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KYST 49 Despite a rather horrific weather forecast, Arnager was dry and not too windy. Just as it had last week, the rising sun managed to emerge sporadically between the banks of clouds to cast a golden and pink light across the sea. Workmen were already working on the pier, and I sat down and got to work myself.

I walked on, around Arnager point and onwards, heading west with a fresh wind on my face. To my right a vertical cliff of crumbling chalk, laid down in the Cretaceous. At the base of the cliff, the chalk sediments sat on an older layer of Arnager greensand. Thankfully the water was still very low, meaning that I could keep to the water’s edge, clambering over slippery boulders. Just before I reached Horsemyre Odde I sat and looked back towards Arnager and enjoyed the dramatic and dynamic skyscape. Just as I finished this painting, a thick fog swept in off the sea and completely changed the day.

I stumbled onwards on the pebbly beach, around Horsemyre Odde with the airport fence just visible running along the top of the cliff. There was not a soul to be seen and the local name for this place ‘The End of the World’ felt very apt. Of all the places I had been on Bornholm’s coast, this truly felt the most deserted and least visited. The naked and twisted trees, pounding surf and grey fog all lent a bleak and melancholic feeling to the day.

Soon however the fog cleared and the sun even emerged for a while. A Rough-legged buzzard hung almost motionless in the updraft, adjusting its wings and tail and scanning the grassy clifftop for rodents. I grabbed my telescope and followed it for a while as it patrolled the coast, drawing vigorously and without really looking at the paper. An iconic bird of my childhood I felt blessed to be able to share time and space with such a wonderful creature.

The short day was running away from me and I was nowhere near half way. I trudged on over the slippery pebbles and rocks, marveling at their diversity of form and colour. The Arnager chalk had now been replaced by Bavneodde Greensand -deposited in the upper Cretaceous some 70 million years ago and Bornholm’s youngest sediment. Now, for the first time, in the far distance I could see cranes working on the new harbour arm at Rønne – the town where I had begun this journey 49 weeks ago.

The weather was closing in now, and just before I reached Bavnodde I started to work on a large slice painting. I was hoping to follow the rain clouds that I could see approaching over the sea, but very quickly a fine mist descended which made working conditions very challenging. I tried to work with the mist, covering sections and allowing the water droplets to settle of the pigment, but soon it all descended into a wet and soppy mess (detail, see also top).

By the time I finished the last section the day was almost over and I still had a way to go. I reluctantly left the beach and walked up to the clifftop, where there was a path that quickly took me to the end of the airport at Korsodde, and a waiting car.

KYST 49

Weather report = Cloudy or foggy for most of the day, with some brief sunny spells. Mist and rain in the afternoon. Temperature between 7°C and 9°C. Wind between 7 and 3 m/s from the west. Hours of sunshine: 30 minutes.

Lessons learned – don’t leave a duck wing in your bag for a whole week, it will stink – remember to unpack!

Stops with the M60 = 1

Kilometers walked = 6.51 km

Day lasted = 7 hours, 26 minutes

Birds seen and heard = 16 species (0 new ones = running total 138)

Other stuff = At last! I found a message in a bottle. Or rather a message next to a broken bottle. It read: ‘I am also a Dane, much love’ in both Danish and Japanese…?!

People talked to = 0

In my head – Son in New Zealand, Dad’s operation, the huge library project and impending deadline.