Travel writer, Annabelle Thorpe, discovers the unexpected beauty of a self-drive holiday through Finnish Lakeland amid glorious autumn colours and cosy resorts.
It may not be the first country you think of when it comes to autumn colour, but Finland is often overlooked; dismissed as too far north, too cold, too wild. But as Southern Europe heats up, Scandinavian countries are increasingly starting to come onto the radar: Finland, the land of over 180,000 lakes – must be glorious in high summer, but it keeps its most beautiful looks for the autumn; the brief period of ruska, before the sunlight dwindles and the cold, hard winter sets in.
As a first-time visitor, I wanted to explore the Lakeland region as well as take in the autumn colours. The ease of a Finnish road trip becomes clear as soon as we leave Helsinki; the roads are almost empty, long and straight, flanked by mile after mile of forest. After about ninety minutes, the landscape changes; great stretches of blue, shimmering between the trees, and when we pull into the Radalla Resort, we’ve timed it just right for a sunset cup of tea on the deck before dinner.
Finland’s lakes are dotted with cosy hotels and resorts offering cabins dotted along the shorelines; many dating back over a century. At Radalla, the elegant main house, home to the restaurant and a clutch of rooms, is complemented by sleek, minimalist lakeside cabins, all with well-fitted-out kitchenettes. Not that we need to use them: our dinner of crisp, sauteed chicken with mushrooms picked in the surrounding fields is rich with garlic, butter and cream.
Next morning, we head to the Mustila Arboretum for a walk through woodland blazing with foliage in terracotta, saffron-yellow and deep claret hues. The oldest, most extensive botanical garden in Finland, the ticket office and café is housed in an old wooden building that feels straight out of Hansel and Gretel, and the path through the forest is wonderfully tranquil, weaving between dozens of different trees, and past the memorials to Axel Tigerstedt and his family, who first started the Arboretum in 1901.
The rain comes back the following morning, so we decide to head straight to our final stop, Nature Hotel and Spa Resort Järvisydän. It proves to be an extraordinary place: dating back to 1654, when the Heiskanen family were given a portion of land by the Russian Tsar, to build a tavern on the route between St Petersburg and Helsinki. Twelve generations later, it has become a resort with over 100 rooms, from glass-walled eyries high in the forest to log cabins, hexagonal pods and cosy hotel rooms. Everything is built from wood; walking into the main building, where the hull of a Viking ship is hung above the reception desk, is like walking into another Hans Christian Anderson illustration.
Late afternoon on Lake Saimaa and the sky is beginning to flood gold and pale pink; wisps of cloud, silver and white, dovetailing into great feathered patterns above the water. Along the shoreline swathes of forest glow auburn, gold and bottle green; the air cooling with every minute that passes. My friend Sara and I are speeding back across the water, after a short hike on one of the lake’s 13,170 islands, keeping watch for the ospreys and rare ringed seals that call this part of Saimaa home. By the time the boat has deposited us back at the welcoming Järvisydän, my hands are frozen, but my face is flaming from the sunlight and the brisk wind. Welcome to Finland in autumn.
After our trip across the lake, we warm up in the firelit dining room, with bowls of creamy mushroom soup, velvety salmon and a tangy, cloud-berry dessert. The following day we reward ourselves for all our exploration with a restful day in Järvisydan’s spa, where half a dozen saunas steam away any last stresses before our journey home. As we drive back to Helsinki airport, lakes shimmering on either side of the road, we agree that Finland in autumn has outstripped all our expectations: more peaceful, more beautiful – more sunny – than we would ever have imagined.
Annabelle travelled to Finland in late September.
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