The Army Road - a 1000 year old network

I’ve been toying with the idea of doing some long-distance walking in Denmark. I particularly fancy walking parts of the old Hærvejen (The Army Road) that runs from the border between Denmark and Germany up through the peninsula of Jutland.

The exact age of the 250-km long route is unknown, but estimates range from 1000 to 4-5000 years. Hærvejen consists of a network of paths and roads previously used by tradesmen, pilgrims and armies. It runs through some of the most beautiful landscape that Denmark has to offer and past historical sights.

The flat Danish landscape should make it easy for even someone as unfit as me to walk the whole route in about 10 days. I’m likely only to be interested in doing parts of the route, though, but the route should be clearly signposted, which makes it possible to pick it up at almost any given point.

Another option would be to do the annual 2-day challenge, Hærvejsmarchen, which partly follows Hærvejen. Hærvejsmarchen (The Army Road Walk) runs from 23-24 June this year and consists of 2×45 km for men, 2×40 km for women and 2×30 km for children.

A project has been launced to create 10 hostels along Hærvejen making it easier and cheaper for anyone walking or cycling the route to find a place to stay for the night. If everything goes according to plan, the hostels should open in the summer of 2008. If they do, you might find me and my walking stick in Jutland next summer.

External links

If you are interested in walking the Army Road, you can find more information at the official Hærvejen website.

To learn more about the Army Road Walk or even sign up for this year’s walk, visit the official Hærvejsmarchen website.

Technorati Tags: travel, Denmark, walking, Hærvejen, The Army Road

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