Why this ride
From Alfta it runs 123 km to Alfta; allow about 2 h 24 of riding. The stops in between: Gästgivars, Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland and back through Gästgivars.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jon-Lars and Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 123 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 24
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Jon-Lars
Farms in Hälsingland look like farms, until you open the door. Jon-Lars, near Alfta in the forested heart of the province, is one of the seven farmsteads inscribed in 2012 as the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, and from the road it seems a tidy group of dark red timber buildings around a yard. Inside, the festive rooms are covered with painted decoration, with flowers, curtains, biblical scenes and trompe-l'oeil swags painted in the nineteenth century, when the farmers were rich.
Read the complete Jon-Lars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jon-Lars is where the day begins. Next is Gästgivars.
2. 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 comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland.
3. 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
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland. Next is back through Gästgivars.
4. back through 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 through Gästgivars, late in the day. Next is Jon-Lars.
5. Jon-Lars
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jon-Lars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Jon-Lars. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Jon-Lars to Gästgivars
Jon-Lars → Gästgivars is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gästgivars to Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Gästgivars → Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland to back through Gästgivars
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland → back through Gästgivars is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gästgivars to Jon-Lars
back through Gästgivars → Jon-Lars is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.