Holiday apartment in Ydre – Discover nature, trails and cultural heritage

Ydre encompasses trails, nature reserves and historic sites; on Torpön in Ydre, Naturum Sommen is located in Lake Sommen.

Nature

A large aquarium at Naturum Sommen showcases fish from the lake, and during the season Naturum offers guided tours. Lake Sommen is home to 22 fish species, including the Sommen charr, which has survived there since the Ice Age. Torpön also has a hiking trail that runs around the entire island.

Sandstorpskärret Nature Reserve features steeply sloping open bogs. This type of natural environment is rare in this part of Sweden. The area has no car park or other visitor facilities, but it can be visited independently and at your own discretion.

Hedners park Nature Reserve is particularly valuable because of its old, robust deciduous trees and diverse woodland environment. Hedners park is also a restored botanical cultural heritage site from the 19th century. The path through the park is approximately 700 metres long and partly adapted for accessibility. Another distinctive natural site is Susehålsravinen Nature Reserve in Ydre, which is a popular excursion destination with its waterfalls.

Trails and activities

The Norra Vi Trail begins at Norra Vi Church in Ydre. The trail is 50 kilometres long and runs mostly along gravel roads; the entire route is accessible by car. Cycling in Ydre includes both gravel-road and paved-road options. In Ydrefors, there is a nine-kilometre-long hiking and cycling trail that begins at Brosjögården.

For further active pursuits, Torpavallen in Hestra has an 18-hole disc golf course. There are around 100 lakes for fishing in Ydre; a fishing permit is required for all of them.

Culture

The Andrew Peterson Museum displays his diary entries, information about emigration, photographs and items such as tools from his life. Skolmuseet is located in a school building dating from 1872 in Asby.

Smedstorps dubbelgård is an old, quadrangular farm surrounded by a well-preserved cultural landscape. One of the buildings on the farm also houses a museum section. Sunds bruk provides another historical highlight: today, the site consists of the ruins of a blast furnace. Drawings, photographs and information signs on the grounds convey an impression of what Sunds bruk looked like around a hundred years ago.

The water-powered Österfors smedja forge was built in 1876. It is open to visitors for a few weeks every summer and conveys the history of the forge as well as the blacksmith's craftsmanship.

Local offerings

Nääs Gårdsbryggeri has a beer-tasting room, a restaurant, a pub and a farm shop. Brostorps gård produces cheese and operates a summer café and a farm shop.

Further local pages within Ydre: Rydsnäs, Österbymo.

Further destinations in the same overarching area: Vikbolandet, Sanktanna, Kinda, Boxholm, Motala, Finspång.

To the overarching travel overview: Östergötland.