As the landscape turns to heathland and the road becomes narrower and narrower, you’d be forgiven in thinking that you’ve taken the wrong turn. But the remoteness of Hjerl Hede supports the mental image of stepping back in time.

Its modern entrance aside, the open-air museum is a historic record of the buildings, craft, trade and type of life you may have encountered in a typical Danish village between the years 1500 – 1900.

I’ve enjoyed visits to Hjerl Hede at different times of the year, but I’d particularly recommend a visit on one of their enactment days, when the museum comes alive with people dressed in old costumes performing some of the many activities that would have taken place in a Danish village. As a child I particularly enjoyed the enactment at The Stone Age settlement and in the grocer’s shop.

With more than 50 different buildings, including a school, a baker, an inn, a dairy, a forge, farms and mills, set in beautiful, rural surroundings complete with sheep, goats and geese, Hjerl Hede should have enough to keep all ages entertained and is the perfect place to let your children take charge of your holiday.

A few more photos of Hjerl Hede are available on our Hjerl Hede photo page and you can get more information about the open-air museum on the official Hjerl Hede website.

It consists of no more than sand and shingle and yet Grenen, the northern tip of Jutland in Denmark, is a very popular destination for both international and domestic tourists.

While the tip of Grenen is not strictly speaking the northernmost point of Denmark, it is often regarded as such. Being able to stand at the very point where both Denmark and the European continent are perceived to end has made Grenen a must see for many visitors to Denmark.

The very tip of Grenen is also perceived as the point where the two straits, the Skagerak and Kattegat, meet. This meeting is evident to the naked eye, in particular in stormy weather, as waves coming from either side crash against each other.

The meeting of the two straits makes the currents around Grenen extremely dangerous and absolutely no bathing is allowed.

The currents and the hundreds of cubic metres of sediment transported annually from the west coast of Denmark constantly change the shape of Grenen, sometimes from day to day.

While sediment is added on the northern side, the eastern side of Grenen is in constant danger of erosion. To combat this erosion u-shaped wave breakers, as seen on the photo above,  have been built from some of the sediment deposited on the northern side.

When we visited Grenen in May we took the tractor-driven Sandormen (Danish for sandworm) from the car park to the very tip, because we were in the company of someone who had difficulty walking. But if you’re able to, I’d highly recommend walking out there. I would estimate the walk from the car park to the tip of Grenen to take between 15-30 minutes.

For a good view of Grenen and the u-shaped wave breakers on the eastern side, I’d also recommend a visit to the top of Skagen Lighthouse (Skagen Fyr in Danish, or Det Grå Fyr). The 46-metre tall lighthouse was built in 1858, and we enjoyed some fantastic views from there.

A few more photos of Grenen and Skagen Lighthouse are available on our Grenen and Skagen Lighthouse photo page.

Containing about 4 million cubic metres of sand and travelling at an average speed of around 15 metres a year in a north-easterly direction, Råbjerg Mile is one of Europe’s largest migrating sand dunes. (source: Råbjerg Mile brochure in Danish (PDF))

Råbjerg Mile is located in North Jutland, Denmark, between Frederikshavn and Skagen, an area where most wandering sand dunes have been stopped in their tracks by dune plantations established by the Danish government in the late 19th century. Råbjerg Mile, however, was put under a conservation act and left to travel, in order for migration dunes not to become extinct.

When I visited Råbjerg Mile, or Milen as it is locally known, in May, I only stayed for a short while. But ideally, I would recommend that you take your time exploring the 1000m x 1000m dune, particularly if you bring children. With its highest point at 40 metres above sea-level, who can resist rolling down the dune?

A few more photos are available on our Råbjerg Mile photo page.

But over the past couple of years Bork Havn has seen a disproportionate increase in summer houses built on the outskirts of what traditionally has been seen as part of Bork Havn. This combined with new plans to build an adventure/entertainment complex could see Bork Havn change from a traditional come-enjoy-the-free-nature tourist area to a more all-round, all-year tourist hot spot.

What was and what is

While it is still possible to see the odd fisherman preparing his net for a day on Ringkøbing Fjord, the original aim of Bork Havn changed many decades ago from fishery to tourism.

The first summer houses for tourists were built in the late 1960s and Bork Havn soon established itself as a popular destination for families who enjoy a laidback holiday in a safe environment close to the ocean and plenty of nature to go around.

Later the area became popular with windsurfers as well and now you will also see kitesurfers practising their moves on Ringkøbing Fjord.

Bork Havn remains very much geared towards the type of tourists that are capable of keeping themselves entertained. The attractions at Bork Havn are limited to a viking museum, Bork Vikingehavn and an old inn turned into a museum, Fahl Kro, so don’t expect to fill your days sightseeing.

Don’t expect to mingle with too many locals either. Bork Havn is very much geared towards tourists. Apart from during the annual 4-day music festival, Bork Havn Musikfestival, which has grown very popular with not only the locals but with Danes from all over, you are more likely to be sitting next to a table of fellow tourists than locals when you enjoy dinner at one of Bork Havn’s few restaurants.

What could be

As mentioned above it does look like changes are afoot at Bork Havn. The area has seen an explosion of new summer houses constructed over a short period of time, with more being built as I write this.

New houseboats for tourist rental have been berthed at the far end of the harbour, with more to come, following the latest trend in tourist accommodation in Denmark.

Perhaps the most exciting development is the proposed Adventure Land Bork, an adventure/entertainment complex which plans to offer amongst other things a water park, bowling alley, tennis courts as well as eating and drinking facilities. The complex is still trying to secure funding, but if it does get off the ground, the people behind the plan hope the complex will make Bork Havn more of an all-year tourist destination.

Bork Havn is, no doubt, trying to move with times, but the single most important thing it needs to achieve, if it is to retain its attractiveness for a tourist like me (even if I am a former semi-local), is the involvement of the locals. The places I enjoy visiting the most, are the places where I feel that I’m enjoying the area with the locals. I want to eat with or amongst the locals, enjoy a drink at the same bar as the locals and generally feel that the place exists for the locals not the tourists and that I’m allowed to share their area with them as a visitor.

To achieve this Bork Havn, in my opinion, will need to think far more radically than it currently does. It will need to finds its niche and offer something so traditionally Danish that even the locals want to come. I would want to see cafes serving traditional, delicious Danish breakfast complete with “rundstykker og wienerbrød” (rolls and pasteries) and restaurants serving traditional Danish food such as smørrebrød, fried eel and other fish. I can get burgers and pizzas pretty much anywhere in the world, but I will pay good money for decent smørrebrød and a cold beer. I would want small, quaint pubs where I can drop in for a quick pint or when the Danish weather is not playing nice, sit all day long enjoying a meal, a couple of pints and a chat with the locals.

Something is indeed stirring at Bork Havn and it has taken a step in the right direction by trying to create more activities, which both tourists and locals can enjoy. But more importantly it needs to create more of a local atmosphere. Yes, some tourists want more activities, but I bet you all tourists want to feel that they are in Denmark, when they visit Bork Havn.

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Map of Bork Havn

The map below is a map of Bork Havn. Use the zoom and directional buttons to navigate the map. Click on the red points to view more information and use the zoom out button to see more red points in and around Bork Havn. Use the “refresh page” icon in your browser to get back to the original map.

Photos

A short photo series from Bork Havn is available from Photographs from Bork Havn, Denmark.