Sweden

[Jamie N]

I moved out to Sweden in April this year and have been living in a caravan on a secluded campsite.

What still amazes me is the space they have. A population of just 9 million in a country much bigger than Britain where there are 60 million. And most of that space is filled with trees and lakes. They have an 'old man's right' of access to almost all of this wilderness - you are even allowed to stay 48 hours on privately owned land (though you never see this abused).
The local authorities even provide areas to have fires, usually with a stock of chopped wood.

Half the people I know collect berries (wild strawberries, blueberries and lingon) in the summer and mushrooms in the autumn. It's a national pastime. Even children know which to collect and which not. The ability to make a decent camp or cooking fire is a skill just taken for granted.

Every builder's and hardware shop sells the plastic sheathed Mora knives or, more commonly, a copy version, sometimes so cheaply they're regarded as disposable rather than resharpened.

Inspired (or tired) by everyone telling me how viking they are, I treated myself to a really nice Hultafors hand made axe which I have used to shape and fit bark wood I used to make raised paths and outdoor toys.

The summer here has been great, but I am still in a caravan and winter is coming.... Here, that can mean -20C

Nevertheless, this is a great country for anyone who loves the great outdoors.

 

[huntergathereralex]

You're living the dream! Enjoy. P.S. pics would be nice.
Cheers
Alex

 

[Skiritis]

I am jealous!!

 

[Clouston98]

That sounds great!

 

[HHazeldean]

That sounds fantastic, pictures would be awesome!

 

[Jamie N]

 

[Jamie N]

Mmmm.. pictures.

I have 'You may not post attachments'. Don't know why.

 

[Goatboy]

You need ten posts under your belt before you can post pictures I believe.

Great post though.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Wish I could be there too. What brought you out there, do you have Swedish connections?

 

[squidinc]

sounds like paradise

 

[Big Stu 12]

I like teh sound of that ..........we do need pics tho....

 

[RonW]

I moved here permanently for a bit more than 2 years ago.
There was a reason for that....

But it is not all fun and games here, either.

 

[Didgeridoohan]

To RonW:
I see from your blog that you live in Dalarna. Nice piece of Sweden. I live in Gothenburg (400 km to the south) but originally come from Östersund (400 km to the north, and it's still only in the middle of Sweden).

To All:
I understand that we Swedes are quite spoiled when it comes to the great outdoors. I could not imagine life without "allemansrätten", the "old man's right" mentioned in the OP. It literally means that as long as you treat the land with respect (do not disturb or destroy) you can go pretty much anywhere you like (except in to someone's back yard).

Down here (Gothenburg) a normal winter hit about -10 to -15 Celsius, in Östersund -20 to -30 Celsius. Myself I've experienced -42 Celsius, but I spent that day indoors in front of a fireplace...

 

[RonW]

The allemanrätten indeed is a wonderfull thing to have, but unfortunately there are voices heard that want it limited. Around here that is mainly due to non-swedes who show little respect. People like professional berrypickers.

To the OP; remember that after 6 months in the country you need a permit to remain here longer!

 

[Tiley]

You are lucky indeed. I would dearly love to make the move to a country like Sweden. I hope you'll let us know how you get on during the winter.

 

[Didgeridoohan]

The allemanrätten indeed is a wonderfull thing to have, but unfortunately there are voices heard that want it limited. Around here that is mainly due to non-swedes who show little respect. People like professional berrypickers.!

I've not kept up to date with that discussion... The main problem (IMO) with professional berrypickers from abroad is that they get ripped of by the companies employing them. There was even a suicide because of that this year.

But even with professional berrypickers there should be no shortage of berries... Last month my sister and her boyfriend picked 13 kg of lingonberries in 1 hour.

