Hed - Skinnskatteberg, St Olav Rombo Way Stage 3

This stage starts at the Church of Hed and follows the old KUJ railway embankment and is easily walked. You pass fields and farmland, woods and lakes. The second half of this stage, from Uttersberg to Skinnskatteberg, follows roads and paths through the woods. You are hiking from th church in Hed to the church in Skinnskatteberg.

Along the whole of the old KUJ track you can see traces of the great days of the iron trade. In Karmansbo there is a preserved works environment with smithy, workers cottages and a working life museum that is open during the summer. In Oxbron the old railway guard’s hut remains, peacefully situated by Tomasbo lake. Pause and read about the work of the railway guard. In Uttersberg the trail takes you past an old iron works, it has a grand manor house, a park with sculptures, a gallery and a café.

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The trail starts at Hed's church and follows the old railway embankment along the KURJ railway for a long distance.

About 2 km after Hed, you come to the old Karmansbo hammer forge with it's museum showing the life of an iron worker in the 1800s. The smithy, which dates back to the 17th century, still works and on the first Saturday in July visitors can see the production of bar iron there.

The hike passes by farmland and through forest areas. At Tomasbosjön you can enjoy a rest at the old track guard's cabin in Oxbron.

In Uttersberg, Romboleden passes Galleri Astely, which in addition to housing art exhibitions also serves coffee. After Uttersberg, the trail continues along the water Hedströmmen before the trail meanders into the forest. Here the hiker has to cross the train tracks at two places and it is important to keep a good lookout for passing trains.

After winding forest roads you approach Skinnskatteberg from the west side of the lake Nedre Vättern. Just before Skinnskatteberg's church, Skinnskatteberg's manor is passed, where SLU now has its School of Forestry.

In some places the trail is poorly marked and support from a digital map is good. Keep in mind that this route passes through an unattended train crossing. Watch carefully and remember that the freight trains pass at high speed.

Walk in the footsteps of the pilgrims

Romboleden (Rombo Way) is a pilgrimage route that people began using in the 11th century. The Romboleden is Sweden’s longest pilgrimage route at 900 kilometres long. It starts in Köping in Västmanland and finishes in Trondheim on the Norwegian Atlantic coast. If you walk the entire trail, you will experience a beautiful and varied landscape. You will walk on old chalet paths, over mountains with magnificent vistas and along narrow country gravel roads. You will find easy one-day walks with cafés along the way, and long treks that take several days. The route often passes through small villages.

Would you like to walk with a Pilgrim’s Passport and collect stamps from each stage? The medieval Pilgrim’s Passport allowed a pilgrim to walk in the whole of Europe without being stopped by rules or boundaries. These days it is just a nice memento. The Pilgrim’s Passport can be collected at several stage starting points and from the web page of Rombo Way.