A ridestien is a bridle path, and in Denmark they are taken seriously. Grønholt Vang, in the woodland and open country of north Zealand, has a network of them, and the one marked here runs through trees and along the edge of open ground a few kilometres from Fredensborg and Hillerød. The paths are meant for riders on horseback, so a motorcycle has no business on them, but they are a clue to the character of the area: an old landscape of forest and estate, now shared by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
The surroundings carry a lot of Danish royal history. North Zealand was the king's hunting country for centuries, and the grand palaces of Fredensborg and Frederiksborg, along with the hunting park of Jægersborg Dyrehave to the south, are part of the same story. The Dyrehave, the deer park, was laid out in the seventeenth century for royal hunts and is now a place for Copenhagen families to walk at weekends, with red and fallow deer in the open ground and the little Hermitage hunting lodge on its hill.
Riding on the roads around Grønholt Vang is relaxed and polite. They wind through beech woods and past farms and lakes, with easy bends and a good surface, and Danish drivers keep to the speed limit, which is a good example to follow. In autumn the beech trees turn gold and copper, and the light through the leaves is warm. In spring, the first leaves are the freshest green.
The nearest villages, Nødebo and Fredensborg, have basic services, and Hillerød, a town of over thirty thousand, has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants. Danish bakeries sell excellent pastries and rye bread, and a cup of coffee and a cinnamon swirl is a good start to the morning. Drivers will be sharing the roads with horses in places, so slow down where you see riders and give them plenty of room.
This stop is linked on the ride with the Jægersborg deer park and the wider Par Force Hunting Landscape, a World Heritage site that preserves the geometry of royal hunting rides. Early in the morning, with the light slanting through the trees, is the best time to be there.