Day 6: Stage 7: Varberg to Kungsbacka
This stage was one of the longest we had planned. The guide said 72km, but we also had a detour to make to visit a climbing friend who lives near Åsa. We headed off a little before 10:00am and had a gentle start to the day. The route seemed a bit busier than further south, as we were approaching what can be a day trip from Gothenburg for more seasoned cyclists. It was very warm, and the route took us largely inland through farmland, which wasn’t ideal for those allergies. It also took us over some hills and back down again, which seemed somewhat unnecessary. We were leapfrogging a group of three sprightly pensioners who kept overtaking us on uphills. I soon realised that they had electric bikes. We usually went past them whenever they stopped though. We lost them at some point before we made the detour in Åsa, but found them again at the hotel the next morning.
One highlight of this section is the village of Bua – a fairly well-preserved fishing village with some old buildings and beautiful sea views. It also had a campsite with toilets, which was helpful. Not too far north of here is Ringhals nuclear power plant. We hadn’t been aware of this, but guessed that’s what it was due to the high fences and security signage. We reached Åsa a little after lunchtime, but then got lost trying to find our way for fika. Given that our hosts live at the top of a steep hill, our legs probably suffered later. The fika was nice though. I’ve sometimes wondered why she lives so far from Gothenburg, given the commuting distance, but as soon as you see the house and the views it all makes sense. We could have stayed there all afternoon, only we actually couldn’t as we still had over 25km to go to get to Kungsbacka.
The route passes Tjolöholms Slott, which is well worth a visit. I’ve been there before though, and it would have been a longish detour, so we skipped it. The route took us through some more hills and dales, possibly because Kungsbacka is not actually located on the coast. We were getting a bit tired due to the relentless sun, and were glad to reach Kungsbacka in time for dinner. We went to a place called Wally’s Place and had some excellent pizza. Banana on pizza is a hotly debated topic in the Brits in Sweden Facebook group, and I was one of the sceptics. Having tried a pizza here that had banana, peanuts and curry powder, I am completely converted. I’m not sure though whether it was actually delicious, or if it was just that I was so famished from all the cycling that anything would have tasted really good. Still, Kungsbacka is only 30 minutes from Gothenburg by train, so I can always make a repeat visit.
Day 7: Stage 8: Kungsbacka to Gothenburg
Breakfast was fine, but it felt as if the breakfast room was a little on the small side for the size of the hotel, and it was very crowded. We went to get our bikes, and I met the trio from yesterday whilst my friend was collecting the last of her things. I had assumed they were Swedish but when I asked something in Swedish they informed me that they were Swiss. They had rented bikes here, which made more sense than bringing them from another country. They had enjoyed the trip so far. I wish I had paid more attention to where they went though as they set off before us, and we immediately got lost.
After around 5km I knew that we were on the most direct route to Gothenburg, but not on the Kattegattleden, and it had been a while since we encountered any signs. As we were stopped checking google maps, a guy on a bike stopped to ask us if we were doing the Kattegattleden, and whether we were heading to Gothenburg, or heading south. His English was not great and he was clearly struggling to understand my (cute – or so I’ve been told) Scottish accent, so I switched to Swedish, but he didn’t understand that either. My friend offered him a choice of Danish or Urdu, but those also drew a blank. He suggested Italian and Spanish, which were no use, then German. I made the mistake of saying something dredged up from my memories of High School German classes – something along the lines of “Ich heiße Pauline, Ich komme aus Schottland.”, to which he excitedly replied “Wunderbar” then launched into a stream of German that I couldn’t understand, and I had to confess that I didn’t understand much German other than what I had just said, and also that I have quite long hair and am an only child (those are a couple of other expressions I remember in German for some reason).
In spite of our communication difficulties, we did gather that he was called Dominic, and was headed to Gothenburg. He stuck with us until we found the Kattegatleden signage – in the town square just a few hundred metres from the hotel. Then he said he was hoping to get to Gothenburg in time for lunch, shook our hands, and cycled off. Hopefully he had a good trip.
