Kinnekulle The next five train stops east of lidkoping, with the exception of the first (Kallby), take you into tiie heart of Kinnekulle, the "Flowering Mountain", an area rich in flora with a wellmarked web of paths through the woods past small lakes and minor sights. The youth hostel at GOSSATER (®0510400 22; April Sept) is particularly useful as from here you can walk sfraight up into the hills, as you can from the campsite at HELLEKIS (Raback station). Full details and a map are available at the lidkoping tourist office. Lacko About 20km north of lidkoping, the castle of Lacko lies perched on Kallandso, an island linked to the mainland by a road bridge. Originally built by the Skara bishops in the thirteenth century, it has been modified and restructured oyer the centuries by various owners, yet somehow the castle has changed little ш outward appearance since the midseventeenth century, with domecappe turrets protecting the whitewalled living quarters. It's magnificently sited on a promontory and there are guided tours of the sparsely furnished interior Gune Aug daily 10am6pm; Sept daily llamlpm; 20kr). )|1 i I r i i Bus #132 from Udkoping travels out here every hour during the summer (20kr), departing from Nya Stadens Torg: on the way it calls at SFIKEN, a tiny village known for its smoked fish. М A R I E S ТА D AND К A R LS В 0 R G I M\ Mariestad S aller prettier and more welcoming than Lidkoping, lakeside MARIESTAD Iv an hour up the train line is a much better place to spend a couple of days, e compact centre has an attractive medieval quarter, brought to life by either the selfguided walking tour (pick up a map from the tourist office) or the free OTiided tour laid on by the tourist office in summer (midJune to midAug Mon, Tburs & Sun evening Best of all, though, is that cruises up Lake Vanem to the start of the Gota Canal at Sjotorp are simple to arrange. A fairly exhaustive range of lake and canal cruises are offered throughout the summer, probably the best value being the trips through eight locks of the canal to Lyrestad (130kr oneway), or further, through another eleven, to Toreboda (190kr oneway), from where you could continue by bus to Karlsborg. Contact either Mariestads SMrgardstrafik («050086 650) or the tourist office to book. The youth hostel in Mariestad (o050110 448; 90kr) is open all year, though you'll need to book in advance outside the midJune to midAugust period. It has a great garden cafe and is conveniently sited across the road from the yacht harbour and tourist office GuneAug daily 8am7pm; SeptMay MonFri 8am 4pm; trOSOlOO 10). TTie central Nya Stadshotellet, Nygatan 10 (=0501138 00; ®), almost halves its prices from midJune to midAugust, making it a reasonable deal. ТЪе only other option is the campsite (May to midSept), a couple of kilometres' walk away on the other side of the river. Gullsping Buses head 40km north from Mariestad to GULLSPANG.