SWEDE DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS

Stockholm is famous for its beautiful archipelago but tourists rarely visit its lakes, other than Malaren (“Lake expectations”, July 6).

When we used to live there our summers were spent cycling round then swimming in the lakes and in winter we used to ice-skate for miles.

We returned last summer and escaped the heat at Brunnsviken, in the north of the city, where we rented canoes and swam at the beach. The following day we took the bus to Hellasgarden: our children loved jumping off the jetty, swimming over to the pontoon and finding the rocks in the middle that you could stand on.

We are currently in the Lake District and enjoying ourselves but are shocked by the prices. It’s not often I would say that Stockholm is much cheaper.

PATRICIA LUMSDEN WINS A £250 RAILBOOKERS VOUCHER man knew a thing or two when it came to choosing somewhere to live. There are remains of stilt houses here – obviously with underfloor central heating.

The lake is a haunt for rare water birds and plants, and looks beautiful from above, on a path around Monte Calbarina looking towards Arqua Petrarca, the home of the poet Petrarch, who wisely chose his final resting place in this lovely undiscovered area.

P.M. ROBINSON of my grandchildren, does it for me.

On a gloriously sunny day (and yes, they do happen, even in Aberdeenshire), when the sun glints off the water and the breeze carries the smell of bracken, it is a delight – albeit a conventional one. But take the circular route around the loch on a windy, damp laden day when the light changes with every passing cloud and the challenge of the more rocky stretches of the path get 70-year-old lungs working fast, and you really feel alive.

I haven’t done it for a couple of years because of a dodgy hip, but with a new one on the horizon next summer, I hope to be back among the heather, cavorting like a young Bambi!

ROSIE RUSHTON