This section of the route is rather odd as it involves cycling around the Onsala peninsula. You are basically heading in completely the opposite direction of your destination for the first several kilometres, and adding maybe 24 kilometres to the overall trip. The route doesn’t give you many sea views, and when you get back out of the peninsula there is a sign pointing to Kungsbacka. It is only about 4 kilometres from where you started. I’m glad we did it because we got to see the lovely fishing village of Gottskärr (which was an additional 2km detour) and as a completionist I’d have been reluctant to miss more of the actual route than the small section we had to cut out on the second day due to bike troubles. However, I probably wouldn’t do this section again if I ever repeat the route. It didn’t help that this day was very windy, and we were cycling into the wind as soon as we began heading north. At some points we were cycling so slowly that I could have been running faster! Combine the wind with some steep hills and I was glad we would soon be back into known territory (for me at least).
Kungsbacka Golfklubb was a welcome sight, even though it was a reminder that the kilometres we had done had basically taken us around in a circle, because it meant we were close to Särö – an affluent village on the coast that I have cycled to several times as a day trip from Gothenburg. It also has a section next to the water. From there, there are still a few boring stretches which are not next to the coast, but now we were heading towards Billdal – home to Billdalsparken parkrun and the fantastic Systrarna Werner café near the entrance to the park. We stopped there for a rather late lunch and fika, and my friend was impressed with the home baked cakes. We sat at a table outside, enjoying the atmosphere. Either lots of people were already on their summer vacations, or the weather had encouraged some to leave work early and begin the weekend.
The first part of the final stretch, between Billdal and Askim, is one I have cycled and ran on several occasions. The scenery here is breathtaking, and I have often said that if I ever win the Euromillions I will buy a house on Järkholmsvägen to enjoy the views of the southern archipelago. This will never happen because I never play the Euromillions, and the odds of winning wouldn’t be noticeably higher if I did play it.
I usually cycle the Säröbanen between Billdal and Gothenburg, which passes through Slottskogen. I was therefore unprepared for the turn-off which the Kattegattleden takes, with a sharp left turn up a steep hill. The route takes you past the Frolunda Torg shopping area, and through some not particularly scenic built-up areas, before you reach the coast again a couple of kilometres before Älvsborgsbron and the Eriksberg crane. We stopped for the requisite pictures, and to eat a banana. I asked whether we should make the trip to central station to officially finish the route, or just head for my apartment and bypass the town centre at what would be a very busy time of day. In the end, we decided we wanted to complete the route, so we followed the route along the river but got slightly lost a little before Stenpiren. Getting to the Start/ End sign was not fun due to the crowds, with several pedestrians walking on the cycle paths in the area around the station and ignoring our bike bells. Still, we reached the sign and took the photos. Mission accomplished! It felt pretty good, but we still had 6 or so kilometres to cycle home. It had taken a bit longer than expected and I had messaged my other half to say not to wait for us if he was hungry. He got takeout, and left some for us which heated up nicely. I’ve now cycled almost all of the west coast of Sweden. I just need to do Helsingborg to Höllviken on the south coast to complete it – which can be done in a day. When that day will be, however, remains to be decided.
Final Thoughts
This was a really nice bike route, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to do a 4- to 8- day cycle trip. It is fairly well signposted (apart from a couple of places where a few extra signs would be appreciated) and there are usually facilities available at each stage of the trip. The bike huts with the pumps are really useful, and there are plenty of campgrounds if you want to keep expenses lower. It wasn’t too costly when sharing a hotel room though. We spent around 5,700kr each for the week (around €570), most of which was accommodation costs. The route is not difficult, with wind being the main added difficulty. The route is mainly flat and the ups and downs are either gentle, or are short if steeper. I think that this would be a good route for beginners who do cycle now and then but for whom it is not their main hobby. I know the route can be done in as few as 3 days if you are an experienced cyclist with a racing bike and are travelling light, but you would miss a lot of things on the way. A week seems like the sweet spot for this, though you could combine a couple of other sections and do it in 5 or 6 days. If you enjoy easy cycling on a mixture of bike baths and quiet country roads, a mild climate and a mix of coastal, forest and farmland scenery, with several beaches and well-placed towns along the route, this could well be the trip that gets you into cycle touring.
