If you see water, route is correct
Coastal road of Southern Finland and the idea behind it has been covered in this starting post. Short explanation is that we wanted to drive the coastal line of Finland as close to the sea as possible but without taking any dead-ends which mean coming back the same way. It’s took long for us to drive in one go so we have done it in parts. When this was done some years ago, we both still lived in Turku so it was easiest to start there. First part was to drive from Turku to Rauma.
As I already said in the starting post, it was crazy early when we started this trip on top of Korppoolaismäki. After filming some, we hopped in to our vehicle, Ford Ranger WildTrak pickup and drove down to the river Aura. We continues across the bridge and to the Turku Castle. We had already stopped there during our trip along the Oxen road of Tavastia, so this time we just passed by. Maybe one day we can film and photograph inside the castle too. But won’t they say that if something is too close, you’re not likely to visit there.
Turku harbour was passed by. Even the big Ferries to Sweden had not arrived yet so nothing to look over there. After the harbour area, you’ll see Convention Center and Hockey Arena (also the road to beautiful Ruissalo but that would have been a dead-end). Then you’ll go through two sub-urban areas called Pansio and Perno and then you’ll reach the next town called Raisio. Raisio has a big factory so we went close by and took a photo of the not-so-pretty Raisio factory.
We continued to Naantali and saw a pipe with smoke.
Naantali is a pretty town where is a lot to see (Momin world for example) but we only stopped on “CopperHill” where you have Presidental Summer residence on the background.
After leaving Naantali, you’ll get to archipelago with a few high bridges crossing the sea. Scenery was nice but we didn’t stop until we got to Askainen and Louhisaari Mansion. That is a birthplace of one of our Presidents Mannerheim. Road going there is also something to experience.
Louhisaaren linna is a museum now and is open to visit during the summertime. Every time I’m here, it’s too early in the morning so it’s closed. So I have no idea what it looks like from inside. Maybe one day…
After some time admiring the mansion from outside, we continued to Kustavi and Taivassalo. A nice tarmac road would lead there but we chose a small gravel road through farms and forests. We also found a good place to try out the off-road capabilities of the Ford. Low-range gear and hill-descent worked out perfectly.
Taivassalo looked very much like a ghost town. Nobody anywhere and also some of the store buildings looked abandoned. Maybe this is what escape from the countryside looks like.
We have pre-chosen one place to visit from Taivassalo. It’s called a Rock of Tears and it has quite sad story. Story can be read (in Finnish but use a google translate or similar to read it) from a blog called Purppurapupu. If you are sensitive or pregnant, I suggest not to read it.
The place itself is something you have to look for. There is a little sign that shows where you can park (space for only one car). The Rock of Tears have a sign that tells a short version of the story (Cousins got married and that was forbidden that time. They got a child and were all executed because of it) Even though there was nothing more to see there, the feeling there was somewhat disturbing. There was also some strange things happening while filming there. As I started talking, a strong wind started blowing and it actually dropped the mic on top of the camera. I said aloud “please let us do this and we’ll be gone” and wind ended. Creepy.
We continued to Uusikaupunki and there was nothing special to see in between (except normal countryside scenery but that’s a little too common for us to see) At the city we stopped beside the river road and took pictures of the old buildings. Uusikaupunki is a nice place to visit in the summer. You can play golf, visit Car Factory or taste some local beers.
The next part of our trip revealed the most interesting road on this trip. From Uusikaupunki we started the very coastal road and there was water on both sides of the road. Springtime is the the best time for this road so hopefully I can re-visit some day during the summer when all the trees have leafs. If we had a “Certified Scenic Road” -mark, this would get it by far.
From Pyhäranta to Rauma, the road was nice and windy but the scenery was nothing special. At Rauma we stopped for food in a gas station and then turned back home. Rauma is a place of a trip of it’s own.
The best parts of this trip were at Merimasku and the island-hopping road from Uusikaupunki. If you want to eat, best places for that are in Naantali and Uusikaupunki. Louhisaari Mansion has a cafe and maybe you can also get a light lunch from there. Rymättylä and Kustavi were left out of this trip, because we would have had to return our tracks.
Here’s the video we made and also a small photogallery:
