Holiday apartment in Norddjurs Municipality – Coast, Nature and Culture

Norddjurs Municipality has 117 kilometres of coastline and combines maritime landscapes with trails, nature experiences and cultural sites. Norddjurs offers beaches, shelters, hiking trails, MTB routes and excursion destinations. The beaches listed by Norddjurs as having Blue Flag status include Bønnerup Strand, Fjellerup Strand, Gjerrild Nordstrand, Grenaa Strand, Rygårde Strand and St. Sjørup Strand. Rygårde Strand is accessible with limited barriers.

Nature and Coast

At Sangstrup, the white, vertical chalk cliffs end abruptly at the mainland. At Karlby Klint and Sangstrup Klint, visitors can see and find fossil bryozoans themselves. In Randers Fjord Nature Park, with a little luck, it is possible to observe ospreys over the fjord and seals on rocks and sandbanks near Udbyhøj. In the same nature park, visitors can travel through extensive reed beds. Kyst- og Fjordcentret is an activity-based nature interpretation centre by the water in Randers Fjord Nature Park.

Birdlife is also one of the municipality’s distinctive natural features. Forest birds such as the black woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, stock dove and raven breed in Gjerrild Overskov. Migratory birds also stop there, and in some years the red-backed shrike breeds there. Gjerrild and Fornæs are considered particularly good places for observing bird migration.

Trails

The nature in Norddjurs is accessible on mapped trails on foot, by bicycle or on horseback. Nordsøstien is a signposted regional hiking trail in Norddjurs. Lodsstien is an approximately 32-kilometre route from Udbyhøj Syd at the entrance to Randers Fjord to the harbour of Randers. Djurslandstien is a coastal hiking trail that runs from Risskov in Aarhus to Udbyhøj in Norddjursland.

The cycling network also includes a continuous cycle path along the former railway line between Ryomgård and Allingåbro. It connects Gjerrildbanestien with Gjerrild and with the recreational trail network between Norddjurs and Syddjurs. This provides a variety of trail types side by side: signposted regional hiking trails, an approximately 32-kilometre route, a coastal long-distance trail and a connection along a former railway line.

Culture and History

Gammel Estrup has a history spanning almost 700 years. Since 1930, Gammel Estrup has been a museum presenting the lives of estate owners and servants through the ages. Bus route 212 runs directly to Gammel Estrup Museum; public bus stops are approximately 100 metres away. Coffee and homemade cake are served in Gammel Estrup’s authentic manor-house kitchen. The kitchen is equipped with an old wood-burning stove and original recipes.

The Grønne Museum is Denmark’s national museum of hunting, forestry, agriculture and food. It combines exhibitions with a playground, farm animals, living agriculture and the historic surroundings of Gammel Estrup. At the Grønne Museum’s Madens Hus, visitors can enjoy hands-on experiences about the history of food, where they can taste, smell and literally chop their way through history.

Stenvad Mosebrug is an important piece of Danish industrial history. Originally, it was a large, heavily used factory where many employees extracted peat from the surrounding bogs. At Stenvad Mosebrugscenter, visitors can travel through the scenic bog by narrow-gauge railway. In Grenå, the Museum Østjylland department is located in a former merchant’s courtyard built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Baunhøj Mølle presents various art exhibitions and operates as a working mill. At the same time, Baunhøj Mølle is one of the cultural landmarks of Norddjurs Municipality. Kattegatcentret displays more than 200 species of marine animals, including sharks, grey seals and penguins.

Other places in the municipality: Allingåbro, Bønnerup Strand, Glesborg, Grenå, Grenå Strand, Store Sjørup, Udbyhøj, Ørsted, Selkær, Nimtofte, Gjerrild, Fjellerup, Ramten, Trustrup, Lyngby, Auning, Ørum Djurs, Anholt.

To the overarching travel overview: Central Jutland.