I cycled and camped wild through the far south of Sweden, four days of gravel tracks and lovely quiet lanes. This film is the second part of this two-part series, and covers the ride from Skåne through the borderlands and into Småland. It was a brilliant journey! But on this section, I made a big mistake and got very lost!
So, this is a sort of “how not to do it” video…
It did give me a feel for just how wild and isolated it must have been in the old no-man’s-land between old Denmark and old Sweden.
Hope you enjoy the film!!

PS The Swedish “Ordnance Survey” maps are from the Lantmäteriet, Sweden’s national mapping agency. Here’s their app for Android users
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.lantmateriet.minkarta
And for iphone
https://apps.apple.com/se/app/min-karta/id1495766306?l=en-GB
Don’t forget to download to your phone!!!

24 Comments

  1. Im realy impressed.. even as a swede!
    I never get lost.. exept ones.. outside my own house, get in to bushes, did get going in a cirkle.. ended up close to my own house!
    Ones is non.. there is a lot of roads in our woods, its for harvesting trees.. dont get lost on those! You managed it like a boss!
    In anyway, there is an app in sweden, to load at your phone, "112" for emergency, they track your GPS on your phone.. to find you!
    Or rather one shouldnt need it but if one stumble on any car accident/any other thing that needs emergency/police or the same they let you talk to the right service!
    However, you did the best and used our "Allemansrätt" in the way one shall do, taking all advances and responsibility of that right!
    In anyway, my father is frome Skåne, i like it, I call it "plattelandet" been there many times as a kid.. its half sweden and half denmark!
    Småland is however a special landscape as your husband told you.. its the land of Astrid Lindgren.. Pippi longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, other of Astrids tales!
    Now aday those skåningar is the moste Swedes ever.. its this they was east danish at that time with there own identity and cultur.. the only part thats left is Bornholm!

  2. Want to thank you for your nice beautiful movies. I was worried when you got lost in the forest, the first time I heard of a person who is lost in the forest in Skåne 🙂 You showed a film when Sweden is at its most beautiful.

  3. Lovely video Susanna. Losing your bike in a forest of trees that all look the same must have been a little frightening. Sweden is beautiful and thankyou for taking us all along.

  4. What an emotional and physical challenge Day 3 must have been Susanna! 😮 Great you were able to capture and share the experience – you’ll always have that memory now and spark memories and fears for your viewers 😇 So lovely that your tough day ended with a beautiful camp spot!! A true adventure…some lovely gifts provided by nature and a spluttering of challenges to test the nerve of anyone! 🙃 What a relief and good feeling it must have been to arrive at the cottage! Mission accomplished and adventure had 🥊💪😎

  5. Another amazing adventure, thanks for taking us with you. I just wanted to share something with you that has helped me on hikes and rides around the world, I am a novice compared to you but this works for me. There is an app called Osmand, the free version lets you download maps for 7 countries and it works offline. I am in Australia but downloaded the map for Sweden this morning to test it, the map does show many small tracks in the area you were lost in, probably not as many as the survey maps but enough to find your way out. I carry an old phone which just has a couple of apps on it including Osmand and use it for navigation when there is no mobile service. Only weighs 170grms. and gives me a back up if my main phone cant connect.

  6. I enjoy your videos and admire your use of analogue navigation. I wouldn’t contemplate going more than 10km from my house without phone, Wahoo/Garmin and tracker watch.

  7. When I got the notification that you’d released another video, I couldn’t wait to see it. And as always, it was excellent.
    Your adventures are amazing and the way you share them make me feel like I have literally been along for the ride. Not sure I would have dealt with loosing the bike, climbing the tree or being lost in the forest as well as you did though. Thank you once again for sharing. I’m already looking forward to your next adventures, while rewatching some old favourites. Thank you for being such an inspiration.

  8. BELL COMPASS, yes there is a bike bell with a compass on top, you can mount it on your Brompton. Costs 7 Pounds/ 8 Euros.
    So you see in what direction you are going.

    A friend of mine had to traverse north to south through Dijon, he used this bell compass to keep going south. And he managed it without a map.

  9. Hey Susanna- Your channel is growing so much now you’ll maybe not see this comment but I’ll do it anyway just in case. Lovely video as usual and they are getting better and better. It’s so worth the extra hassle of taking the time to make those shots of you cycling past the camera, and shots of animals, architecture and scenery, plus your encounters with other people. It adds so much interest to the experience as a viewer. thanks for taking us with you. I found an app called trail router which is free and meant for walkers ( I think) but it shows even obscure footpaths and tracks. I’ve only used it in the UK but it’s helped a lot as it shows you where you are. (I guess if you are out of signal it might not work). It covers other countries including Sweden etc. MIght be a good backup as it’s free. Takes a bit to get used to working it. Take care and keep up the great vlogs. X

  10. Well, I always love your videos. This one was a little stressful to watch but I’m so glad you filmed it for us. It was good to know you found your way out and were soon cooking, camping, and enjoying it all. Inspirational is an over-used adjective I feel but maybe we should all “be more Susanna”! Thank you for sharing it all and I look forward to the next adventure.

  11. how you keep shooting being lost for hours, respect 🙂 you ar so tough!! have you thoiught about a good outdoor water filter (for emergencies or even for convenience, I don't know the quality of the sjedish lake waters in the differenz areas though)?

  12. Now, that’s an adventure. Exciting for us, terrifying, perhaps, for you. I guess, going into a wild area like that, redundancy of navigational equipment is imperative.
    Love your adventures.
    Stay safe.
    Peter

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