Svängehallar-Fjärehals, Naturreservat

Svängehallar-Fjärehals is a characteristic section of the strongly lobed coastline along the west side of the Onsala Peninsula. Here you will find both bathing-friendly cliffs and beaches, heather, beach meadow and coniferous forest. In the reserve you will find several viewpoints and if you are lucky, you can see harbor seals resting on islets and skerries. You can also watch birds from the beaches.

There are no marked hiking trails to follow in the reserve, but there are many well-worn paths to walk on. The coast is indented with bare rocks. In the eastern parts of the reserve there are sandy areas of different sizes, here there is planted coniferous forest with elements of oak and spruce. There is a bathing place at Onsala Sandö.

Heather and thrift

The vegetation looks different in different places in the reserve. In the far west, in the most wind-exposed parts, there are heather moors where the vegetation is dominated by heather, hemlock and crowberry. In the bays there are grazed beach meadows with herbs such as cornflower, trift and goosegrass. At Svängehallar in the northern part of the reserve, there are also wet meadows and wet heaths. In the wet meadow, which is located above the beach meadow, there are plants such as sedge and marsh willow. The wet heath is extensive and is home to species such as bellflower and bluebell.

Traces from the past

The reserve contains geologically interesting formations such as powerful moraine formations, rough shingle fields and layers of post-glacial beach gravel. There are Bronze Age cairns on the mountain ridges. One particular cairn is located on Onsala Sandö, just west of the reserve. At low tide you can walk across a strait to the island. The cairn is Sweden's longest with its 80 meters.