Gästgivars and Bommars

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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

   Gästgivars is where the day begins. Next is Erik Anders.

2. 2. Erik Anders

   The farms of Hälsingland are one of the odder success stories of Swedish history. In the nineteenth century, farmers in this part of the country grew rich on flax and linen, and they spent their wealth not on grand manor houses but on enormous wooden farmhouses with elaborate painted interiors. Rooms were reserved for celebrations, and decorated with biblical scenes, flowers and ornamental borders by travelling artists. Seven of these farms are on the UNESCO list, among them the Erik-Anders farm, near Söderhamn, whose neat red buildings stand in a clearing among fields and forest.

   Read the complete Erik Anders write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Erik Anders comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bommars.

3. 3. 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

   about 182 km into the recorded legs you reach Bommars. Next is back through Erik Anders.

4. 4. back through Erik Anders

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Erik Anders write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Erik Anders, late in the day. Next is Gästgivars.

5. 5. Gästgivars

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   Back at Gästgivars. That is the ride.