a secure anchorage. Ängesön Ängesön island is slightly bigger than Holmön, with many cut-off inlets, pools, and bogs from which reed used to be cut. The road leading from Byviken, through Holmö By, terminates near Grossgrunden on Ängesön's southern tip. Grossgrunden Grossgrunden (from Old Norse grjót meaning "rock" and grund meaning "bottom") was once an area of dangerous rocky shallows, but due to the post-glacial rebound it is now a proper island surrounded by outlying islets. Stora Fjäderägg An islet northeast of Holmön with a lighthouse, bird conservation centre and a hostel. The island is an important resting point for migratory birds on their way to Asia and Africa. The southern half of the island has a number of ancient stone markings shaped in the form of labyrinths and compass roses, from the days Stora Fjäderägg was a fishing and sealing base. The former lighthouse keeper's residence now houses a youth hostel. Holmögadd Holmögadd, separated from Grossgrunden by Gaddströmmen sound, forms the southernmost tip of the Holmöarna islands. The island is best known for its lighthouse named Holmögadd dating from 1770. The entire island was a military shooting range from 1940, which was recently dismantled. Climate The Swedish weather service SMHI operates a weather station at Holmön. The local climate is very much influenced by the sea and as a result is a marine type of the humid continental climate regime with temperatures similar to coastal areas of Newfoundland in Canada, but with less snow and rainfall. It could be described as the northernmost continental zone in the world under the Köppen classification due to the cooler winters than Atlantic Norway and warmer Septembers than less marine inland areas. History The islands played host to fishing and sealing parties from the moment the first islands broke the sea's surface around the start of the Christian era. Around 1300 the seasonal hunters and fishers supposedly first settled permanently on the islands. This supposition is backed by a number of toponyms found in the islands. In 1543 King Gustav Vasa starts taxing the farming inhabitants of Holmöarna. Seven farms were found in the islands at that point. In 1698 the Umeå postmaster was ordered to have mail destined for Finland taken across Kvarken by Holmöarna's inhabitants whenever weather conditions allowed. In 1717 Holmön was plundered by the Russians. In 1760 the first lighthouse of the Kvarken narrows was constructed on Holmögadd. In