Journey: Fettjeafallet – Locknekratern Meteoritcentre – Sundsvall – Skuleskogen National Park

Loved this meme shared by Sarah this morning – it is so true! I was meant to do a 2 mile jog, but hasn’t really thought much about the terrain. My route was a lovely path up to a waterfall through the woods, except for the loose wet boulders, raised roots and steep incline. I ran for a bit then accepted it was a walk…a rare walk on my own with just my thoughts. I randomly decided to sit in a rock pool, the water was freezing but it was so nice listening to the water flowing and just lying back against a rock. To dry off I sat on the bridge, half expecting someone to come but they never did. I’d been gifted these quiet moments. Once dressed again, a couple appeared and once back at the larger waterfall Mark arrived with the dogs. Wanting to share the magic of the river I carried Mabel across to a little island and the boys paddled across. I had a proper swim…Mark didn’t fancy it but I appreciate him going along with the idea.

We like to get our nerd on occasionally, and so our next trip was to the meteorite museum. It’s only little and we had the place to ourselves so they switched the film language to English for us and we had a coffee while watching. It’s run by two really nice people who we chatted to for ages, the chap told us the Saami people bring their reindeer to the area we saw them, and lots of really interesting facts. The lady was volunteering through a website workaway.info where you get accommodation/food in exchange for voluntary work. She was originally from Madrid and had wanted to travel and has thus used this scheme to go to Finland and Sweden so far.

Yesterday we were a bit concerned about our low LPG as we use it to cook with. Once back at the van we realised Sweden only has 16 LPG garages in the whole country and only one was north of us near the border of Finland…it was also too far to risk it as there is no LPG in Finland. So instead of a 3.5 hour drive straight north, we are having to add an extra 5 hours and do the other three sides of the square. Still the scenery is just beautiful and the driving so pleasant. We forgot to take phots enroute but there are magnificent lakes, trees and bridges. 

Now we can definitely make coffee and dinner again we took the pups for a brief walk around a lakeside memorial and then drove on to Skuleskogen National Park. We only did a short walk as it was so late, but the dogs are all zonked out and snoring now.

Journey: Hamra National Park – Sveg – Sonfjallet National Park – Fettjeafallet

My early morning starts came to an abrupt end as I slept. Ernest pinned me down, I couldn’t possibly get up 😜

We had a long drive to our first National Park. Hamra was our first step into bear territory…fair to say our chances of seeing one are miniscule but Mark loves them so they were the theme of our day. We did two of the trails and on the first Mabel got wet and rolled around getting absolutely filthy – she looked so proud of herself 😂 By the time we had finished the second trail all the dogs had dried off, and Mabel literally two steps from the end gate, jumped from the planks she had happily waddled along the whole way, into the bog. Ernest noticing his sister was belly deep decided to join her 🙈 So guess who had bath time when we got back to the van. Turns out Ernest only likes town fountains not showers, he was not impressed and cried bless him.

After lunch I did my exercises and then we drove on to the world largest wooden bear at Sveg. If we are honest it doesn’t look very bear like but the strawberry stall in the carpark had the most amazing tasting berries so it was worth it. A little worryingly we have tried 4 petrol stations and none do LPG so we are hoping we don’t run out before we find some.

Or second National Park was Sonfjallet which is a steep trail with rewarding views. We only made it part way as needed to get back for dinner and it was slightly alarming being pulled in various directions by the pups who kept bolting towards new smells. Typically we would have camped but it was forbidden so at 8:45 we drove on and I’m so glad we did. Around 9pm we came across 3 moose/reindeer! I was speechless and almost cried, at first we thought they were moose but looking at the antlers it seems more likely reindeer, though they seem too far south 🤔. Either way it was a magical experience. I’d stopped the van on the side of the road and the brown one walked past me, and an albino one and second brown one went past Mark. They weren’t fazed by the traffic or roads, just continued munching. Can someone give me a definitive answer to my moose/reindeer quandary?

Journey – Lake Mogsjön – Högbergfaltet Nature Reserve – Mora – Storstupet – Helvetesvallet

This morning I saw a lovely meme that summed up so many of our days. We are so lucky to be living this life, living simply, enjoying nature and each other – I hope to continue for as long as possible.

Trying to find my running legs once more I started my day with a gentle 2 mile jog through the forest…this is time I would typically be in bed but it feels good to be up and about, though I’m staying up later in the evenings to snuggle with the pups as feel a little guilty for leaving them.

Our first walk was at Högbergfaltet Nature Reserve which is an old iron mining area. It’s amazing how quickly nature has taken over the stone buildings and shafts. There was a tall watch tower overlooking the beautiful lake and a small herd of cows guarding the bridge who suggested we find an alternate route – which we did.

We had been tempted to drive to Dalhalla amphitheatre which looks amazing – it’s a concert venue within a lime quarry but unless attending a concert you can’t get in…and Mark didn’t fancy listening to New Order tomorrow night, so instead we drove on to Mora. It’s a nice little town with decorated donkeys as it’s motif which was nice and random. Mark wouldn’t let Ernest play in the fountain, he really does love water features 😂 We had a coffee and got chatting to a local couple who quizzed us on English politics…they think us Brits are barmy with the whole Brexit/Boris malarky. I personally agree, it’s caused so much division.

