West coast and Skåne
The splash off a Ribersborg jetty took your wedding ring with it
Shallow water and sand under the jetty, so the questions are which jetty and how far along.
A wedding ring that came off as you jumped from a bathing jetty at Ribersborg in Malmö went into shallow water off a sandy beach, and that can be searched. What decides it is which jetty you were on, how far along it you jumped, and how soon the spot is marked.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on the west coast or in Skåne with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the jetty or the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The rest of this stretch of Sweden works the same way: Smögen and Gothenburg in the north, Varberg, Falkenberg, Halmstad and Båstad farther south, then Skanör, Falsterbo, Malmö and Ystad in Skåne, with Sandhammaren in Österlen.
Pin the jetty before you pack up
While you are still on the boards, work out what stands directly opposite on the shore and drop a pin on the jetty where you jumped. If it happened on the sand, pin your towel, then go through the bag and the car. Note the time, and whether the water was calm or choppy.
The first message should name the beach or lake, then the jetty, ladder or hut.
Places we cover on the west coast and in Skåne
- Smögen and Smögenbryggan
- Vallevik and Sandö on Smögen
- Gothenburg
- Saltholmen and Aspholmen
- Styrsö and the southern archipelago
- Askimsbadet
- Härlanda tjärn
- Varberg and Apelviken
- Falkenberg and Skrea strand
- Skrea näs
- Halmstad
- Tylösand
- Frösakull and Ringenäs
- Båstad, Malens havsbad and Skansenbadet
- Hemmeslövs strand
- Torekov
- Malmö
- Ribersborgsstranden
- Kalkbrottssjön, Klagshamn
- Skanör havsbad
- Falsterbo strandbad
- Ystad, Saltsjöbaden beach and Ystads Sandskog
- Löderups strandbad
- Sandhammaren, Österlen
Quays, rocks, lake jetties and long sand
Where people swim and sit, and what they use to place a spot.
Smögen, the quay and the bathing rocks
Smögenbryggan, the long quay in Smögen's harbour, has cafés, restaurants and shops, and boats leave from it for Hållö and Kungshamn. On the quay, tell us which boat or shop you were opposite. Vallevik, a stone's throw away, has rocks, a small sandy beach and ladders into the sea, and Sandö, to the right after you cross the Smögen bridge, has sand, grass and jetties.
Saltholmen, the southern archipelago and Askimsbadet
Ferries to the islands of Gothenburg's southern archipelago, such as Brännö, Styrsö and Vrångö, leave from Saltholmen. A short walk from the Saltholmen tram stop, Aspholmen is a small rocky islet where people swim from the rocks and ladders. On Styrsö, the bathing place at Bratten has a beach and a jetty near the ferry landing. In Askim, Askimsbadet has a shallow sandy beach, big lawns and a long bathing pier.
Skrea strand in Falkenberg
Skrea strand is a long, shallow sandy beach on the edge of Falkenberg, with tall dunes, classic beach cabins, the long bathing pier and a stone pier at its northern end. South of it, Skrea näs has small sandy coves between rocky headlands. Strandpromenaden, a path along the Ätran river, leads into the centre of Falkenberg, so the walk to or from town belongs in your account too.
Tylösand, Frösakull and Ringenäs
West of Halmstad, Tylösand shares the sand round Tylö bay with Frösakull and Ringenäs, and there are dunes behind it. A clock stands in the middle of the beach, which makes it a handy point to measure your towel from. Frösakull and Ringenäs, to the north, are quieter, and at Frösakull footbridges lead over the dunes from the summer cottage areas down to the sand.
Ribersborg and Kalkbrottssjön in Malmö
Ribersborgsstranden, which locals call Ribban, is within walking distance of Malmö's city centre. It is a long, shallow sandy beach with several long jetties and a cold bathhouse at its northern end. At Klagshamn, the lake Kalkbrottssjön has a bathing jetty and a small diving tower.
Skanör havsbad and Falsterbo strandbad
Skanör havsbad sits right by Skanör harbour, with colourful bathing huts lined up on fine sand, bathing jetties north of the harbour and shallow water. Falsterbo strandbad runs along the coast with thick white sand, dunes behind and a sandy bottom that is kind to bare feet.
