Island hopping Farø, Bogø, Møn and Njord
September 12 in
Denmark
Who knew there were so many islands to explore in such a small area of Denmark? We are finally settled near Mosehældgård woodland shelter on Møn, our fourth island of the day, and we have company. A young grey and white cat is climbing over the bonnet and wing mirrors mewing loudly. She came bounding up when we arrived at this gravel and grass parking area and immediately made friends with Will, bounding through the long grass alongside him as he went to check out the camping area with its wooden sleeping hut, compost toilet, picnic tables and stone campfire circles. Vicky fed her some of Poppy's food and treats, much to our beloved dog's displeasure.
We started off the day on tiny Farø island and were pleased to note that after yesterday's ghastly grey weather, the skies had begun to look brighter. A well built up causeway took us over to Bogø island and soon after, another bridged the sea to Møn; a larger island with acres of green, gently rolling fields.
Møn had come highly recommended, both by the guidebook and by locals we'd talked to on a neighbouring island. From its long list of attractions we'd picked out a couple to visit, the first of which was Klekkende Høj, a 5000 year old burial mound. Driving down a single track country lane we parked on a small gravel area before following a 300m long path worn into the mud through the middle of a brassica field. Ahead of us rose a grassy dimple, reaching about 6m above field level. Two bare earth tunnels approximately 1m high, with stone slabs lining the walls and roof provided entry to the centre of the mound and a small information board stood discretely to the side, as seems to be the way with many Danish sites of interest. The south tunnel was blocked at the far end so we both got on our hands and knees and entered the north tunnel, Vicky leading the way. All of a sudden Will felt something prodding him from behind, he twisted his head round and thought for a second that Poppy had followed us, but no, he found himself face to face with a German Shepherd! Luckily it was friendly and soon went on its way! After about 10m we emerged into a small chamber about 1.5m high where, between two large slabs through a glass pane, we could see another chamber. Piles of bones, that looked like a mix of human and other animals lay amongst earthenware pottery containers and a complete human skeleton sat up against the far corner, wearing a hat and furs. We generally have little interest in museums, but viewing historical ways of life in situe holds value for us and we really enjoyed the hands on experience of crawling through the dark tunnel to take a peak at the past.
Continuing to Møn's north coast, we passed through Ulvshale village; pretty strips of pale yellow sand backed by maram grass and a string of 'cute as can be' beach houses, many of them made of wooden board painted in an attractive mix of colours. Each compound had hedges or rustic looking fences marking out their own little gardens.
From Møn we hopped over to Nyord Island via a single lane causeway controlled by traffic lights. The marshlands we could see as we crossed are classified as a Ramsar Site and protected because of their importance to geese, ducks and other wading birds. At 5 sq km Njord is more than five times larger than Farø, where we had set off from that morning, but like Farø, it could hardly be classed as a big island. Much of it is salt meadow and we passed hardy looking black or brown cattle grazing happily on this. In winter the meadows are flooded, reducing the island to a fifth of its summer area. One of the reasons we wanted to visit was because Njord is certified as one of twenty official International Dark Sky Communities and one of the best places in Denmark for stargazing. Unfortunately the cloud cover wasn't set to lift anytime soon so we didn't stop overnight.
Back over the causeway to Møn we drove a short distance to Mosehældgård free camping area and pulled into the woodland clearing. Although we'd stayed at several of these shelters over the summer the hot weather had meant most had signs prohibiting campfires. Well, with the amount of rain that had fallen since, there was no problem here and Will built and lit a fire for us to sit round while he played guitar. A kitten had joined the young cat and we sat with the warmth of the flames watching its boundless energy. It jumped here there and everywhere, swatting the insects it disturbed from the long grass and crunching them up if it caught them. Although the forecast had been cloudy, as evening drew on the sky cleared a little and the brightest of the stars shone through.
The night chilled to 10°C so the heating was called for when we got up the following morning. Dew lay heavy on the grass as Vicky went for an early walk along part of the Camono; a trail that extends 175 km over Denmark's southern islands. Our last act before we left was to take a peak at the hornet's nest in the 7ft 'bug house'. At around 2.5cm long the flying insects were so much larger than we are used to and we didn't hang around too long! Hornets are becoming an increasingly common sight here in Denmark as the climate warms.Read more
That looks like one of the most interesting places you have been. I loved it all.
I wonder where the cat and kitten came from as the cat didn't look feral. The kitten's antics with insects remind me of our regular visitor the other day when he caught a dragonfly. Luckily I was there watching and disturbed him so the dragonfly escaped. Don't think it would have done Sir any good to eat it as he does with many insects!
Pity no video of the kitten
It was certainly an eventful day Sue, unfortunately the light had faded too much for a good photo/video when the kitten came along. There were a few farms nearby so they could have been kept as mouse deterrents.