Journey: Bilkyrkogåden Kyrkö Mosse – Stensjönäs National Reserve – Naturum Vattenriket – Forsaker waterfall lookout – Havang Dolman – Kungagraven – Stenshuvud Norra Huvudet National Park – Ales Stenar
So the longly awaited car graveyard… I’m going to say it was amazing! We have since found out there are multiple car graveyards in Sweden and this one was actually the property of a chap called Ake who used to buy them to strip and recycle the car parts, so these carcasses are much older and date from 1950/60s. I have a feeling Jamie and Ben would have loved this place and known more about what was left but I was just in awe of how nature had taken over them and the slow decay.
Our 2nd short walk was a small nature reserve called Stensjönäs which seemed to be little used and quite sickly as the trees had been cut as if dead headed 3/4 down. Mabel picked up a scent and Ernest proved himself to be a great frog spotter while Jasper had a roll in the dirt (taking after Mabel).
We then drove on to Kristianstad which has a lovely nature center Vattenriket and multiple walking trails. We chose a mid distance route and largely enjoyed the wet lands but part of the walk was along a main road and as you are so close in the city you never really lose sense of it. I think we have been spoilt by being in the wilds so much 🙈
4th walk was to a waterfall at Forsaker, we have seen lots of lakes but few rivers and this was our first proper waterfall walk. It’s a nice easy loop route, with a viewing platform near the waterfall and there is an outdoor public pool at the end. We timed it perfectly and missed the worst of the rain by dashing back to the van at the end of our walk.
Whilst only short walks we let the pups rest while we visited Havang Dolman burial stones and stunning beach (complete with skinny dippers who might have braved a max 10seconds in the sea 😂). There was also a hostel with cafe so we finally had Fika! My yummy bite was a vegan energy ball…Marks chocolate mint cake and ice cream looked the better deal.
While I’m researching I try to add some history to our route so our next stop was Kungagraven…it is the only bronze age cairn in Scandinavia. Mark laughed when he saw the huge pile of stones and put on his best “yay exciting” face. I think maybe we have seen enough burial mounds 😂
The pups were ready for a longer walk and Stenshuvud Norra Huvudet National Park (god knows how you pronounce it!) was gorgeous. We did the 3.7km loop trail through forest and grasslands. Mabel wasn’t keen on the styles so I carried her and at one point we were meant to go through a field of young bulls but one was really taken with Mabel and came over to the gate to sniff us. We had to distract him and make a quick dash…typically Mabel thought this field was a great place to randomly go on strike and refused to do a fast waddle. Fortunately non of the bulls paid any notice and we all got through ok.
Back at the van, Markles was in agony trying to get enough phone signal to listen to the cricket updates (he had been checking throughout the walk). Hearing only snippets of commentary then having to wait several minutes for signal to get updates…it was an amazing game and the gasps and disbelief alongside the frustration were quite comical (towards the end he was praying – just 10 seconds of signal please!).
Cricket resolved we drove on to our final walk Ales Stenar. This is Sweden’s equivalent to stone henge and arriving as the sun was setting was simply magical. My photos don’t do justice to the gorgeous pink skies and the aura this place has. A must do for anyone visiting Sweden.
SofaWolves 