The secret Russian submarine base, according to the guide, is ‘on the coast – down a little track that says there is CCTV.’ How enticing. I don’t know about you but I love a little secret, the thrill of gaining privileged information, the responsibility of keeping it.
The dilapidated villas of Kruunuvuori creek and groan with age; their end is nigh. And yet as the last rays of the day pierce the canopy, the mansion before me reveals its former splendour. The debris on the ground melts away, the trees retreat from view, and the house stands, erect and proud again, to command its position overlooking the gulf of Finland.