Tyresta National Park lies just 20 km south of Stockholm and you can get to it easily by car, train or bus. The village of the same name is the gateway to this beautifully preserved park and nature reserve that with its gorge landscape, is quite unique in geological terms. This quality is also shared by the village of Tyresta that has been inhabited by man since the Iron Age and what you see today are a group of perfectly preserved buildings from the 18th century.

So what do you do when you get there? We suggest that you set off on one of the 55 kilometres of trails through the primeval forest, with its 400 year-old pines and rocky outcrops. Try to spot some birds or exquisite wild flowers that grow here. Dip your toes in one of the crystal clear lakes. Take a nap against a lichen-carpeted boulder. Apart from that there isn’t much else to do. Which is just as it should be.

Tyresta national park is around 5,000 hectares in size and encompasses primeval forest, lakes, some arable land, the village and a nature reserve. A good introduction to the park is the Primeval Forest Trail that wends 2.5 kilometres through the park. Another takes you through the forest to the shores of the Baltic Sea and offers fine views.

To put the age of the forest into perspective these pines were standing as the Vasa Ship, the most modern of its day and overloaded by its too many canons, sank in Lake Mälaren just 20 kilometres away in 1608. Perhaps some of the Tyresta villagers were there and watched it go down. Turning the clock forward to modern times Tyresta national park is a fabulous day out for the whole family and well worth a visit.