Sensory Hiking for adults at Lildstrand

Sensory Hiking for Adults at Lildstrand

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

Feel free to use this description as a self-guided inspiration guide.

This description 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 cross the dunes, walk down to the beach and follow the shoreline back towards the beach landing site.

The walk takes approximately 40 minutes, depending on how often you stop 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.

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.

Guide

Focus on your senses.

• Touch the large stone fish by the church and feel the smooth and rough surfaces. Sit on the church bench and notice the shelter from the wind.
• Walk past the church. At 08:00 and 17:00, you can hear the church bells ringing.
• Continue out of the village and notice the transition from asphalt to gravel. Take a deep breath. Can you smell heather, rosehips or the sea?
• Stop and listen. 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.
• At the car park, you can sit down at the picnic table. Close your eyes, listen and take in the scents around you.
• 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.
• Find a stone to carry in your pocket on your walk – perhaps a rough one or a smooth one. Look for stones with holes and interesting pieces of driftwood. If you would like to learn more about the stones on the beach, you can find information on National Park Thy’s educational website: https://undervisning.nationalparkthy.dk/media/174414/faktakort_om_sten_21a.pdf
• Sit down on the beach. Take in the scents, listen to the sounds and notice your surroundings.
• Back at the beach landing site, you can take a break on one of the benches by the fish houses or find shelter in the picnic house. You might also buy an ice cream from the kiosk or enjoy your packed lunch.

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.