Ystad, Löderup and Sandhammaren
Ystad has sandy beaches from Sandhammaren in the east to Svarte in the west. Just east of the town, the public bathing beach called Saltsjöbaden is fine sand with several fixed bathing jetties, and Ystads Sandskog has bathing jetties of its own. Farther east, Löderups strandbad is a sandy beach with a bathing jetty. Sandhammaren, in Österlen, is a long beach of fine white sand with dunes, a lighthouse and shallow water with lively currents.
The jetty, the ladder and the hut, passed on
Noticed at the cottage, or back home
Losses here often come to light at the summer cottage that evening, or after the drive home. Write from there. One person keeps your case from the first message to the result.
Named by what was built there
On this coast a spot is usually fixed by something built: T-bryggan at Ribersborg, a ladder on the Vallevik rocks, the colour of a hut at Skanör. That name heads the detectorist's brief, above your pins and photos.
Deep water flagged early
A ring dropped over the side of an archipelago ferry, or from the diving tower at Kalkbrottssjön, is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs in writing
We explain the costs before any search is booked. If the family wants a say, forward that message to them before you reply.
Salt sea, rock and lake water
Most of this coast is shallow over sand, but not all of it.
Shallow sand under the jetties
Ribersborg, Skrea strand, Malens havsbad, Skanör havsbad and Falsterbo strandbad stay shallow a long way out over sand. Tell us how deep the water was where you were standing when you noticed.
Lake jetties
Härlanda tjärn in Gothenburg is a lake with a sandy beach, lawns and jetties to swim from. Kalkbrottssjön in Klagshamn is different: the water there is very deep.
A tide of centimetres
The tide here is small, a few decimetres along the west coast and only a few centimetres in the Baltic. Wind and air pressure also raise and lower the water level, sometimes quickly, so say if it was windy that day.
Questions about the west coast and Skåne
I jumped off one of the long jetties at Ribersborg, and my wedding ring went into the sea with me.
Start with which jetty. Several long ones run out from the beach, and the one where the water temperature is measured is T-bryggan. Tell us how far along it you jumped from and on which side, and ask anyone who watched you go in to add their own pin.
I put my watch in the beach bag near the clock at Tylösand, and it is not there now.
Pin your towel in relation to the clock in the middle of the sand, say whether you had walked north towards Frösakull at any point, and list what you took out of the bag during the day.
We were sunbathing on the rocks at Vallevik on Smögen, and now the car keys are gone.
The first question is whether you heard them hit rock or water. Name the bathing ladder nearest to where you sat, and send a photo looking along the rocks from that place.
An Oura ring went off the side of a pier at Skrea strand.
First say which pier. The bathing pier runs a long way out over the shallows, so tell us roughly how far along you were and on which side. The stone pier at the northern end has sun decks, steps down to the water and a ladder at the far end, so name the steps or the ladder.
The phone slid off a ledge at Aspholmen, the islet by Saltholmen.
People swim at Aspholmen from the rocks or from bathing ladders. Say whether it went in beside a ladder or off the rock, and send a photo from the spot that shows the shore behind you.
The only clue to where my earring went is the bathing hut we sat beside at Skanör.
The huts stand in a row on the fine sand of Skanör havsbad, and their colours make them useful markers. Tell us the colour of the hut you sat nearest and of the ones either side. If you also swam from the bathing jetties north of the harbour, add that.
A necklace came off at Sandhammaren, and the beach there seems to go on for ever.
Then the car park is the place to start. There are large ones at the southern and northern ends, and from the southernmost a boardwalk crosses the sand almost to the sea. Tell us which you used and roughly how far you walked along the beach. Any photo with the lighthouse in it helps too.
The children were paddling at Malens havsbad in Båstad when a ring went.
The water off Malen is very shallow, with a sandy bottom. There is a jetty at Tångvägen and another at Havsbadsvägen, so say which you were nearer and how far out from the sand the children were standing.
My chain went while I was rigging a kite on the sand at Apelviken in Varberg.
Apelviken is a bay with a sandy beach and dunes behind it, and wind and kitesurfers use it a lot. Pin the patch where the kite and lines were laid out, and tell us if you walked up into the dunes or waded in before you noticed.
West coast and Skåne
Which jetty, which ladder, which hut
Whichever of those you remember belongs in the opening line.
Send a WhatsApp message saying what came off and at which bathing place, lake or quay. Put the jetty, ladder or hut next to it if you know it; the pin on the map can come in your second message.