For Estoniana, the island of Saaremaa epitomizes the nation’s natural beauty more than any other place in the country. Cloaked with pine forest, juniper heath and grasslands, its coastline girdled with sandy beaches and tawny reed beds, it has long appealed to nature-loving, well-to-do Tallinners and increasingly attracts Scandinavian and Western-European tourists too. Estonia’s largest island is also a fertile source of myths and legends, with local folklore centring on the adventures of Suur Töll, a friendly but short-tempered giant, and his wife Piret.

Saaremaa’s capital Kuressaare is the island’s main transport and accommodation hub, and is an engrossing historic town in its own right.

Much of the island can be explored by bike from Kuressaare. Enthralling middle-of-the-island destinations include the thirteenth-century church at Kaarma, famous for its twin-aisle construction and late-Gothic pulpit; the nearby Kaali Meteorite Crater, and the Angla windmills a little further north.