Exploring Skåne | The south-east coast

[Advertisement – this post is based on a press trip, but all words and opinions are my own]

Sweden always tugs at my heart strings. No matter how many times I visit, no matter what time of year I go and no matter whether I head to city, coast or countryside, I always leave wanting more. So, there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation when Visit Skåne invited my friend Emma and I to spend six days exploring Skåne, a wonderfully diverse county located at the southern tip of the country, just across the Øresund Bridge from Copenhagen airport.

I’d been to Skåne once before, on a 2017 press trip that took in art park and hotel Wanås, Malmö and the university city of Lund. This was a chance to explore new areas of the region, and we hired a car for a slow meander from south east to north west, before ending with a brief return to Malmö. It was also an opportunity to experience Skåne in a different season. My last visit was during October, when the countryside was ablaze with autumn colour and the scent of woodsmoke lingered in the crisp night air. This time around, we were treated to lush green landscapes, late-spring sunshine and carpets of wildflowers at every turn.

I’ll cover our time in the north west and Malmö in separate posts, but today I want to focus on the south-east corner, where we spent the first two nights. Known as Österlen, it’s a gentle landscape of rolling fields and orchards, peppered with red wooden cottages and flanked by stunning beaches. The pace of life here feels slower than in other parts of the region, the roads less busy; it’s the kind of place that encourages you to take things easy and let the stresses and strains of daily life melt away. Here’s a round-up of my highlights…

Karlaby Kro

Our base for this part of the trip was Karlaby Kro, a converted 19th-century farm nestled among swathes of vibrant yellow rapeseed. The entire hotel is elegant yet laid-back, with whitewashed walls, terracotta-tiled floors, antique furniture and secluded nooks where you can sit back with a book and a glass of wine. The 22 rooms, arranged around a fairylight-strung courtyard, are airy and calming, and I loved the thoughtful little touches – freshly baked biscuits, a glass of cider brandy, bath salts for long soaks in the tub. I slept like a log (a rarity for me) in my huge and very comfy bed, and awoke to find sunshine streaming in through the windows as birds chirruped outside. There’s also a spa in the former orangery, with an indoor pool, a sauna and a treatment room where I enjoyed one of the best massages I’ve ever had, plus an inviting bar with rattan chairs, botanical-print sofas and pot plants aplenty. Best of all, though, was the food, served in a serene dining room overlooking the garden. It will be a long time before I forget the char with langoustine foam, the juicy lamb with baked celeriac and mushrooms, and the tangy rhubarb compote with buttermilk and almonds… In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about them!

Hörte Brygga

More delicious food awaited us at Hörte Brygga, where we tucked into an excellent lunch. This relaxed little restaurant is perched above an old eel-fishing harbour and tables spill out onto the sea-view terrace. The focus is seasonal, locally sourced produce and the menu consists of just three options – meat, fish and vegetarian. I opted for the latter, which arrived beautifully presented in a wire basket and glass jars, and every morsel was delicious – artisan bread, wild-garlic mayonnaise, pickled carrots, and a steaming vegetable broth topped with edible flowers. Everyone gathers around long communal tables to eat and we soon got chatting to inspiring fellow diner Patric, who was cycling the length of Sweden to raise money to fight climate change. Our visit coincided with a torrential downpour so sadly we couldn’t sit by the water, but there was something wonderfully cosy about relaxing inside, surrounded by flickering candles and bunches of dried herbs, as raindrops hammered on the roof.

Stenshuvuds National Park

Just a 15-minute drive from Karlaby Kro, Stenshuvuds National Park is made up of protected woodland and wildflower meadows that tumble down to the coast. We parked up at the visitors’ centre and followed a winding path past banks of cow parsley and wild garlic, before emerging onto a pristine beach that stretched for miles in either direction. It was utterly deserted and incredibly beautiful, with turquoise sea, dense green foliage as a backdrop, and barely a sound other than the waves lapping the shore. We both cast off our shoes and braved a paddle (despite looking like the Caribbean, the water temperature was distinctly Swedish!), before sitting back to let our feet dry in the sun. We were fascinated to discover that the sand squeaked and creaked beneath our toes, and later learnt that the beach is famous for it – in fact it’s often dubbed ‘Squeaking Sand Beach’!

Mellby Klockargård

A little way on from the entrance to Stenshuvuds, in the little hamlet of Södra Mellby, is Mellby Klockargård. Run by friendly couple Kerstin and Joi, it’s a cafe, restaurant and B&B rolled into one, and it makes the perfect place for lunch or fika after a stroll in the park. It’s spread across a rambling garden, with rustic wooden tables under fruit-laden trees, cushioned chairs on shaded verandas, and a dining room in a greenhouse made from salvaged factory windows. We nibbled salted chocolate cookies while making friends with resident cats Pim and Pom, and then took a wander around the grounds, stumbling across tangled vines, rose bushes and pots brimming with geraniums. There’s also a little boutique stocking a carefully chosen range of clothing, accessories and homeware, and I somehow managed to resist treating myself to one of Kerstin’s beautiful handmade ceramics. It truly is a magical place, and I’d love to return for a full meal and an overnight stay.

Kivik

Further up the coast is Kivik, a pretty harbour village surrounded by acres of apple trees. We started on the edge of town at Kiviks Musteri, Sweden’s first commercial fruit farm and now a sprawling venture that encompasses cider and juice production, tours, tastings, gardens, a shop and more. After a meal in the courtyard restaurant (my top tip: the vegetarian burger and apple salad), we looped back into the centre and wandered along its cobbled lanes, debating which of the pastel-coloured houses we’d choose as our own. Our final stop was the quayside, lined with bobbing boats and little red bathing huts, and a wonderful spot to pause for a bit of sea air before heading off on the next instalment of our Skåne adventure…

I’ll have more from Skåne soon, but in the meantime you can find additional information about Österlen here. 

Many thanks to Visit Skåne for covering our flights, car hire, accommodation and meals.

All photography by Abi Dare