Swim Cycle Sweden

11/10/2024

Autumn colours just outside Virserum. The maples are truly extraordinary at the start of October.

07/10/2024

For those of you considering a Swedish holiday next year, I'd like to share some weather observations from this year that illustrate how pleasant it is here in summer (and at other times of year too!).

A good friend in Cullompton, Devon (where we used to live) has a wonderful weather station at his house.

By way of comparison, this year so far here in Virserum, we've had 401mm precipitation and Cullompton has had 778mm.

We've had 1758hrs sunshine (approx - value is averaged between two local stations) and Devon has had 896hrs.

And the summer (start of May to the end of September) average temperature here has been 21.68c and in Devon it's been 19.12c over the same period.

So if you want to see the sun, avoid the rain and be warmer, come to Sweden!

The photo is from a bike ride I did yesterday, and is about 20km from the village.

21/09/2024

https://youtu.be/EtC5MLEWJOY?si=jSLkXO4UUxSQOO1z

For those of you thinking about SE Sweden for a gravel cycling and swimming holiday next year :D

Tips from Alex Dowsett about gravelbiking i Småland(sweden)

21/09/2024

Glorious weather here for the autumn equinox. 23-24c here today, barely a breath of wind and even the water is still holding just above 20c. All change next week though, as autumn makes itself felt.

29/08/2024

We have a calm, sunny and warm week ahead - perfect for a last minute getaway in our cabin!
£280/week or £40/night in total (including utilities, bedding, towels and swim towels) for up to two guests.
The lakes are lovely and warm still! 😊

🏊‍♀️🚴‍♂️🇸🇪

31/07/2024

Hi folks! The sun is shining and the lakes are at least 22 degrees and rising..
Who needs a relaxing (or action packed!) break in our cozy cabin?
It's been a huge hit with our guests so far - see a few sample reviews below..

For larger groups of 6-8 ( or even 20!) we can arrange lakeside (or very close) cabins and houses, as well as organise bike, kayak and paddle board hire.

The village has cafes, several swim spots on the lake and river, an art gallery and downhill MTB trails, whilst being surrounded by acres of tranquil forest and a further 50+ lakes within 5 miles.

Hope to welcome you to our wonderful corner of Sweden very soon!

23/07/2024

It's been an incredibly busy month here at Swim Cycle Sweden.

I did three weeks of tour leading for a gravel cycling tour that I created for Glorious Gravel. With over 60 cycle tourists over the three weeks, many wonderful miles were ridden on perfect Swedish gravel. Great food, nice hotels and of course plenty of lake swimming!

I then upped sticks and took my bikes to Norway for a week of wonderful mountain (cycle) climbing. I stuck to Västland, in the area just north of Oslo and around Bergen and Stavanger. The mountains and fjords were stunning and I hugely enjoyed it. Very busy with tourists compared to Sweden (and incredibly expensive!) but I'll definitely be back next year.

And I'm home in Virserum now, enjoying the lake (temperature 23.6c this afternoon) and the great weather.

Get in touch if you'd like to organise a trip to our part of Sweden and we'll find the right holiday for you :D

08/07/2024

Our first guests have been and enjoyed their stay in our cosy stuga - who is next?! Just 500m from the lake and overlooking the forest, it's the perfect, affordable yet very comfortable accommodation to relax at the end of a busy day of cycling, swimming or kayaking in the endless forest and on the over 50 lakes in the area.
We are aiming to fill a gap in the market for accommodation for couples or pairs, who don't need to rent a larger property.

Bike, kayak and paddleboard hire available on site.

We still have availability in July, August and September. We can be reached easily from Gothenburg Landvetter or Copenhagen airports - flights available from Stansted, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol.

We can also arrange accommodation for larger groups - from 3 to 20!

**Availability calendar and price information added to website!**

https://www.swimcyclesweden.co.uk/accommodation/hazel-cottage

See you soon!

10/06/2024

I don't usually post about house listings, but this house has just come onto the market. It is the most visually striking house in the entire area (believe me - I've cycled almost every gravel road in a 25km radius) and is in a nice little hamlet.

So if you have a spare £65k (starting price - it will probably go for a bit more), consider buying a bit of history!

Skulptören & bildhuggaren Theodor Karlsson uppförde villan vid sekelskiftet efter inspiration från Ryssland & rysk imperialistisk stil. Björnöström 7 är en h...

07/06/2024

With Alex Dowsett's visit, we had the pleasure of Chris Lanaway's company, taking action photos of us enjoying some of the world's finest gravel roads.

05/06/2024

Last month, we hosted recently retired professional cyclist Alex Dowsett and his family for a week. They came to Småland to experience the gravel cycling and fine weather. They weren't disappointed!

Here is his first video from the trip. Gränna gravel is a race we both did - his his result was a little better than mine!

We went to Sweden to have a week away and take on the Granna Gravel Race, A segment style gravel race which drew in an International field of competitors, it...

01/06/2024

A productive and lovely day out in 29c summer heat today. IKEA first to outfit our 'tiny home' and then stopped on the way back for world class icecream at Aboda Klint (a cafe on top of a hill with great views and a picturesque lake at the bottom). Plenty of swimming and lolling around in the shallows, as well as checking out another lake on the way home (Boasjön).

29c in the shade today, a pleasant breeze and 23.5c in the water.

Oh, and a 30 second video from a gravel cycle ride just outside Virserum first thing in the morning.

31/05/2024

For those of you thinking of a summer getaway, here in Virserum we've had three weeks of glorious sunshine since we last checked in - between 21 and 27 degrees everyday!☀️

Our tiny house is very near completion, so time for a sneaky peek.. (interior photos coming in the next few days!).

The tiny house comfortably sleeps two, with it's own kitchen, dining and seating area for dining and relaxing, as well as a seperate twin or king bedroom, a private deck overlooking the forest and an adjoining private shower room and toilet.

If you are part of a larger group, we work with local holiday home owners to offer accommodation for groups of up to 6 with varying budgets - and even 20+ at one very special retreat on a nearby lake, if the whole family or swimming club would like to come along!

We have spotted some cheap flights from Stansted to Gothenburg in June, with routes from Edinburgh and Manchester aswell, or Bristol to Copenhagen - where you could combine your trip with a city break, or hop straight on a train to nearby Växjö, where our partner Rent A Wreck can meet you at the station with a very affordable hire car - and certainly not a wreck!

Småland is an extremely quiet part of Sweden, making for simple, traffic- free driving through stunning unbroken forest and past numerous tempting lakes enroute to your accommodation, where we can arrange bike, kayak, paddleboard and sauna hire to help you get the very most out of your Swedish adventure. 🇸🇪

03/05/2024

Summer has arrived, with the last week or so being fabulously sunny and 18-22c. The water temperatures are still lagging a bit (12c) but it's still lovely to get in for a dip.

22/01/2024

A sauna on wheels?

We're considering building a sauna built onto a trailer as something to offer for hire. The idea being that you can either have it installed at your holiday accommodation for the duration of your stay, or you can tow it to a lake of your choosing.

For a cost of about £100 a week (plus firewood), is this something that might be interesting?

19/01/2024

Another couple of days of deep cold before a thaw. This month has been incredibly cold:

Average high: -3.0c
Average low: -10.6c
Highest temp: 3.0c
Lowest temp: -22.0c

The thaw isn't due to last too long and February is usually the best month of winter 😊

16/01/2024

https://chng.it/yt5QXSxhVr

I've started a petition to try to get Ryanair to restart the flights between London Stansted and Växjö. They are really important for our region, so we'd be very grateful if you could sign it. I am confident it will get strong support.

Restart the London Stansted to Småland Växjö flights