What did I learn from the hike?
- People are much more likely to acknowledge your existence on the trail than in town. I liked that.
- It’s good for the soul to be present in nature. A bit of a digital detox and not listening to audiobooks (or any other digital media) whilst outside on your own is good for you.
- Public transport isn’t uniformly brilliant across the region. One bus per hour seems bad. Until I remembered that Tollered only has a population of around 900, and for villages in the UK the service is generally much worse than that.
- My feet are not built to handle around 90km of hiking in 3 days.
- The blogs online don’t always mention where toilet facilities can be found. This led to me taking on far less water than I should have in the heat, due to not wanting to have to walk for hours without access to one when I needed it. I have tried to document where I found facilities, for those of us who prefer not to pee behind trees if possible.
Facilities along the trail
Stage 1: Gothenburg tourist information centre to Skatås
On this stage there is a pay toilet in the square outside the Tourist Information Centre. I think it costs 5 or 10 SEK. If you take a small detour into Trägårdsföreningen there are also free toilets in there, which are open at least part of the year. There are also toilets at Skatås motioncentrum at the end of this stage. There are plenty of shops and cafes in town where you could purchase food, water, and other useful supplies, and a restaurant/ café in Skatås motioncentrum.
Stage 2: Skatås to Kåsjön
There are toilets just off the path at the volleyball pitch, down the hill from the frisbee golf area, very near Skatås. These are clearly signposted. After this point, I didn’t find any other facilities until Kåsjön, which requires you to take a small detour. Rather than taking the turnoff to the left away from the lake, continue on past the kayak hire place and the facilities are in a large grey building near another entrance to the bathing place. There are no shops or cafes along this section of the route but it will be safe to get water.
Stage 3: Kåsjön to Jonsered
I did not find any toilet facilities on this part of the route. However, there are facilities in Jonsered if you arrive there at the right time of day for one of the cafes to be open. The station is just a platform and does not have facilities. There are a few very nice cafes in Jonsered.
Stage 4: Jonsered to Lerum
There is a bajamaja (portaloo) on the beach walkway around a kilometre or so before you reach Lerum. This has no handwashing facilities. Note also that bajamajas may only be available for part of the year. There is also one free public toilet in the shopping centre in Lerum next to Kaffedoppet. There are shops and several cafes and restaurants in Lerum.
Stage 5: Lerum to Floda
I didn’t find any toilet facilities on this stage of the route. This struck me as odd, as the Stenkullen to Floda section is very pretty, and is often done as a morning or afternoon hike by locals or others looking for a shorter walk (around 4km). There are facilities in Floda itself if you go to a café or restaurant, otherwise you need to wait until a little into Stage 6. Floda has several nice cafes, and there is also a small convenience store next to the train station where you might be able to stock up on food, drink and other supplies.
Stage 6: Floda to Tollered
This section was fairly well served with toilet facilities. There was a bajamaja around 300 metres into the stage, opposite a bathing site, and a permanent WC around halfway along the route in Nääs ekhagars naturreservat. Tollered is a very small village and I didn’t find any shops or cafes on the route.
Stage 7: Tollered to Norsesund
There was an outhouse (possibly not intended for public use) at the sailing club near Ingared, and ones that definitely were public ones a couple of hundred metres past that, near a playing field and a school. As the route bypasses Norsesund, there were no shops or cafes at which to purchase food or drinks without requiring a detour.
Stage 8: Norsesund to Västra Brodarna
I did not find any toilet facilities on this stage of the route. However, it is a short stage. Make sure to take advantage of any seats you find if you are tiring, as this section is mostly on unforgiving asphalt and with little shade. There was also nowhere to replenish water supplies.
Stage 9: Västra Brodarna to Alingsås
There are WCs available at the beach at Lövekulle campsite, and at Mjornstranden on the way into Alingsås. There are also several facilities, cafes and shops available in Alingsås.
