Description: Just a few brisk steps from the front door of the home I stayed at in Tampere, sat the vast and pristine area of Pyynikki Ridge, making a perfect morning wander or afternoon jog with some of the best walking trails I've been on in Europe.
The city of Tampere is known for its 'Green Areas' and its tradition to its parks and lake areas, which is one of the things that make it such an extremely pleasant and relaxed place to visit. Like most of the places we went in Finland, Tampere and its parks and trails were kept in pristine condition, and not just by the rangers and local government in charge of such things, but by the locals as well, who have a deep amount of respect for the areas and do their best to keep them upand in good order for all those who use them.
Because of my proximity to it, Pyynikki Ridge is the area and the trails that I became the most accustomed to in my stay in Tampere, and was one of my favorite spots in the area.
When the summer rains did finally stop (and I had started to believe they never would and I would be returning to Glasgow Prestwick with out ever having experienced the incredible Finnish summer sunshine I'd been hearing about) the first thing I did was run outside and made my way through the many winding, wooded paths of Pyynikki Ridge.
As one of the many protected areas in central Finland, Pyynikki measures approximately 50 hectares of purely protected area. It also has 32 hectares of green areas used for local recreation areas and parks. It is in this space that I spent a great deal of my time; on quiet summer mornings wandering through tall thick conifers is a truly wonderful feeling, especially when the sun has finally shown itself!
The ridge is located between two lakes, the Näsijärvi and the Pyhäjärvi, both stunning and used for summer activities. I used them simply as relaxing places to sit and contemplate my stay in Scandinavia, or write postcards home. (Finnish lakes are wonderful for such things.)
But because of the proximity to local housing, these trails are largely used for dog walking, and exercising so, in the mornings and evenings, you pass a fair number of walkers and joggers using the trails. I myself used them for these purposed a few times and given the length and varying difficulties of climb and distance, they were excellent for this.
An added point to be made here, too, is that in all my time wandering these semi-empty forested lanes, only a few miles outside of the city center, I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. You should take the same precautions you would take anywhere doing things alone, but all in all I felt it a very safe and friendly environment to spend outdoors in the Finnish woodlands.
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