Dave Phillips recalls exploring off the beaten track in Sweden by 4×4
THE Sweden Offroad Tour is the most remarkable off-road event in the world. Since 1995, over 8000 4×4 drivers have joined this amazing adventure through the stunningly beautiful forests and lakes of Sweden — a three-week odyssey that starts in the south of the country and culminates inside the Arctic Circle, nearly 1500 miles later.
Back in 2000, I was editor of what was then the best-selling 4×4 magazine in the UK (Land Rover Owner). It was the first UK magazine to participate in the event when I joined the tour that summer at the invitation of the organiser, Peter Öjerskog.
It was everything I expected… and then some. Although all 4×4 s were free to enter the event, there was a definite preference for Land Rovers of every model, from a cracking Series II fire engine through to Defenders and muscular V8 Range Rover Classics.
The majority of Sweden’s human population lives around the capital Stockholm, in the south. The rest of the country is largely unspoilt and almost deserted. You see many more reindeer than people. In fact you see more lakes than people — and those lakes invariably stretch as far as the eye can see, are crystal-clear and, quite simply, achingly beautiful.
In the middle of summer it was tempting to strip off and plunge in for a refreshing swim. Or it would have been if it hadn’t been for the huge, menacing swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes and midges than homed in on any exposed area of human flesh. I swear the sky turned black with them every time I got out of the Land Rover to take a photo.
Mind you, that was the only time the sky did darken. In these northern latitudes in the middle of summer it never got completely dark — just a hint of twilight between 11pm and 2am. They don’t call this the Land of the Midnight Sun for nothing.
That the Sweden Offroad Tour even exists is testament to the organisational abilities of Peter Öjerskog. Sweden was a politically-correct nation before we’d even heard of the expression. Off-road driving is very much frowned upon in Sweden, and there are no such things as greenlanes or byways open to 4x4s, so Peter’s marathon route involved securing access to private areas of countryside.
Back in 2000, that was mainly land controlled by the Swedish military. Here, on ground normally traversed by tanks, participants in the tour tackled some spectacular off-road challenges across bogs, through dense forests, over rocks and through fast-flowing rivers. It was a real joy — particularly for the winch-equipped Land Rovers in the convoy.
The tour really did boast something for everybody. Hardened off-roaders with prepped-up vehicles on big tyres — and probably steroids — drove and camped alongside families out for a holiday with a difference in their standard Discoverys.
The other unique feature of all Sweden Offroad Tours was – and still is – their sheer accessibility. Anybody can turn up for as many days as you like. You don’t even have to book in advance: just turn up on the morning of the day you want to take part, sign up, pay the daily entrance fee and enjoy the fun. It’s as simple as that.
Some drivers turned up for a day here and there, others were there for the whole adventure. All had a great deal of fun.
And the good news is that the Sweden Offroad Tour continues to go from strength to strength. It’s held in July every year and, just like in 2000, it ends beyond the Arctic Circle in the Land Of the Midnight Sun. And Peter Öjerskog is still the organiser. Details on www.swedenoffroad.com.
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