Sensory and story walk in Hauganskogen August 26, 2026

Low evening sun. Glistening, lapping water. Natural art in harmony with moss and old trees. Old sites to honor. Fifty fine people walked quietly through Hauganskogen.

Åsta Kostveit honored the forest with a sensory and historical walk on a Tuesday afternoon in late August. The Rauland History Society, which was founded by Åsta Kostveit almost 40 years ago, was the organizer of the walk.
Hauganskogen is a small belt of primeval forest that lies between the lake and the old road. The primeval forest was spared from forestry machinery this spring. Here you will encounter a lot of nature art set up by Olav Barstad Hansen and on this day it was Olav himself, dressed as a hobbit, who showed the way through the forest. Via the remains of those who lived here before, to mossy glades where the fifty nobles got to participate in the dance. On the way through the forest sounded the mouth harp and flutes of Per Åsmund Omholt and Birgit Landsverk and the lullaby of Hillborg Romtveit.

Volva, in Åsne Kostveit's song, quoted Voluspå, accompanied by Olle Hallgren's drums. Åsta herself read poems in honor of the forest and still, while she tied it all together. Haugan Forest stretches from the Haugan farm to Sporanes. As an introduction to the walk, Haugan's closest neighbor, Odd Kostveit, gave us an insight into the fur industry on Haugan. At the other end, at Sporanes, it was Matja Dagestad and Martinius Stømsvåg, also forest neighbors, who took over the baton and ended with yoga acrobatics. Haugan Forest may never be the same again, for the fifty who walk and feel in the afternoon sun.