Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang and Borgring

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang

   North Zealand is the part of Denmark where kings went to relax. The coast road runs up the Øresund from Copenhagen to Helsingør, past beach villas and harbours, and inland, behind the first ridge, lies a quieter country of beech woods, lakes and rolling fields around Fredensborg and Lake Esrum. Grønholtvangen is a stretch of open land and woodland north of Grønholt Vang, a name that suggests an old common, in a landscape that was shaped by royal hunting and by the great beech forest of Gribskov, one of the largest in Denmark. The ride belongs to Kronborg Castle, the Renaissance fortress at Helsingør that Shakespeare turned into Elsinore, the home of Hamlet.

   Read the complete Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang is where the day begins. Next is Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn.

2. 2. Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn

   Danish kings loved to hunt, and in the late seventeenth century they laid out forests north of Copenhagen in a geometric pattern of straight paths radiating from central points, designed for par force hunting, in which riders and hounds chased a stag until it was exhausted. Jægersborg Dyrehave, the deer park, and Jægersborg Hegn are included in UNESCO's inscription of the par force hunting landscape in North Zealand, together with forests further north. The star-shaped network of rides is still visible, with numbered stone posts at the intersections that helped the hunters find their way.

   Read the complete Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roskilde Cathedral.

3. 3. Roskilde Cathedral

   Roskilde Cathedral is where Denmark keeps its kings. Since the fifteenth century, almost every Danish monarch has been buried here, and the chapels and crypts hold around forty kings and queens, from medieval stone tombs to ornate baroque sarcophagi and modern designs. The cathedral itself, begun in the late twelfth century under Bishop Absalon, the warrior-churchman who also founded Copenhagen, was one of the first big brick Gothic churches in Scandinavia, and it set the style for church building across the region. UNESCO listed it in 1995. Inside, look for the clock with the figure of St George slaying the dragon, which strikes the hour, and the pillar where royal visitors have marked their height.

   Read the complete Roskilde Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Roskilde Cathedral. Next is Borgring.

4. 4. Borgring

   In 2014, archaeologists using laser scanning of the landscape noticed a faint circle in a field near Køge, on the Danish island of Zealand, about forty kilometres south-west of Copenhagen. Excavations confirmed what they had hoped: it was a Viking ring fortress, one of a small group of perfectly circular fortresses built in Denmark in the late tenth century, probably under King Harald Bluetooth. It was named Borgring, and it was the first new ring fortress to be found in Denmark in over sixty years.

   Read the complete Borgring write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Borgring, about halfway. Next is back through Roskilde Cathedral.

5. 5. back through Roskilde Cathedral

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Roskilde Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Roskilde Cathedral sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn.

6. 6. back through Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Jægersborg Dyrehave and Jægersborg Hegn comes up about 171 km into the recorded legs. Next is Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang.

7. 7. Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Grønholtvangen north of Grønholt Vang closes the day.