Ökull - Borregården
Skara

Those arriving on foot from Varnhem are greeted by long rolling hills where Arn could appear on horseback at any moment. According to records, the land here has been grazed or harvested for 300 years, but the history of the mules and liars may go back thousands of years. Ökull was a royal estate during the Middle Ages, where the king's representative in the area lived. The fields around Borregården probably belonged to Varnhem Abbey at one time.

The long cultural history and abundance of limestone have made the fields unusually rich in rare plants and fungi. If you sit down on the dry meadows and make a half-meter by half-meter square, you can find 25 species of vascular plants. The richest flora is found on Getaryggen, a ridge that the trail follows in the southeastern part of the reserve, and at Tjursberg, a high hill just north of Lake Ökulla.

Dead ice pits in a unique landscape

Ökull is located in the very special Valle area, in the middle of the Platåbergen UNESCO Global Geopark. The Valle area is a result of the last ice age, and the undulating landscape with hills, ridges, and lakes is called a camel landscape. When the ice melted, the climate suddenly became colder for a period, causing the melting to pause, and the ice edge remained over the same area for a long time – right here at Valle, between Skara and Skövde.

Rivers of meltwater transported large amounts of gravel and sediment. Ice blocks were also buried in the gravel. When these melted, pits were formed in the landscape – so-called kettle holes. If you walk the trail in Ökull from Varnhem, you will pass a large kettle hole that is almost perfectly round. If you go down to the bottom of the pit, you will see nothing but sky. A coffee break on the edge or at the bottom of the pit is an amazing experience.

Experience the nature reserve on foot

A 4 km trail runs through the reserve, taking you past its highlights and offering a variety of natural scenery.

If you want to hike further, you can take stage 7 of the Billingeleden trail, which takes you between Varnhem and Höjentorp and passes through Ökull. 

Not all parts of the nature reserve are easily accessible. Off the trail, you will soon find yourself in swamp which is perfect if you are a biologist, as you can find many exciting mosses and orchids in the moist, limestone-rich soil. If you want to see orchids such as fly orchids, marsh helleborines, and early purple orchids, we recommend the small rich fen located in the forest just over 100 meters west of Tjursberg. It blooms most beautifully here in July.

A former festival site

Tjursberg rises sharply from the smooth plain below, formerly known as Ökull's festival site. Festivals were held here from the 1930s until the 1950s, when the site was outcompeted by more easily accessible amusement parks. During the same period, the Axvall and Varnhem soccer teams also played here, using Lake Ökulla as their shower room. Even if you are not a dedicated birdwatcher, the nature reserve is a great place to enjoy spring and early summer. Especially when the wind is southwesterly (which it usually is), so that the noise from Route 49 does not drown out the birdsong. The hills first turn blue with bluebells and then white with wood anemones.