Prästaskogen, Naturreservat

Prästaskogen och Gryteskogen intill är kanske mer kända under namnet Trollskogen i Torna Hällestad. Här lever vresboken, en förvriden och knotig form av vanlig bok. Men Prästaskogen är mer än så. Här finns betesmarker med enar och åsryggar med milsvid utsikt över Vombsänkan. Längst i söder finns Björkendalsdammen, populär bland traktens grodor och grodfantaster. Flera rastplatser och vandringsleder finns i reservatet som dessutom ingår i Skrylleområdet med ett rikt utbud av friluftsmöjligheter.

In English

Welcome to Prästaskogen Nature Reserve

You are met by a hilly landscape with flowering grasslands, old wood pastures, lush alder carrs and beech woodland with magical twisted beech trees at Prästaskogen. Hiking trails, information signs and picnic areas make it easy to explore the reserve’s varied countryside. The Skåneleden Trail follows the top of the ridge to the south, with an unbroken view of the Vomb Basin.

The ridges, with their peaks and valleys, make the countryside of Prästaskogen particularly interesting and varied. They were formed towards the end of the last ice age when large meltwater rivers forced their way through the cracks and channels in the ice. Gravel, sand and stone collected inside these ice tunnels and formed steep ridges and hills when the ice melted away.

The land has been used for meadows or grazing animals for hundreds of years. There were few trees and bushes, with oak and beech on the tops and alder and ash in the valleys. There is such variety in this hilly, ancient rural landscape. Different habitats replace one another, from the dry, sandy pastures on the peaks to the lush, wet alder carrs in the valleys. Many different species can find a home and thrive as a consequence.

Regulations

Within Prästaskogen nature reserve it is forbidden to:

• camp, park up caravans, camper vans or equivalent,
• light a fire,
• pick or dig up plants,
• damage fences or other structures,
• litter the site in any way such as with glass, metal, plastic, paper or rubbish,
• drive a bicycle, moped or motor vehicle other than on designated roads.