboard boots or winter hiking boots may be suitable, especially for shorter expeditions.

Photo: Annika and Torkel Ideström

Of course, safety is a vital consideration at all times when in the winter mountains, and as with any winter sport it is essential to be fully informed and, where necessary, to use knowledgeable guides when exploring away from marked trails and routes.

Nature Travels offers a unique wilderness snowshoeing experience in the land of the wolverine. With an experienced local guide to lead the way, you have the chance to spend an exhilarating 4-day snowshoe holiday in the majestic area of Jämtland, sleeping warm under canvas each night below a limitless expanse of stars and exploring the silent forests and breathtaking mountain landscape by day. No previous experience of snowshoeing is necessary – so let the adventure begin!

Autumn is truly a beautiful season in Sweden. As the leaves begin to turn, Sweden’s vast expanses of forest take on a new life, as the trees, perhaps feeling a little dry and tired after the long summer days, explode with new vitality. Although winter may be just around the corner, September and early October in Sweden often bring clear, bright weather, and temperatures can still be surprisingly warm. One of the Nature Travels team was on a sea kayaking trip in the Stockholm archipelago during late September last year, and temperatures were still in the 20s with the archipelago waters perfect for a refreshing, if bracing, swim!

Many Swedes will tell you that autumn is their favourite season. While the nights are beginning to draw in, there is still plenty of daylight left for evening walks and foraging expeditions in the woods. At this time of year it is a common sight to see a Swedish family disappearing into the evening forest light carrying baskets or bags on the hunt for mushrooms and berries.

The Swedish forests are rich with bounty at this time of year. Mushroom picking is extremely popular, and Sweden is home to a wide variety of forest mushrooms including the elusive and prized Chanterelle – and there’s good news: 2007 looks set to be an excellent mushroom year! The Swedes are enthusiastic and creative cooks, and many people are very knowledgeable about edible mushrooms, which are taken back to kitchens throughout the country and incorporated into mouthwatering pies, quiches and sauces.

Also extremely popular is berry picking, especially lingonberries, blueberries and the exotic cloudberries. These are made into pies, jams and delicious cordials. Particularly popular are blueberry soup (“blåbärssopa”) and lingonberry jam (“lingonsylt”).

Of course, it is not only the two-legged visitors to the forest who love berries – brown bears and badgers especially thrive during good berry years! Berries provide an important dietary supplement for many animals keen to fatten up before the winter freeze.

If you are an elk or a deer, autumn is a time for caution, as it is also the traditional hunting season. Hunting in Sweden is tightly regulated with strict quotas allocated in particular areas, and at this time of year local restaurants will often feature wild game as part of their menu.

Autumn is an excellent time for fishing in Sweden. The lower temperatures in the lakes make this a good season for pike fishing, as the larger pikes are searching voraciously for food to prepare themselves for winter. It is also a good time of year to catch pike-perch and perch.

Visitors to Sweden should not overlook the wonderful opportunities offered for outdoor activities during the autumn season – while the endless summer evenings and the magic of a snowy winter are hard to beat, the peace and gentle beauty of autumn is a unique experience and not to be missed.

Nature Travels offers a number of outdoor holidays in Sweden during the autumn season. Why not join Lasse and Åsa on their remote forest farm in the depths of Hälsingland, or stay in a traditional log cabin and try your luck at fishing on the quiet lakes of Värmland? For the mushroom connoisseur, Nature Travels also offers a dedicated mushroom picking experience, including the chance to prepare meals from your pickings under the expert tutelage of a renowned local chef!

Whatever your interests, an Autumn holiday in Sweden will have something to offer…..a perfect opportunity to squeeze in another break before that winter holiday you were planning!

Best regards
The Nature Travels Team