 

[RonW]

I have to admit that I do feel sorry for those people. Coming here in the hope to make a few bucks and flee their miserable existence back at the place they call home only to find themselves being ruthlessly exploited, probably again.
There were some problems around here with them. The places they had been had been littered with all sorts of garbage, clothing, etc. They appearantly also had been trespassing on quit a few occassions, but that may also be beyond their fault. But still, littering the forest and just dumping your trash is no good no matter where and who you are. There was indeed an abundance of berries. So much so that they found a pile of an estimated 1000kg(!!) of lingon dumped at one site. The how and why are unknown.
There were also some less positive remarks on the "outdoortourists" who (quote) seem to think they can do what ever they want in the woods; chopping down trees, building shelters, lighting fires at random and just leave their trash everywhere (unquote). On the other hand, when I see how the locals and loggingcompanies treat their woods.....
And it's not just this year I hear or read stories like these. I sometimes wonder if these stories, sent in by people and published in newspapers, are sheer shortsightedness or if there really is a problem regarding the tourists and pickers. Maybe Dalarna really is the most conservative province of all and anything from outside should be kept at a distance.

 

[Husky]

The "right of public access" is not a law but an old custom based on the right to travel over another persons land and also to take some provisions while traveling. If I remember correctly you were allowed to pick enough hazelnuts to fill one mitten up to the thumb. Today you can pick as much berries and fungus as you like and even sell it if you want. This is where it starts so get a bit hazy. Berry buyers then organizes hundreds of Thai or Bulgarians to pick berries and claim that this is ok because it is not organized but one hundred individuals who just happen to be picking at the same place at the same time. They also do not have any responsibility for the one hundred Thai living in a forest camp without toilets or garbage disposal for weeks at a time, not knowing that this is actually not legal. The landowners have to clean up their own land at their own expense while the berry buyers get rich ripping off the pickers. The annual moose hunt, which is a big deal in rural sweden and also involves quite a lot of money, is ruined if there are hundreds of people picking berries in a semi organized way at the same time. It´s not hard to understand why some start to think that this right to other peoples land may be questioned but so far very few have anything against the lone wanderers camping, picking berries and paddling the lakes.

 

[Chiseller]

The "right of public access" is not a law but an old custom based on the right to travel over another persons land and also to take some provisions while traveling. If I remember correctly you were allowed to pick enough hazelnuts to fill one mitten up to the thumb. Today you can pick as much berries and fungus as you like and even sell it if you want. This is where it starts so get a bit hazy. Berry buyers then organizes hundreds of Thai or Bulgarians to pick berries and claim that this is ok because it is not organized but one hundred individuals who just happen to be picking at the same place at the same time. They also do not have any responsibility for the one hundred Thai living in a forest camp without toilets or garbage disposal for weeks at a time, not knowing that this is actually not legal. The landowners have to clean up their own land at their own expense while the berry buyers get rich ripping off the pickers. The annual moose hunt, which is a big deal in rural sweden and also involves quite a lot of money, is ruined if there are hundreds of people picking berries in a semi organized way at the same time. It´s not hard to understand why some start to think that this right to other peoples land may be questioned but so far very few have anything against the lone wanderers camping, picking berries and paddling the lakes.

I feel their pain.......true empathy

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Clouston98]

The "right of public access" is not a law but an old custom based on the right to travel over another persons land and also to take some provisions while traveling. If I remember correctly you were allowed to pick enough hazelnuts to fill one mitten up to the thumb. Today you can pick as much berries and fungus as you like and even sell it if you want. This is where it starts so get a bit hazy. Berry buyers then organizes hundreds of Thai or Bulgarians to pick berries and claim that this is ok because it is not organized but one hundred individuals who just happen to be picking at the same place at the same time. They also do not have any responsibility for the one hundred Thai living in a forest camp without toilets or garbage disposal for weeks at a time, not knowing that this is actually not legal. The landowners have to clean up their own land at their own expense while the berry buyers get rich ripping off the pickers. The annual moose hunt, which is a big deal in rural sweden and also involves quite a lot of money, is ruined if there are hundreds of people picking berries in a semi organized way at the same time. It´s not hard to understand why some start to think that this right to other peoples land may be questioned but so far very few have anything against the lone wanderers camping, picking berries and paddling the lakes.

That sounds awful . Having said that its usually some irresponsible people ruining it for others no matter what the case. A real shame though.