Swedish pilgrim path St. Olavsleden ​on The Guardian’s top list

The British daily newspaper The Guardian brings attention to the Swedish pilgrim path St. Olavsleden in the paper, and hiking expert Bob Walker has named the trail as number one among some of the World’s most well-known hiking trails.

The hiker, former BBC journalist and current freelance journalist Bob Walker ranks the northernmost pilgrim path, St.Olavsleden, as number one.

- You walk through big forests and past crystal-clear lakes. The trail is perfectly marked with signs all the way from Sundsvall to Trondheim, the Swedes are incredibly friendly, and also mostly speak better English than the British themselves, Bob Walker says.

Bob Walker has worked as a journalist with the British BBC throughout his whole career, and now works as a freelance journalist. He got interested in long walks a few years ago when he hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

- For me it was a non-religious pilgrimage. Regardless of why you hike, more and more people are attracted to pilgrimage. Just Camino de Santiago has about 280 000 hikers every year, says Bob Walker.

The Guardian
The newspaper has picked 20 grand experiences among the mountains and rivers of Europe, among them St. Olavsleden. The trail is the northernmost trail in the World and was the fourth most popular travel destination during the Middle ages (after Santiago, Jerusalem and Rome).

St. Olavsleden is about 580 km/360 miles and runs from the Bothnian Sea in the east to the Atlantic in the west. The starting point is Selånger outside of Sundsvall, and the destination is Nidarosdomen in Trondheim, Norway. It was to Selånger that the Viking Olav Haraldsson sailed almost 1000 years ago and started walking to Norway and Trondheim to reclaim power after two years in exile in Russia. The trail was reopened in 2013 after extensive upgrade work.

- It is truly a hike in historical footsteps. An old trading route whose history goes back to the time before the Viking age, Bob Walker says.

There is lodging and shops along the trail, but not in unlimited numbers. The service, lodging and activities along the trail is evolving with time. This very simplicity is what Bob Walker appreciates maybe most of all.

- I stayed with the local people, in cheap hotels or hostels. The best experience was camping outdoors and sitting in front of your own fire. St.Olavsleden is the perfect combination of solitude and friendship. I always yearn to go back, Bob Walker says.

Link to Bob Walkers text:
https://bobwalker01.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/looking-for-a-new-challenge-in-2018-my-top-eight-pilgrimage-trails-hiking-travel/

Link to The Guardians text:
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/apr/14/20-lakes-and-mountains-holidays-in-europe-walking-hostels-watersports

Press contact:
Per "Putte" EbyProject leader S:t Olavsleden
City of Östersund, Sweden
putte.eby@ostersund.se
+46 (0)70 191 05 99