Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Tversted to Skagen

Today I will tell you about our last two days on the The North Sea Trail. We walked to Skagen, the northern most city in Denmark. It is internationally known for the clear light, that has inspired the famous "Skagen malerne" / Skagen painters. The next day we continued the few kilometers to Grenen, the tip of Denmark, where two oceans meet. We took off ours shoes, so that we could stand with one foot in the sea of Skagerak and the other in Kattegat. These last two days, took us through spectacular landscape, along beaches and past the oldest log mill in the country and bunkers from WWII.

The first part took us past domestic animals like these horses. But a spider in yellow and black also cauht our attention. Along the whole coast, here are many information boards. In this way we could read about wildlife, historical sites and coastal errosion, gave us a better understanding of the areas we were passing through.

This section is on a path raised above the beach. Incredibly beautiful scenery. I simply couldn't believe that this is Denmark! It is ducks we can see on one of the photos.

Once again, the path follows the beach. It's easy to walk here, and for the most part it looks like it just stretches out into the horizon. However, it never got boring. The light changed and the sound of the sea is soothing.

There is a rich wildlife in the area of the Tversted Lakes. It is possible so see ducks, coots and mergansers. We did see ducks, even though it was in the distance. The Tversted Dune Plantation, is one of the oldest in northern Denmark. It seemed quite huge when looking at a map.

After passing the lakes, we came to Østerklit, where we had our lunch break here. Østerklit Stokmølle, was the last functioning log mill in the country. It was built in 1912. But there had been buildings here for several centuries. This type of mill is a small windmill type that is placed on the roof of the barn.

It is located close to the sea. What was done to be able to keep an eye on wrecked ships, was to build a house in 1677. At that time, there were many hundreds of ships that ran aground outside the coast. More houses were built over time, so that the farm consisted of a both a barn, farmhouse and stables. It is the barn that is still here. It turned out that it houses an exhibition about the mill, open to visitors. Quite an interesting place.

The path took us to beautiful forest terrain all the way to Skiveren. A small place with a campsite. A coffee break was what we needed. A pleasant place where we could refill our bottles with water.

Now we changed direction and walked across Skagens Odde to Bunken train station, to take the train to Skagen. We did this to avoid a very long day. A couple of my companions had sore feet. Skagens Odde is another interesting area. It is considered a young country, geologically speaking. Another interesting fact, is that it is still growing. The very tip - Grenen - grows by 7-8 meters a year. The reason is that the ocean currents bring some 800,000 cubic meters of sand all the way to the tip and to a reef that lies to the east. I read that this tip is the largest of its kind in the world. I have been here many times during the years, but never knew the geologically facts before now.

To cross Skagen Odde, meant 10 kilometers along the road. Sometimes the stretch felt boring and far too long. We walked and we walked.... The only break from a monotonous road was at Råbjerg Church. A motivating factor while walking, was beer at Skagen brewery. That was the first place to go after arrival, even though we did arrive late in the afternoon.

The next morning on our walk towards Grenen, we passed the lighthouse and several bunkers. These are remains of a battery from WWII. When they were built, they were located 40 meters from the sea. Because of coastal erosion, the are now located at the edge. They will probably end up at sea one day.

Our walking holiday along The North Sea Trail came to an end here at Skagen Gren. End of the road at the top of Denmark. Two oceans meet here: Kattegat and Skagerrak. Grenen changes every day due to wind and currents in the sea. We all took off our shoes and walked into the water, just like these people on the photo. An amazing walking holiday. I hope I have managed to inspire some of you.

Link to my previous post from The North Sea Trail:
Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Hune to Løkken

Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Løkken to Lønstrup

Walking the North Sea Trail, Denmark – Lønstrup to Hirtshals