“To walk among the rose mallows of backfall…” it says in the famous poem and the song. But how and where do you actually do that?
Many who visit Ven asks where the backafalls are located, which makes one wonder if they may feel disappointed (?). The simple answer is that the backafalls, Ven’s grassy slopes, sourrounds the entire island. These by erosion carved edges of the island characterizes Ven more than anything else. Ven is hills and billows.
So where do you find them? If you want beautiful, rolling backafalls, you should focus on the southern coast between Kyrkbacken and Bäckviken. Except for some more rocky part of this region, this is exactly what many people see when they close their eyes and think of Ven. If you want to stand where the girl in the famous song stood, waiting for her sailor, it’s probably right to go to the slopes at St. Ibb’s church.
The backafalls have changed over time. They are no longer the pastures they once were, which means that they on many places bears small forests and thorny vegetation. The beautiful rose mallow is not as numerous as before, at least not just on the backfalls. But despite that, it’s still possible to wander freely among the rose mallows of backafall, all while the moon shines its light on Ven.