Villa Elfvik is located in Espoo close to the centre of Helsinki and it was from there that we started our countryside walk. It’s an art nouveau villa on the edge of the Laajalahti Nature Reserve, inside we found exhibitions relating to the diverse nature of Espoo as well as a children’s adventure area ‘Badger’s Wood’. In the villa’s attractive dining room there is a cafe called ‘Satakieli’ but this is only open at weekends.
Nature trails begin at the villa and are clearly signposted. There is a short (700 metre) boardwalk trail to a birdwatching lookout tower which we took first and from where we had some far reaching views across the wetlands. Laajalahti Nature Reserve is one of the best bird watching areas in the Helsinki area.
The nature reserve consists mostly of open water and boardwalk trails alongside the reed beds, shore line and meadows. Near this trail we looked in the old boat shed which is now an exhibition centre with photographs of birds which populate this area. From the ceiling a large wooden bird hangs and children can pull a cord to let it rise and fall and see its wings flap. A little boy was doing just that, and having lots of fun.
Leaving there, we embarked on the longer 3 km boardwalk trail to Maarinlahti. The boards are well maintained but are very narrow down to one plank width in places. I remarked to my husband that you wouldn’t want to be walking along them after a few drinks and then a couple of minutes later and not having had a drink, I obviously wasn’t concentrating and fell over the edge! Fortunately I landed in a dry area and after being pulled back up I continued along the trail no worse for my slight mishap.
There were fine views from the top of the birdwatching tower and as we only had a pair of binoculars with us some very friendly Finnish ornithologists let us take a look through their spotting scopes to view a wide variety of waders and terns.
The nature trail ends here but we continued along the coastal path to Otaniemi which is also a scenic forest walk alongside the water. A little further on we passed the large Aalto University campus which overlooks the bay. The students are very fortunate to be able to study in such a tranquil environment with stunning scenery on their doorstep.
Later in the day we had a walk over to the Laguuni watersports centre at Keilaniemi just a short distance from where we were staying. Laguuni has only recently opened and it was fun to watch people wakeboarding, holding onto a rope attached to a cable mechanism.
The cable follows a circuit laid out with ramps and other obstacles anchored into the bay. Some people seemed to be experts whilst others were trying their best to stay on their feet but they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.
I’ve seen cable wakeboarding before but flyboarding was a new experience for me to observe. The flyboard rider stands on a board connected by a long hose to a boat. Pressurised water is then forced through nozzles into the rider’s boots enabling them to fly up to 15m in the air. Spectacular to watch but not something I would try myself! It was then back to our apartment after an evening watching these thrill seekers.
If you have enjoyed reading this post you may also like:
Haukilahti and Matinkylä, Espoo
Leppävaara and Glims Farmstead Museum, Espoo
Skeppsholmen Island, Stockholm
Love Travelling Blog 
You description of that boardwalk reminds me of something I would say and then do. Glad you stayed dry. Yeah, watersports is fun to watch, but I do not bounce so well anymore, so will leave them to the younger set. Thanks for sharing Marion. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gladly I didn’t hurt myself but just felt a bit silly falling off! Thanks for reading Allan, it’s much appreciated. Marion
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wisconsin has a lot of water sports (strangely), and we saw our first one last his year. My 2 year old still hasn’t stopped talking about it. It’s such a neat sport!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pleased you got to see it as well, it’s certainly exciting and different. Thank you for your much appreciated comments.
LikeLike
Great
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. Great photos. It is always bemusing to me to see people doing water sports in wetsuits. In my environment, where it is summer almost all year, we shrink away from the water sports in our short winter! When really we could just wear a wetsuit!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s very true! Thank you for your welcome thoughts on my post, they are much appreciated.
LikeLike
Laguuni looks like a lot of fun, I have not had a chance to go there yet, thank you for the introduction! I have finally arrived back home to Helsinki after 2 months in Turkey, will definitely check out your Finland posts as soon as I am settled back home 🙂 Have a good weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Piia. I hope you are not finding it to chilly now you are back home. I’m sure you had a lovely long holiday.
LikeLike
Hello Marion.
Sorry for “delayed” comment. Yesterday we drove again to Oulu 8½, slow due to roadworks, to spend some days there. This part of Espoo is quite unknown to me, because we lived short time in Eastern part of Espoo before moving to Nurmijärvi. Your post offered gorgeous photos and interesting information. Do You know what is the difference between summerhouses and Gazebos? When I looked at my old post from 2010: Here:
Mäntyharju with its gazebos,
I noticed that Gazebos seems to be more “elegant” than summerhouses. 🙂
Happy weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed this post–I have made similar comments about roads and paths that one wouldn’t want to navigate after a few…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your much appreciated comments. I’m pleased you enjoyed reading this post.
LikeLike
Flyboarding looks awesome! This post was interesting to read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Demi. Flyboarding is certainly different and exciting to watch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like a wonderful day – some serenity followed by thrills. Couldn’t ask for much more. That area is beautiful. Thanks for the pictures! I have never heard of flyboarding. Do they just stay in one place or do they move across the lake?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the move around a like but notary far. It must be difficult balancing up there!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would think it would be. Also, it might be extremely painful if you got turned upside down and driven into the water by the pressure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t thought of that but I’m sure it would be painful. Perhaps they start with gentle pressure whilst they are learning and build up gradually!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We share the love of travel! Thanks! I just came back from Spain after spending two months.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I’ll certainly take a look at yours too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those nature trails with the boardwalks look so lovely for a walk – glad you didn’t get hurt or wet when you fell off Marion!! We’ve seen someone flyboarding in Liverpool – didn’t know what it was called but it was fascinating to watch. Don’t think I’d try it myself either…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad no-one else was around to see me when I lost my footing on the narrow plank. The boardwalk was mostly over swamps and mud so I was very lucky that I tripped over in a dry bit. I was more concerned about my camera than myself as it was in my hand. Fortunately it didn’t touch the ground and after my husband dusted me down we carried on!! I would never try wakeboarding or flyboarding but it was fun to watch. It’s interesting you saw it in Liverpool. I saw it in Turku as well on the day we visited the Tall Ships but nowhere else yet. Thank you for your much appreciated thoughts Joy. M.
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG FLY BOARDING LOOKS SO COOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had never heard of flyboarding before but it’s certainly different. Thank you for your much appreciated comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting post, Marion – thanks for sharing. Good you didn’t hurt yourself! First a bit of bird spotting, then doing wake boarding, that would be a fun day for me 😉 ! Marcus
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, if ever you head to Helsinki for work or pleasure you can perhaps have a go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never, ever heard of flyboarding! What will they think of next!?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know Sheri! I had never heard of it or seen it before either. Thank you for your much appreciated comments and for taking the time to read this post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was an interesting read,..loved the photos, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your much appreciated comments. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this post.
LikeLike
Looks like everyone in the pictures is having fun so they can’t be too worried about the country next door looking over their shoulders. lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Finns make the most of summer when it rarely goes dark! Thank you for taking the time to read this post Ian.
LikeLiked by 1 person