A mill in the middle of a forest is a strange thing to find in Finland, until you remember that the forest was the point. The Verla Groundwood and Board Mill, in Kymenlaakso in south-eastern Finland, was built in the 1870s beside a waterfall, where the river provided power and the surrounding woods provided the raw material. It made groundwood pulp and cardboard until it closed in 1964, and what remains is one of the best-preserved examples of a small wood-processing village in the world, which is why UNESCO listed it in 1996.
The buildings are mostly wooden, painted in dark red or ochre, with tall brick chimneys and a pair of steep-roofed mill halls that stand beside the rapids. The workers lived in the village, which had its own school, shops and a sauna, and the company's owners lived in a grander house nearby. It has the compact, carefully organised feel of a place built for a purpose, and it is easy to imagine the noise of the machinery and the smell of wet wood.
The landscape around is gentle and green. Forests of spruce, pine and birch roll away on every side, broken by small lakes and farmland, and the light on a summer evening seems to last for ever. Moose, which Finns call hirvi, live in these woods, and so do deer and wolves, though you are far more likely to meet a moose than anything else on the road, especially at dusk.
For a rider the roads here are smooth, quiet and well signed. They run in long, wooded curves with plenty of visibility, and the speed limits, usually eighty on country roads, are enforced by cameras and police. Keep an eye out for wildlife, particularly at dawn and dusk, and for cyclists. Summer is the season, with long days and warm weather, and September can be golden, though mornings turn cold quickly.
Jaala is a small village, and Kouvola, twenty-two kilometres away, is the nearest sizeable town, with fuel, shops and restaurants. Fill up there. The mill has a museum and a café in season, so check opening times before arriving.