Garphyttan National Park

Garphyttan was declared in 1909 with the first group of parks and covers only about a hundred and eleven hectares on the eastern slope of the Kilsbergen, protecting a farmed landscape rather than a wild one: hay meadows, wooded pasture, hazel and lime coppice, and the field systems of a smallholding that worked here. As at Angso, the point is that this habitat exists only through management, so the meadows are still mown late in the season and grazed after. Spring brings anemone and cowslip and early summer the meadow flowers. There is a short trail circuit, some steep sections up the slope, and no facilities beyond a car park.

What you actually see

• Hay meadows still mown late - the reason for the park.
• Hazel and lime coppice - and wooded pasture around it.
• Old smallholding field systems - the farmed structure preserved.
• A short trail circuit - with steep sections up the slope.

When to go

May and June for the flowering. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

It is very small - a couple of hours covers it entirely. Outside the flowering months there is little to see. There are no facilities on site. Slopes are steep in places.

Nearby

Kilsbergen rises behind; Orebro is east.