Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE SOUTHWEST
KRISTIANSTAD
Hagestad Nature Reserve and Sandhammaren beach
A signposted drive 5km east of Kåseberga and also accessible on buses #322 and #392 from Ystad
For a day in really splendid natural surroundings, it's hard to beat the
Hagestad Nature
Reserve
, the best of the three reserves around the village of
Backåkra
. Thousands of
pines were planted here in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to bind the sandy
earth, and, together with oaks and birches, they make up a densely forested area; the
clumps of gnarled, stunted oaks are particularly distinctive. It's especially beautiful in
midsummer when orchids and heathers colour the forest floor; if you're lucky, you may
also see elk, badgers and roe deer, while buzzards and golden orioles are often sighted
above. The reserve is also the home of the most glorious
beach
in Skåne, known as
Sandhammaren
: walk along any path towards the sea and you'll soon reach a bright
white ribbon of sand - marked “Sandhammaren” on signs - backed by steep dunes and
lapped by turquoise waters.
5
Dag Hammarskjöld museum
Backåkravägen 73 (signposted from Backåkra) • Daily mid-June to mid-Aug noon-5pm • Free •
T
0411 52 60 10
In the midst of the nature reserve, uphill on heathland towards Backåkra is an old
farmstead once owned by
Dag Hammarskjöld
, United Nations secretary-general in the
1950s. His love of the Skåne coast led him to buy the farm and the surrounding sixty
acres in order to save it from developers. Killed in a plane crash in Zambia in 1961,
Hammarskjöld willed the farm and its contents to STF, which now runs the house as a
museum
. It contains amazing pieces of art from all over the world, including an ancient
Egyptian painting of the jackal-headed god Anubis, Greek bronzes from 200 BC and
contemporary pieces by the Wakefield sculptor Barbara Hepworth (whose work also
stands outside the UN's headquarters in New York on Hammarskjöld's instigation),
Picasso and Matisse.
GETTING AROUND
THE ÖSTERLEN COAST
By public transport
Getting around this part of the
country by public transport needs a bit of forward planning
but is perfectly feasible; timetables and journey planners
are at
W
skanetraiken.se.
By taxi
Another option to get to Ales Stenar, for example,
is to take a taxi from Ystad; for a set price of 450kr return,
including 1hr waiting time, a car will take you there and
back - book on
T
0411 720 00 and find them at the
station.
By car
With your own wheels, getting around is
straightforward; roads are good and with a decent map it's
no problem to visit the sites by car.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Löderups Strandbad
Södra Strandbadsvägen 40,
Löderup
T
0411 52 63 11,
W
loderupsstrandbad.com.
Located just west of Backåkra, this is a beautifully situated
year-round campsite, which also has a dozen regular
double rooms and cabins. There's also an open-air
swimming pool on site, pl
us a café and
restau
rant at
nearby
Gökväg
en. Doubles
790kr/940kr
, tents
140kr
,
cabins
1500kr
STF Backåkra youth hostel
Östra Kustvägen,
Backåkra
T
0411 52 60 80,
E
backakra.vandrarhem@
tele2.se.
A well-equipped hostel in an old school house
with a bus stop right outside; most rooms have bunk beds,
though the doubles have regular beds. You also c
an ren
t
bikes h
ere. Op
en mid-June to mid-Aug. Dorms
280kr
,
doubles
560kr
Kristianstad
Eighty kilometres northeast of Ystad, quiet
KRISTIANSTAD
(pronounced “cri-SHAN-
sta”) is eastern Skåne's most substantial historic centre and a convenient gateway to
Sweden's southern coast. With its beautiful little
Tivoli Park
containing a fine Art
Nouveau theatre,
boat trips
into the local bird-rich wetlands and a most elegant
cathedral
, Kristianstad can easily detain you for a relaxed day-long visit.
