The top of Denmark is a wild, beautiful and inspirational spot. Gillian Thornton visits Skagen on a Scandinavian cruise with Ambassador.
Seas and oceans flow seamlessly into each other around the planet, so it is rare to pinpoint the exact spot where one body of water joins another. Come to Skagen however – ‘skay-en’ in Danish – and you can literally put one foot in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea at the same time. Just remember to pack a towel!
One of the key factors for most people when booking a cruise is the itinerary – the chance to enjoy a taster of the world’s famous ports and heritage sites. But I love a cruise that also includes somewhere I know little about. Or in the case of Skagen, absolutely nothing at all. I wasn’t much wiser when I looked on a map of Denmark. Perched at the very tip of Jutland, the pinprick blob didn’t seem big enough to attract cruise passengers. But how wrong can you be?
Skagen was the first stop on my Denmark & Norway Experience trip with Ambassador Cruise Line, a week’s spring itinerary out of London Tilbury, but further investigation reveals that other cruise lines also stop here. Denmark’s major fishing port, Skagen numbers fewer than 8,000 permanent residents, but is a popular summer holiday resort with unspoilt beaches on both sides of the peninsula. A haven for walkers, cyclists, and birdwatchers.
But Skagen has a fascinating creative pedigree too, attracting artists with its clear light and natural environment since the 1870s, the most famous being Peder Kroyer and Michael and Anna Ancher. In 1914, the Danish royal family commissioned a seaside residence – the Klitgaarden or ‘Dune House’ – with yellow ochre walls and a red tiled roof. Before long, local residents were copying the style and replacing their dark brown houses made from timber gathered from the many offshore shipwrecks.
Today a stroll through Skagen is a bit like walking through a Lego village, the brightly coloured houses sitting behind small, neat gardens enclosed by white picket fences and occasionally punctuated by a property in white clapboard or red brick. Even the church is yellow and red, renovated in 1910 by Ulrik Plesner, architect of the Royal holiday house and other properties owned by the Skagen Painters.
Arrive by sea and once disembarked, you are quickly through the port on foot or by shuttle bus and into the heart of this buzzing small town. The main street has a permanent market day air with racks of merchandise lining the pavements, but this is just everyday retail Skagen-style, at least when the weather is fine.
Cruise excursions offer a choice of a guided town walk or a wider tour of the peninsula by mini-bus, both of which are a good way to find out more about this fascinating community. Alternatively, independent explorers can hire a bicycle from the quayside or follow the 3km marked walking trail along the shore to Grenen, northern tip of one of the world’s largest spits, the Skagen Odde, for that two-seas experience.
On the way, you pass a 1950s replica of the Bascule Light, originally constructed in 1627 with an open fire basket, and the Grey Lighthouse, now a viewing tour for those up to tackling its 210 steps. From here you can board the Sandworm, a trailer pulled by a tractor which takes passengers to the tip of Denmark. Grenen still grows by around 8 metres a year in a north-easterly direction, a dramatic divider between the Skagerrak and North Sea to the west, and the Kattegat and Baltic in the east.
The sands shift here constantly, although planting projects have helped to stabilise the dunes. Over millennia, the sea and wind have formed beach ridges and wetlands that are a unique habitat for plant and animal life. Coach excursions take in the 14th century Church of St Laurence, known today as the Buried Church. By the end of the 18th century, migrating sands had reached its walls and worshippers had to dig their way in, until it finally closed in 1795. Today only the white tower is visible.
With so much natural beauty and changing scenery, it is easy to see why painters were – and still are – attracted to the peninsula, inspired by the open-air art of the French Impressionists. See their work at the Skagen Art Museum and maybe relax over a drink at Brondums Hotel, an iconic address that hosted many of the Skagen artists in the late 19th century. But leave time to linger at the many small galleries and artists’ studios as you head back to the ship. A chance to buy a very special souvenir of this unique little town.
Next steps
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