Bindeballe Station to Byrup, Day 3
641 m climbing
67.22 km
Bindeballe stien
The first 15km today was on the wonderful Bindeballe Stien, an old railway track and also the start of our time on Hærvejen. Hærvejen (also known in English as the Ox Road), is an ancient trade route from the North of Denmark down to Germany and although is now mainly big roads, there is a walking-cycling “version” of it following the watershed of Jutland, the equivalent of the ridgeway paths in England.
These first 15km were probably the prettiest we came across on the trip, passing along the Vejle River valley with no roads and picture perfect water meadows around us.
The official Hærvejen turns North at Haraldskær Fabrik, but we continued on for another few km since the valley is so peaceful, eventuallly turning towards Skibet and Jelling just after Kvak Mølle where there’s a great view of the old Haraldskær Manor House from 1434 (now a smart hotel).
Haraldskær Herregaard
Jelling
There’s a couple of steep climbs to get to Jelling from the Vejle River valley but there’s no way to avoid them. So coming into Jelling we were a little tired and took a break to take in the history of the town.
Jelling as a town is typical Danish, plenty of modern housing and small shopping centre like places. However what makes it unique is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church. Its quite unlike most “ruins” in that the core is what most would describe as a pretty normal looking Danish church with the usual graveyard around it; however you’re quickly drawn to the two large stones protected from human in touch in glass and bronze casings. These are the Jelling Stones, the first mention of “Denmark” and its conversion to Christianity in the time of the vikings. The Stones themselves were at the core of a wider settlement with two giant burial mounds overshadowing the church; in addition the site was laid out as a giant ship and the outline of this is today represented by tall white pillars. Its quite an experience to wander around it.
The Jelling stones
Hærvejen to Vrads
Although there are plenty of places to eat in Jelling, it was a little early for lunch so we set off out of town rejoining Hærvejen just before Harresø Kro.
Harresø Kro is a socio-economic business that uses its profits to fund educational and work opportunities for people, primarily young, with psychological vulnerabilties. For us it was a great place for a typical Danish lunch and we’d really recommend people stopping here.
Lunch at Harresø Kro
Dessert a little further up the road
From Harresø its 25km due North along Hærvejen, we even took the actual road called Hærvejen rather than the slightly out of the way walking path. Highlights are the forests around Rørbæk Sø (Rørbæk Lake) where a few rivers have their sources.
Wildflower meadows just south of Nørre Snede
Nørre Snede with its pretty central crossroads, fountains and desiger chairs is a great place for a quick stop for ice cream and coffee.
From Nørre Snede there’s plenty of options for routes towards Vrads, all taking you through Palsgaard Skov (Palsgaard Forest).
Vrads Station to Byrup
We’d heard that there was an old train from Vrads to Byrup and our aim was to follow that track as much as possible. After stopping at a quaint old “købmand” (corner shop) in Vrads we continued another mile down the hill before getting to Vrads Station. The station these days is a smart restaurant but we continued on through the forest roughly following the tracks down to Byrup.
Overnight: Byrup Camping
Our destination for tonight was the camp ground at Byrup. Its a very large holiday destination type place, with giant tents, and even bigger caravans. There’s also a pool and restaurant. Fortunately right at the back there’s a small field reserved for small tents, that we shared with a couple of other bikepacking and walking families.
