Trollskogen

Trollskogen sits at the very top of Oland where the wind comes off the sea from every direction, and the pines have grown accordingly - leaning, corkscrewed, branches turned back on themselves, with ivy climbing many of them, which is uncommon this far north. The Troll pine, the oldest, is estimated at around a thousand years. A circular trail of about four and a half kilometres runs through the wood, out along the shore and past the wreck of the schooner Swiks, which went aground in 1926 and whose ribs still stand in the shingle. There is a naturum at the entrance and a beach on the eastern side.

Background

The reserve covers 100 hectares on a promontory in Böda parish, Borgholm Municipality, and belongs to the Böda Kronopark. Its eastern side meets the Baltic with an exposed shingle beach, while the western side looks onto the sheltered Grankullaviken bay. Inside, pines up to 200 years old grow among old oaks left from the grazing pastures that once covered these forests. Some 15 cairns and stone circles are the earliest human traces, and to the south a stone wall some 230 feet long dates from the time of King John III (1537-1592). The Swiks ran aground on 21 December 1926, and its crew of seven got away in a lifeboat. Three signposted trails cross the area.

Source: Wikipedia, "Trollskogen"

What you'll find

• Pines bent and corkscrewed - by constant salt wind.
• Ivy climbing the trunks - unusual at this latitude.
• The wreck of the Swiks - aground since 1926, ribs in the shingle.
• A trail of about four and a half kilometres - wood and shore.

When to go

May to September. Two hours.

Before you go

July fills the car park and the trail. The naturum is seasonal. The wood is small - the trail is the visit. Wind off the point is constant and cold even in summer.

Nearby

Byrums raukar are south-west; Byxelkrok is on the west coast.

Key facts