LAND 46 In the cold drizzling rain, I parked the car and walked out of the village of Olsker, towards Dalegård’s quarry. Despite the weather I was feeling positive and looked forward to a whole day of being outside and moving through the landscape. Bornholm has had a lot of rain these past weeks and several paths around the quarry were flooded. Eventually, however, I found a good vantage point and settled under my new jumbo umbrella and tried to capture the delicate autumnal colours and peaceful atmosphere of the quarry.
From here it was a short walk to Ols Kirke, another of Bornholm’s round churches, and probably my favourite. Smaller and less showy than the others, Ols Kirke sits high in the landscape with commanding views to the east and the Baltic. I made a few sketches as I approached and walked around, and then spent a little longer on a painting.
I marched onwards, heading east through the hilly, cultivated landscape under a dynamic sky. The sun broke through briefly, then the rain returned. I made some quick sketches, each time hurried along by another shower.
I headed west again, taking a shortcut through the edge of a small beechwood, within which I stopped for a quick lunch break. I strode on, path waterlogged fields, before taking another side route into a large private woodland, where the path took me up and along a ridge with great views over the surrounding countryside. Much of the trees had evidently been cleared some years ago, and rutted tracks made by heavy machinery cut had cut deep into the soil. These were now filled with water and made going very hard. Brambles, dog rose and hawthorn gradually encroached, until the path was no longer visible. Once again, I had mistakenly trusted the map and now had to double back through the waterlogged landscape.
I still had a way to go, and time was running out. The low sun emerged again, casting a wonderful golden light on the landscape – transforming the sepia brown woodland into burnished copper and lighting up the stripes of green shoots on newly ploughed fields luminous green. It was spectacular. I managed to make a few sketches but cursed my poor planning and time management.
Eventually I arrived at the day’s destination, a friend’s house where I was very glad for a cup of tea, some homemade shortbread and a lift back to Olsker – but gutted to discover my umbrella had been lost somewhere along the way.
LAND 46
WEATHER REPORT – Overcast majority of day, some sunny spells and showers. Temperature 4 – 6 degrees. Wind 5 – 6 m/s, from the northeast. Hours of precipitation: 1.5 hours. Hours of sunshine: 1 hour.
STOPS with the BIVVY – 0
KILOMETRES WALKED – 15.95 km
DAY LASTED – 8h and 19 m
PEOPLE TALKED TO – 0
BIRDS SEEN and HEARD – 31 species (0 new= 134 species in total.
LESSONS LEARNED – I spent 12 pounds on some deluxe camping food – it was worth it.
IN MY HEAD –biogas meeting, stressing about time and my route.
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