Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Lønstrup to Hirtshals

This day is the third day of my hike along part of The North Sea trail. We originally started in Hune and planed six days rtrip including our day of arrival. Even this is a 5000 trail around the North Sea, we only walked abourt 130 kilomenters along part of the Danish west cost. Yesterday the highlight was the huge sand dunes at Rubjerg Knude. This day we walked on a stretch of beach, then along an elevated and sandy path. After sometime the trails turns inland. Again we pass through areas with summer houses and dune plantations. When we cross the stream called Liver Å we made a mistake that made the total lenght a few kilometers more longer than it was supposed to. We reached Hirtshals late in the afternoon.

This day was the longest part day, 25 kilometers. We couldn't check into the apartment we had booked in Hirtshals, so we took it easy. We started along the beach. A pleasant surprise was to see two seals. Since I am using my phone for photos, the quality isn't all that good.

After a couple of hours, the weather started to change. Drops of rain hit us as we approached the Liver Å – a stream that flows into the ocean here. For quite some time we had been walking on an elevated path through dune plantations. Low-growing vegetation characterizes the landscape, which is nevertheless lush. When we saw the bridge, we thought we might have to cross it, but we didn't see any blue North Sea Trail mark, so we continued on to the beach.

Eventually we had to stop and return to the bridge. We found that it was not possible to follow the beach. We had to cross a stream that was both too wide and too deep. So we turned around and walked back to the bridge. We crossed the bridge and spotted the blue sign on the other side.

The trail took us on a sandy path through the plantation. The dune landscape along the coast is characterized by sand drift. This phenomenon began along most of the coast in the 16th century. It was not until the 19th century that work was initiated to stop the sand drift. What was done was to plant large parts of the areas. These areas are today known as dune plantations. This has contributed to creating the special landscape we walked through every day.

After some time we were back on the beach again, but only for a short walk, then up to the dune plantastions and down to the beach again. It was sunny which made it a pleasant walk. Even it was end of august quite a few people were enjoying a swim. To get up to the elevated path, we had to climb stairs again. This time they were not as steep as the previos one. It was much more sollid as well. At Tornby Strand / beach we had a long break before we continued. We did feel tired now, but we had to walk the last 5 kilometers.

The bunker is hardly visible

After more than seven hours of walking, we finally reached Hirtshals. Since we arrived from the south we came to the lighthouse and the Bunker Museum, before the town. The many bunkers close to the lighthouse is part of the Atlantic defense system built by Germany during WWII. In Løkken we saw bunkers dotted on the beach. In Hirtshals they are spread in the landscape above the sea. The toal of 54 bunkers, rifle and cannon positions are now made a museum, called Hirtshals Bunker Museum. Many of the bunkers are connected by a a trench system. The total lenght is close to 3,5 kilomenters making it possible to walk from one bunker to the next down into the trench. The Bunker Museum is quite unique. It gives us an idea of how important this area was during the war. The lighthouse and the bunkers are located close to each other, high above the sea.

Hirtshals is not a big city, but it's important because of the fishing industry and the ferry connections to Norway, Iceland and the Faroe islands. I can't count how many times I have been here. I always take the three hour ferry operating between Kristiansand and Hirtshals, when I am in Denmark to visit family. We had rented and apartment and were planning to cook ourselves. But this day had been a hard day. Instead we went downtown to eat out. From the restaurant we could look at all the ships in the harbor. A well-known sight. Usually I don't take time to stay in Hirtshals, but I am beginning to think it might be worth to spend more time here.

The next day we continued from Hirtshals to Tversted, which is only a small village with 500 inhabitants during the low season. We now turned aound a corner and walked from west to east, before we reached Skagen.

To be continued in a few days.

Link to my previous posts on the North Sea Trail.
Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Hune to Løkken

Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Løkken to Lønstrup