Lervik to Rammsjöstrand

 Lervik

We're in south Sweden with our friends Derek and Arlette, visiting friends Lars and Kerstin. Today we are walking along a section of the Skåne coast, between two small harbours. The coastline is low and grassy with rocks on the foreshore. This is the view across the bay.

Further on, there was a small and delightful herd of horses down by the waterside.

This flat grassy section ended at the beach of Segeltorpstrand with shallow dunes at the back of narrowish belt of sand. Very different from the beaches we have seen recently in Cornwall.

We had to head inland to avoid the beach and paused for a refreshing ice cream. We walked along a road for a while passing a selection of summer houses and then the path gradually came closer to the shore again. For a moment the feeling was almost Mediterranean.

After this the way became more open again and we started to see Small Copper and Grayling butterflies. We gradually came to realise that we were also seeing an increasing number of wartime pill boxes. We knew that Sweden had been neutral during the war, so at first this was surprising. Lars explained that they were built in 1940 as part of ensuring Sweden's neutrality: the best way to be neutral is to be strong.

We had also been seeing numbers of Hooded Crows, with apparently white breasts, and a great number of Cormorants. This group were all looking in the same direction. In the background is the Kullen Peninsular.

This whole area of coast has a large number of summer homes: all Swedes seem to have one either by the coast or by a lake or in the forest. These are typical of the style.

Further along this section there was an exceptionally untypical summer house. We all liked this cool modern design, except Lars who felt, very reasonably, that it didn't fit into its environment.

As we approached Rammsjöstrand, the foreshore became very rocky, but there was a good view back over the way we had come.

Soon after this, we reached the harbour of Rammsjöstrand and had a light lunch at a cafe in one of the small group of red buildings.

Conditions: hot and windy.

Distance: 6 miles.

Rating: four stars. The walk was just a short section of the 1000 km Skåneleden Trail.