Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [224]
Öjeberget, the hill just west of the village, has great views – there’s a restaurant (11am-6pm) on top, plus a little gift shop, and you can ski down in winter.
Just across the bridge from the church (on the eastern bank of the river), Stenegård (76 73 00; 10am-4pm May-Sep, Sat & Sun Oct-Apr) is an old manor and farm with handicraft stalls, a cafe, a restaurant and a theatre in an old barn. Even if you don’t go in, the strikingly pretty manor house is worth going by for a quick look.
Sleeping & Eating
Gästgivars (416 90; Jon Persvägen 7; dm/s Skr170/220; ) Ubercasual and friendly, this beautifully situated, comfortable red house has a handful of hostel beds and double rooms (with shared bath). Doubles have French doors opening onto a deck with views of the river. It’s near the bridge (follow the signs). Breakfast is available (Skr40) and there’s a nice guest kitchen for self-caterers.
Condis (410 80; Stenevägen 1B; dagens lunch Skr60, mains Skr89-139; lunch & dinner until 11pm, midnight Fri & Sat) At the corner of Turistvägen, this small cafe has good-value salads, pastas and baked potatoes, as well as coffee and pastries, and a pretty yard with outdoor seating in summer.
Järvsöbaden (404 00; www.jarvsobaden.se; lunch/dinner mains from Skr95/280; ) This friendly hotel was founded as a health farm in 1905, and is on a charming old spread in pretty grounds that include a nine-hole golf course. It has a variety of rooms (singles/doubles from Skr590/800), some with shared facilities. The restaurant here has a superb lunch smörgåsbord that has to be seen to be believed.
Getting There & Away
Bus 51 runs regularly between Bollnäs and Ljusdal, via Arbrå and Järvsö. Trains run north from Järvsö to Östersund, and south to Gävle and Stockholm.
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HUDIKSVALL & AROUND
0650 / pop 37,050
Hudiksvall (aka ‘Glada Hudik’ or ‘Happy Hudik’) has a cute harbour surrounded by old wooden houses (Möljen), and it’s within easy reach of several historic chapels and fishing villages, including some that are still in operation. Located picturesquely between a lake and a fjord, it’s a charming little place to spend a few hours.
The tourist office (191 00; www.hudiksvall.se; Storgatan 33; 10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) is at Möljen, by the harbour, and has internet access. In town, you’ll find banks and other services on Storgatan and Drottninggatan.
Sights & Activities
The Hälsinglands Museum (196 00; Storgatan 31; admission free; noon-4pm Mon, 9am-4pm Tue-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat) covers local history, culture and art, including a recreated cottage interior with traditional painted furniture and costumes from the region. Just southwest of the centre, Jakobs kyrka dates from 1672. Parts of Hälsingtuna Church, 4km north, were built around 1150, but more extraordinary is the 15th-century Bergöns Kapell, 18km northeast, a fishermen’s church thought to be the oldest in the district.
Attractive Kuggörarna is about 30km east of Hudiksvall and is an excellent example of a fishing village; take bus 37 (twice daily). The coast is a good place to witness the raised beaches caused by postglacial uplift (still going on) and forests that are growing in boulder fields. Mellanfjärden, 30km north of Hudiksvall, is one of the few fishing villages that’s still operating. It has hotels, a gallery displaying local crafts, a summer theatre, a good restaurant and several nearby nature reserves. Sörfjärden, 10km north of Mellanfjärden, has an unusual harbour in the river Gnarpsån, and a good sandy beach nearby.
For those with their own wheels, a lovely driving or cycling route goes through the fields and farmsteads between lakes Norrdellen and Sördellen, just west of Hudiksvall. Around the neoclassical Norrbo Kyrka there are nine Iron Age graves, church stables from the 1920s and a mid-18th-century bell tower.
Sleeping & Eating
Hudiksvall keeps things casual; there are