Sensory Hiking for families at Lildstrand

Sensory Hiking for Families at Lildstrand

The aim is for families to find peace in nature, focus on their senses and experience familiar surroundings in new ways. Take time to simply be present and enjoy the impressions of the landscape around you.

The sensory hike for families is based on a short walk from the car park at the beach landing site, along Strandkærvej, past the church and out along the coastal rescue road towards the outer car park. From here, you can walk over the dunes, down onto the beach and back towards the beach landing site.

The walk takes approximately 40 minutes, depending on how many stops you make and how many stones you collect along the way. There are benches by the church, the car park and the beach landing site. If you would like a longer walk, you can choose another route, extend your walk along the coastal rescue road towards Glæde, or walk to Bulbjerg and return along the beach. The latter takes approximately two hours.

To get the full sensory experience, take your time and pause along the way. The walk may therefore take longer than the suggested time.

Bring a bucket or bag for collecting stones and other finds. You may also want to bring a packed lunch and something to drink, which can make even a short walk into something a little more special.

If you are staying in Lildstrand for several days, try walking the same route more than once and at different times of day. Each walk offers different impressions. Experience it at sunrise, at dusk, in the midday sun, in the dark, in windy weather or in the rain. The sounds and scents change with the weather and time of day.

For children, a walk in the dark can be a special experience. Listen together to the sounds of the night and look for shooting stars or perhaps some of the animals that are active after dark. Several times during the year, meteor showers provide good opportunities to see shooting stars. The Northern Lights can also sometimes be seen around Lildstrand and Bulbjerg. You can find more information online.

Guide

• Start your walk at the beach landing site at Lildstrand and follow Strandkærvej towards the church.
• Stop at the large stone fish and let the children close their eyes and feel the rough and smooth surfaces of the stone. They can also “feed” the fish with small stones.
• Walk past the church at 08:00 or 17:00, when you can hear the church bells ringing.
• Find the large bell, sit down and listen.
• Continue out of the village, notice the transition from asphalt to gravel and take a deep breath. Can you smell heather, rosehips or the sea?
• Can you hear the birds on the heath or the buzzing of insects? Perhaps you will hear a crane calling in the distance or a seagull overhead.
• Are the birds singing, calling or crying? Can you hear a lark?
• Let the children find different kinds of grass – grass that smells, grass that prickles and perhaps some that feels soft.
• Rosehip bushes grow along the road. Smell the flowers and carefully feel the thorns. Perhaps you will also find ripe rosehips.
• Maybe you can find ripe sea buckthorn berries.
• At the car park, you can sit down at the picnic table. Close your eyes, listen and take in the scents around you.
• Lie down in the grass and look up at the clouds.
• Follow the path to the top of the dunes, sit in the sand and look out across the sea while running your fingers through the sand. Is it cold, warm, cool or wet? Perhaps you will feel the grass moving in the wind or spot tracks in the sand left by insects and reptiles. Breathe deeply and take a moment to be present. Feel the wind, the sun or the rain.
• Walk down to the beach and begin the journey back towards the beach landing site. You can walk along the water’s edge where the waves roll in or further up the beach across sand and stones.
• Look for footprints and other traces of animals or people.

At the beach landing site, you can refill your water bottle in the picnic house and use the toilets by Spilhuset.

Lildstrand Røgeri sells freshly smoked fish and hot dishes, and several galleries in the area offer coffee and cake.

The sensory hike was described by Dorte Krøyer in August 2020 as part of a development project supported by the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs’ Rural District Fund. In collaboration with Thy Tourist Association and Støtteforeningen Hannæs og Østerild, local residents and tourism businesses contributed to the project through a series of workshops. The result is a selection of locations and recommendations for experiences in the area.