22nd April 2016 Store Bededags coastal ride.

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I had planned to ride down to the end of the Helnæs peninsular but that would mean at least ten miles into a headwind coming back. So I wandered the hilly, coastal lanes instead.

Panoramic view from the [brief] Civil War memorial stone.

Panoramic view from above Brydegård towards Dreslette.

Old castle mound at Hagenskov Slot near Ebberup. A dungeon 'pit' with a tunnel entrance still exists at the far end of the site from Slots Allé.

Hagenskov Gård is an impressive house which has an enclosed yard surrounded in historical agricultural buildings and homes for the former staff on a truly grand scale.

Slot's Allé is the first turning on the left after leaving the house and walled garden behind. It is a narrow, winding lane descending between ancient trees and past beautiful old, half-timbered estate houses and a water mill. I have shared images of these previously. Though probably not named them as such. Sadly quite a number of drivers use this romantic lane as a rat run. Though heaven knows why. A simple understanding of geometry would show that any two sides of the same rectangle save not a single yard nor meter over the other two sides.

Another view of the lane with the castle mound immediately on the left. The massive old pair of iron gates lead merely to marshy grounds and the ancient wooded collection area for water for the now, long disused mill.

The whole area absolutely reeks of nostalgia for golden times past. Only a walk or cycle ride does the Allé real justice. There is nowhere to stop in a car and passing opposing vehicles is largely a matter of luck and taking to the grass verges.

Signs prohibit stopping in the lane which separates the palace from its outbuildings. Even the animals quietly grazing in the extensive, unspoilt, partially wooded grounds add a wonderfully timeless quality to the scenes laid out below the road. Thankfully there was nobody to share the view and I could dawdle and take photographs to my heart's content.

This wonderful old farmhouse is one of many attractive buildings in the Brydegård area from once prosperous agricultural times. The modern farm buildings can be seen at the end of the drive passing the house. A number of houses in the area would easily pass as "stately homes" in British parlance. No doubt they all employed a great many workers in the past when only horse power was available.






I had better give you a view of the sea just to prove I actually saw it. [Several bits of it, in fact!] This is the view looking down the hill on Nymarksvej. [New field way.]

A small estate of summer houses nestles down by the sea beyond the woods. There are quite a number of similarly steep hills in this area. I shot down one hill in the forlorn hope of making it at least partially up the opposite side of the switchback. Only to have a horse transporter come over the top of the next hill blocking my safe passage. There ensued a long and breathless grind up the steep climb.

And another sea view. This time down towards Å. [Pron.Oh!] With Helnæs lighthouse almost dead ahead and nearly 6 miles away across the intervening sea.

Somehow I even managed to capture the steepness of the hill as it falls straight towards the sea in a series of undulating steps.

It was a gorgeous day of warm sunshine and the cool winds were light enough not to become a nuisance. Like the idiot I am, I put off eating my packed lunch until I returned home. Somehow  I could not quite find the right place to stop and eat. I was gone for nearly four hours but still only managed 30 miles with several shopping stops and lots of photographic pauses.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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