Bornholm - Denmark's Sunshine Island

Tejn is a coastal village of classic island houses with ochre-coloured paintwork and red tiled roofs. In the distance, there are some typical "smokehouse" chimneys.

In the past, most houses had their own smokeries but, nowadays, curing is mostly done on a commercial basis in smokehouses combined with restaurants.

On the quayside are several Norwegian school brass bands entertaining the locals - an annual tradition that started after the second World War  ...

The Stammershalle Hotel was our home for a week. Mostly of wooden construction, the hotel once boasted its own zoo - now derelict but still visible (just) in the woods behind.

The rooms had stunning views out over the Baltic and the restaurant had the Danish equivalent of five gastronomic rosettes.

Access to the rest of the island's coastal region was on quiet roads bordered on both sides by well-protected pedestrian walkways and cycle paths. ...

Bornholm's coastline reveals its origin from volcanic magma. The north of the island is formed mostly of granite & gneiss whilst, in the south, the base is sedimental, mostly sandstone, and has the best beaches.

Most rocky coves have a small wooden pier, a safe (enclosed) bathing area and a lifebelt in event of emergencies! Before breakfast, the Bornholm Danes can usually be seen walking down to the rocks in their fluffy dressing gowns and returning suitably refreshed - the water is seriously cold - for breakfast.

The 'infamous' Nordstream gas pipelines, flowing west from Russia to Europe, cross the Baltic in the distance, running parallel to this north coast ...

Erected in the 13th century, Hammershus was Scandinavia's largest medieval fortification and is one of the largest in Northern Europe.

During successive struggles between the kings of Denmark & the Archbishopric, the fortress served as a refuge for the archbishops, despite being conquered by the king's army on a number of occasions.

In 1658, Hammershus was occupied by Swedish forces, but a rebellion on the island overthrew the Swedes. In 1743 Hammershus was abandoned as a stronghold. The remains were preserved in 1822 and there has been continuous maintenance of the ruins since then ...

This small fishing village lies on the Bornholm walking trail which circumnavigates the entire island and is a place where there is both rock and sedimental sandstone on the coast.

My son and his fiancée rented a stunning single-storey property here, overlooking the Baltic for a month, just a few minutes away from her parents home and about 15 minutes down the coast from our hotel (see above).

Our 1-year-old grandson loved being dangled with his feet in the water here, but he screamed 'blue murder' as soon as he was removed from the water! ...

Hammeren was a working lighthouse between 1872 and 1990 having been electrified in 1947.

The top of the masonry tower is 69 feet above the gound but its total height, including its beaming lantern dome and fixtures, is 270 feet above sea level.

As a result, although the light itself is visible from 23 miles away, its height above sea level means that it cannot be seen in foggy weather.

Visitors can explore the tower during the summer period and, on a clear day, there are views across to the Swedish coast ...

Svaneke is the easternmost town on Bornholm, located on a rocky hill with direct access to the sea from the east; it owes its development & prosperity to herring fishing and tourism.

Many artists have galleries here and it has retained its former character because the preserved houses and streets look much as they did in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

However, the herring stocks were over-fished so the rich merchants from Svaneke bought up nearby land and started farming instead. Without a transport system to aid its development, the new port & shipyard of Svaneke did not succeed and is now populated mainly by tourists and local artists.

Its modern claim to fame is a rather unexciting, triangular water tower which was designed by the Danish artist Jørn Utzon, better known as the architect of the Sydney Opera House in Australia ...

One of the stranger features of Svaneke (and some other parts of Bornholm) is the swans - it's how the town gets its name from the old Danish for 'swan inlet'. Swans live and rear their young in the sea.

The swans nest in the rockpools and feed in the kelp that covers the rocky coastline. Both adult swans and cygnets can be seen feeding in the sea and sunning themselves on the rocky beaches.

The coat of arms of the town of Svaneke (pictured right), established in the 16th century, shows a swan with a gold ring in its beak ...