We had two further walks planned. On arriving at Storstupet we realised it was too steep for the pups and Mark is very nervous of cliff edges so we went alone. I did one of my best handstands as close to the edge as Mark would allow and braved walking on the railway bridge. Although a wide enough path the inch gaps between planks are really unnerving when you are so high! 

The second walk was close by at Helvetesvallet, where we are camped for the night. The pups joined us for a scramble down to the waterfall and over the bridge but I didn’t feel it was safe for them to go further. Ernest is not fased by anything…I suppose he is like a child and fearless. The evenings entertainment was Mark asking me to cut his hair. When leaving Norwich his hairdresser had advised an 8 level on his beard trimmer all over…so that’s what I did. I gasped and said oh god after the first few strokes…are you sure he said 8?! Mark couldn’t see it until all finished and is still smiling, though his hair is so light you can hardly see it and he has never had it this short in his life. It’s going to take some getting used to but at least it’s low maintenance and it will soon grow 😂 I’m not going to do the same with mine 😜

Journey: Grenå – Rok Runestone – Naturum Tåkern – Vadstena Castle – Motala Gota Canal – Garphyttans National Park – Lake Mogsjön

It’s a Monday…start of the week and positive habits. I rolled out of bed and while the dogs were still asleep did my exercises. This was a far more productive start to the day than usual and in fairness worked well so hopefully I can keep it up.

Mark loves polar regions and Ernest is named after the explorer Ernest Shackleton so it made sense to go to Grenå Museum & Polarcentre. Here we learnt about the amazing if somewhat crazy expedition to the North Pole by hot air balloon! Not least because you can’t steer it. It was a fascinating story that sadly ended with the death of all three explorers miles from their target but their names live on and no doubt inspired others.

From here it was on to Rok Runestone which is one of the longest most confusing engravings – they believe made by a father in mourning of his son. The first proper dog walk was at Naturum Tåkern which has an amazing looking thatched visitor center. Mabel was in major go slow and waddled way behind…turns out she finds wet lands boring. We had to laugh at Ernest and Mabel when they barked at a fox…a plastic fox on the kids trail. I literally had to go up to it and pat it to prove it wasn’t real 😂 Old habits die hard, they used to go nuts if saw a fox in our garden. The highlight of our walk was watching one herd of cows race across the field to meet another herd who had just arrived, they were evidently so excited 🐄❤️

Next stop was another castle. Vandana castle looks so imposing as you drive up to the town as it dominates the skyline. It’s slightly less impressive up close but it’s a nice place to have a potter…I rather wish I’d had an ice cream. I’d say unless you love looking at boats you can skip Motala, we watched a boat go along the Gota Canal and through the lock but it’s really quite dull.

Conscious of the large distances to cover I wanted to push on towards tomorrows nature reserve which was 2 hours away and thus found a nice place half way. As we pulled in we both got déjà vu…it was Garphyttans National Park where we had been before 🙈 No worries though we just did a different trail and this time I had proper footwear on. Mabel was like a different dog racing on ahead through the forest. The dogs do much prefer forests and beaches, it’s just such a shame we have to do a major tick scan after every walk (Jasper had 20+!).

While the pups rested I drove on another 40minutes to our campspot near Lake Mogsjön, it’s been a long but lovely day.

Journey: Höö Nature Reserve – Greater Mosse National Park – Utsinkten Huskvana – Brahehus – Gränna 

Good old night nurse knocked me out and I had almost 9 hours of sleep…supposedly there was torrential rain last night…who knew…not me!

Our first walk of the day was at Höö Nature reserve which is a working farm with trails going through and around it. Being on a peninsula it was surrounded by lakes which you could glimpse through the trees. Ernest tried and failed to make friends with geese and cows…adding these to the list of frogs, snails, slugs, toads, birds, horses, sheep, goats, ducks, hens…and other dogs who all think he is overly friendly 🙈 On the plus he has stopped trying to eat butterflies so they quite like him now 🦋

For a longer walk we went to Greater Mosse National Park which Mark had tried to avoid as it’s the most boggy. In fairness the pups stuck to the paths except for a fascinating smell that attracted all three and resulted in several minutes of intense rolling…if we don’t ever see a wild boar at least we can smell one on Mabel. Thank God I have a cold 😜

After lunch the plan was to go to a scenic spot overlooking Huskvana. It was at this point we had torrential rain that resulted in flooded roads and barely any visibility, so we went to the supermarket instead and by magic it stopped. The view was stunning, and we made sure to keep our eyes forward as we had stumbled upon a couple having sex in their car. Fair play to them, they had moved the barrier and driven down a steep path (definitely not a road), so they had obviously done a recce beforehand. Ever practical my first thought was ‘why has he kept the engine running?’. Surely the session has to last longer than the 1minute drive down, or to fix your pants would take more time than turning on the engine. Mark thinks it was to keep the car warm…hmm I think the exercise should provide that 🤔 😂Anyway we hope we didn’t disturb them and warned the family with 4 kids walking down the path…

Our sunset spot was Brahehus which is a ruined house overlooking the lake. Rather than camp with the masses we drove back to Gränna and parked by the harbour. I’ve started my new fitness regime having put 2 pounds on at the festival – the food was so good! So you can have a giggle at my attempts to do day 7 of the running challenge with three dogs in the van 😂