Bommars and Gästgivars

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Bommars

   In the forests of Hälsingland, in central Sweden, you find farms that look as though they belong in a fairy tale. Prosperous farmers of the nineteenth century, who made their money from flax and timber, built large, many-roomed farmhouses and decorated their best rooms with paintings, wallpaper and carved details, often in rich reds, blues and golds. Several of these farms, the Hälsingegårdar, were listed by UNESCO in 2012, and others are still in private hands and used as homes. The place named on our list lies in the countryside near Ljusdal, in this farming country.

   Read the complete Bommars write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bommars is where the day begins. Next is Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.

2. 2. Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland

   Farmers in nineteenth-century Hälsingland had money, thanks to flax, timber and good land, and they spent it on houses. Their large wooden farmhouses, many of them painted red with Falun copper-mine pigment, often contained rooms reserved for festivities, decorated by itinerant painters with flowers, biblical scenes and allegories in bright colours. Seven of these farms, including Pallars in Järvsö, Gästgivars in Vallsta and Bommars in Letsbo, were inscribed together by UNESCO in 2012, and stepping into their painted rooms is like entering a folk tale.

   Read the complete Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gästgivars.

3. 3. Gästgivars

   Gästgivars is a farm in the village of Vallsta, in Hälsingland, in central Sweden, and inside its wooden buildings are some of the finest painted rooms in the country. It is one of the seven decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, recognized for the extraordinary wealth of folk art that prosperous farmers commissioned in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The name means the innkeeper's farm, and it once served as an inn for travellers along the road through the Ljusnan valley.

   Read the complete Gästgivars write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Gästgivars. Next is back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.

4. 4. back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, late in the day. Next is Bommars.

5. 5. Bommars

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Bommars write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Bommars. That is the ride.