LAND 01 I walked from the main road down to the beach. As I unpacked my gear and looked around at the boiling waves and leaden sky, a lone sparrowhawk suddenly flew low and fast across the beach before disappearing into a nearby wood. I took that as a good omen and the official start of the LAND project.
Packing up my gear I started walking inland up a small road, not along the coastline as I had done during the KYST project – this felt very strange and significant. The road climbed quite steeply, and I turned often and looked back at the horizon and the sea. It was cold and windy and soon started sleeting.
I managed to make a few small sketches, but soon found myself in the middle of a sleety blizzard. I walked through a dull grey landscape of fields and farms, the sea no longer visible. The road continued to rise, eventually flattening out into an undulating terrain divided by the deep and narrow forested dells of the Kelse and Rise streams. Through the curtains of sleet and rain I could intermittently make out huge industrial agricultural buildings and silos silhouetted against the sky.
The weather conditions were brutal, and the visibility was poor. I eventually made camp with my new ‘bivvy’ in a small wood where I heated up some food. Though I was glad for some shelter I struggled to keep dry, warm, and positive. I thought about the landscape and how it has been transformed by industrial agriculture – my negative thoughts doubtlessly influenced by the news that the huge biogas plant right next to my home is planning to expand.
I walked over slushy waterlogged fields and found myself at Solhøj, an old ‘Bavnehøj’ where in times gone by people would light fires to warn of each other of impending danger.
I trudged on, my walking boots waterlogged now, and made camp again in a small wood on Skrullevej, where I had arranged to be picked up. A single male bullfinch perched nearby, his brilliant carmine breast shockingly pink against all the whites, browns and greys. Of course, no sunset or indeed any sign that the day was over, other than a gradual darkening of the gunmetal sky.
LAND 01
WEATHER REPORT – Snow, sleet and rain for most of the day. Temperature between 2 and 4 degrees. Wind 10 – 15 m/s from the south and then south west. Hours of precipitation: 6.5 hours. Hours of sunshine: 0 hours.
STOPS with the BIVVY – 2
KILOMETRES WALKED – 11.34 km
DAY LASTED – 7h and 35 m
PEOPLE TALKED TO – 1
BIRDS SEEN and HEARD – 22 species
LESSONS LEARNED – I was trying out loads of new gear, so learned loads. Most of all, however, I learned that my gloves, boots and waterproof trousers, are not as waterproof as I thought.
IN MY HEAD – mostly I was struggling to keep my spirits up: on the one hand happy to be out, but on the other hand wishing to be home and dry. I thought often about the Biogas expansion plans and what I was going to do about it.
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