Borgen, Naturreservat

Borgen is a small reserve on the outskirts of Vallåkra in north-western Skåne. There are paths that lead you through greenery, past cliffs and along rippling streams. But you will also pass the site of the old ancient castle up on the plateau and traces of clay mining. The stoneware factory at the southern entrance to the reserve is still in use but now gets its clay from elsewhere. The spring flora is abundant, as is the number of birds nesting in the area.

Mountain and castle

The stream gorge in the reserve has been eroded from sandstone and coal-bearing shale clays deposited 200 million years ago. A rock wall in the southern part of the area provides an opportunity to study the bedrock. In the north, a plateau with the remains of an ancient castle dominates. The castle dates back to the Iron Age and served as a defense facility for the local people.

Dinosaurs and the pottery industry

A large number of fossilized dinosaur footprints were found in the 1970s in a clay roof in the southern part of the reserve. The tracks are from the six-meter-long herbivorous dinosaur Plateosaurus. In the 18th and 19th centuries, coal was mined in the gorge. The clay was initially only a by-product, but later became very important for the production of stone vessels, not only in Skåne but throughout Sweden. The Wallåkra stoneware factory, which dates back to the 1860s, is located at the southern entrance to the reserve. There you can also see one of the fossilized dinosaur footprints.

Lush oak groves and pink flocks

Most of the Swedish deciduous tree species can be found in the reserve's mixed deciduous forest. Among the shrubs you can see hazel, cranesbill and woodruff. In the ravine, the traces of quarrying activities have in some places grown back with a thicket of natural forest. A special plant worth looking out for is the flockarun, which blooms in high summer with pink flowers in the old clay pits in the northern part of the reserve.

Birds all year round

The rich birdlife is constantly present in the Borgen Reserve. In the spring, you can enjoy the songs of several hundred nesting pairs of thirty to forty different species! The most common is the chaffinch, but other breeding species include the nightingale, stone curlew and blackcap.

Outdoor life

Borgens nature reserve is located on the edge of the village of Vallåkra. Parking is available both up north and down south. The train station is about 10 minutes walk away. The southern entrance starts down at the Wallåkra stone vessel factory. Here you can see one of the fossilized dinosaur footprints found in the reserve, while getting an insight into what the clay from the area has been used for since the 1860s.

There are trails in the area, but none marked. Don't miss the high plateau where the ancient castle was located that gave the place its name. Up here there are also tables and benches for the coffee-hungry. If you want to grill, there is a barbecue area down by the south entrance. Good to bring your own charcoal. Remember to take your rubbish home.

In English

Welcome to Borgen Nature Reserve

Borgen is a small but richly varied nature reserve. The paths lead you over a high plateau, through oak woodlands, along bubbling streams, past scree slopes and wet woodlands. The spring flora is abundant and the number of breeding birds overwhelming.

Hill and fort

The river valley in the reserve has been eroded out of the sandstone and clay-shale containing coal, which were laid down some 200 million years ago. A cliff wall in the southern part of the site provides the opportunity to study the bedrock. To the north a plateau dominates with the remains of a hill fort.

Dinosaurs and industry

A large number of fossilized footprints from dinosaurs were found in the 1970s in a clay quarry in the southern part of the reserve. Coal was mined in the 1700s and 1800s in the ravine. The clay was just a by-product.

Oak groves and natural woodland

The majority of the Swedish broadleaved tree species can be found in the mixed woodlands of the reserve. Oak, ash, aspen, silver birch and alder dominate. The bush vegetation is varied including hazel, guelder rose and fly honeysuckle. The remains from the mining in the ravine have in places become overgrown with dense natural woodland.

Birds all year round

The rich birdlife constantly makes itself heard in Borgen Nature Reserve. In spring you can enjoy the songs of several hundred breeding pairs of thirty to forty different species!

Regulations

**The Right of Public Access is limited in the Nature reserve! The regulations apply for the protection of nature. You'll find a selection of the most important visitor regulations here. They are also posted on a separate sign at each entrance. The full/complete regulations are available in swedish on this web page - below the heading "Föreskrifter / Fullständiga föreskrifter för besökare".

It is (for example) forbidden to:

• bring a dog not on a lead,
• light a fire other than with a camping stove
• dig, bore, chisel, paint or in any other way damage boulders, cliff walls, geological formations, live or dead trees, bushes or stumps,
• put up signs, posters, plaques, notices, inscriptions, tape or any other equivalent items