Nature

Wander through dense forests along the edge of Raslången Lake. The lake is long, narrow and has a very irregular form – popular with canoeists and a truly unique paddling experience. Just to the north of Ransingatorpet you can find unusual fossils, including the petrified remains of the giant trees which thrived here several million years ago.

At the Skärsnäs Nature Reserve which stretches along Immeln Lake, the forest is called Tassemarken, which means “hinterland”. When you pass the Skärsjöarna Lakes, notice the pillar-like spruce trees – Pices abies f. columnaris. They resemble giant Christmas trees packed in nets.

Immeln Lake is one of the largest in Skåne. Large, pine trees with a high nature value, grow along the shore. Lichens and insects thrive here and if you visit in late summer, there are often lots of bilberries for the picking. Bilberries are related to, and often mistaken for, blueberries but they’re much blacker. Watch for black-throated loons, majestic osprey and the handsome diving duck – goosander. There is a small beach at the Brotorpet Nature Reserve, which is the end point of this section of trail. Take some time to search the beach for fossils. You might just find a shark's tooth!

Cultural History

By the shore of Filkesjön Lake, two infamous thieves, known by their nicknames “Beautiful Bengtsson” and “Tattooed Johansson”, had their hideout. Beautiful Bengtsson was the first criminal in Sweden to use dynamite to blow safes. He and his tattooed accomplice established their secret hideout between some boulders here and furnished it with a cooker, comfortable beds and even some flowery wallpaper. They managed to elude the police for a good two years.

At Brotorpet, there is an old flour mill and saw mill for planks and shingles. The surrounding forests provided the lumber which was shipped over the lake for re-routing elsewhere. Between Immeln Lake and Filkesjön Lake, you find Edre Ström Canal. Follow the canal until you come to a large stone arch bridge which leads to the flour mill and sawmill. A bit to the east, there is an eel trunk – a holding tank where the eels are stored for later use – in the middle of the river. Worth a visit.