Dalby Soderskog National Park

Dalby Soderskog covers only thirty-six hectares, which makes it the smallest of the Swedish national parks, and it protects a fragment of the broadleaf forest that once covered much of Skane - elm, ash, beech, hornbeam and lime on rich moist soil, with a spring ground flora that comes up before the canopy closes: wood anemone, yellow anemone, ramsons and corydalis in sheets. An earthwork bank of unclear date runs round part of it. Dutch elm disease has killed most of the elms and ash dieback is now working through the ash, so the wood is changing composition considerably, which the park signage explains rather than hides.

Background

The name translates as Dalby South Forest. When the park was created in 1918, the wood was believed to be a rare surviving piece of primeval forest, though the land had earlier served as pasture. Limestone and chalk in the ground account for the rich flora. The earth bank around parts of the park is of unknown origin and may be the remains of an ancient fort. Only the southern section of Dalby hage is national park, and its northern sections, Dalby Norreskog and Hästhagen, are protected instead as a nature reserve. It lies in Lund municipality and measures 0.36 square kilometres.

Source: Wikipedia, "Dalby Söderskog National Park"

What you'll find

• Thirty-six hectares of broadleaf wood - the smallest Swedish park.
• Spring flowers in sheets - anemone, ramsons, corydalis.
• An old earthwork bank - running round part of the wood.
• Elm and ash dying back - the wood visibly changing.

When to go

April to May for the flowering. An hour and a half.

Good to know

It is very small - an hour covers it. Outside spring there is little to see. Paths are muddy after rain. There are no facilities on site.

Nearby

Dalby church is close; Lund is west.

Key facts