Blokhus to Hantsholm, along the Nordsøstien

In what is becoming an annual event I set off for the West Coast of Denmark, the planned route started in Blokhus a popular tourist area in northern Jutland and concluded in Hantsholm a large fishing and ferry port further south.

The weather outlook for the trip was for cold clear days at the beginning turning to rain and strong winds by the end of the trip, in this case the forecasters got it right.

After a long train and then bus trip Niels (from Backpackinglight Dk) and I arrived at Blokhus, after a quick visit to Aldi for a Jolly Cola  we headed off along the trail firstly passing many summer houses before entering a landscape of farmland and forest. Along the way we passed a golf course where the continual "ping" of golf balls could be heard along with the sight of golfers searching in the rough for a ball. The trail wanders along small roads passing through farmland for much of the time and with the sun out and a slight breeze it remained cool. We passed by the Briket factory where turf was turned into brikets for heating, it was in the mid sixties with the increasing availability of oil and gas that these factories were no longer able to survive.

After passing the factory we soon entered Koldmose, a forested area, with plenty of water, fortunately the trail was elevated and as we wandered through the swamp the dampness and cold was evident, soon afterwards we found ourselves in Sandmosen, which was more like a sandy forest with trails of soft sand and rolling sand dunes. The trail took us to what appeared to be the highest point in the area, a quick look at the GPS indicated that the height of this point was 18 metres above sea level.

The sun was sinking in the western sky and the shadows lengthening so we took our photos enjoyed the views in the cool afternoon sun and moved on.

After leaving the highest point we entered Tranum Klitplantage (forest) and located a campsite for the night. However, in doing so we were surprised by both the number of deer in the forest and the size of the deer, especially one stag, possibly a Kronhjort which was the biggest I have seen in Denmark.

After dinner we soon retired to our tents and listened to the calls of the deer as they wandered around the forest some of whom passed nearby our tents.