Last Thursday the weather was excellent. My friend Flemming and I took days off, and went to Anholt.
Anholt is a Danish island in the Kattegat. It has an area of 22 km2, and a population of around 150 people. 60.000 guests visit the island annually. On Totten, the eastern tip of the island, there is one of the biggest colonies of seals in Denmark. This part of Anholt is closed to visitors.
We did a round over the island first. Only a small western part of Anholt is inhabited, with two villages – the Harbour and Anholt Town. The much bigger eastern part is called “the desert” (and is more precisely a heath). This desert-like area is the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.
Anholt has been settled since the New Stone Age and one may still find flint flakes on “the desert”. There have been some Old Stone Age finds as well. The island has never been the object of systematic archaeological investigation.
Dangerous reefs and shoals surround Anholt. Since 1560 there have been different lighthouses (bascule light in the very beginning) on the island. Today’s tower dates to 1881. The present Anholt Fyr (lighthouse) has the status of a protected historical landmark.
In the airport there were around 20 aircraft parked – the island must be a popular destination. Copenhagen Air Taxi (Aircat) was preparing for departure. Aircat has scheduled flights to Anholt several times a day.
My friend Niels, who happened to be on the island in his summer house, met us on the aerodrome. I saw him already from the air, and we waved to each other. On the ground, Flemming took a photo of Niels and me:
We took the pre-ordered bikes, and made our way through the desert of Anholt. Niels gave some good recommendations on what to see and do, and we decided to start from the northern beach – it was +32C.
The monument on the photo below was erected in 1905 in commemoration of the Danish officers and men killed on 27th March 1811 during their unsuccessful endeavours to regain control of the island. Anholt remained occupied by British forces until 1814 when Napoleon was defeated.
We saw a church building and decided to divert and visit it.
The present church was built in 1819, after the previous one was destroyed during British occupation of the island in the early 1810’s. There is evidence in the foundations of an even older church.
Five pilots that lost their lives during the WWII near Anholt are buried on the island’s graveyard.
Four of them died on the 30th August 1944 when the bomber Lancaster NE144 was hit by a German night fighter. The tail broke on fire. To regain control over the aircraft in order to escape to Sweden, the pilot had to throw a 4000 pound bomb which landed in Vorup south of Randers, but later the bomber lost height anyway. When landing on the water, the aircraft broke off. The halve part with 3 pilots sank quickly. Later their bodies were driven into a beach. One of them was buried at Anholt, and 2 others in Falkenberg, Sweden. The four others managed to rescue themselves in the plane’s rubber boat. They were discovered from Anholt in the morning, and the Nazis took over them.
Two other Lancaster – KB709 and ED327 – crashed into the ocean during violent air combat later months. From them, 3 were buried in Sweden, 4 at Anholt, and 2 remaining pilots were never found.
After this cultural part we continued to the northern beach. It was so nice to get there!
Flemming had prepared a truly delicious lunch for us: a salad with mango, melon, grilled chicken, lettuce, roasted almonds, avocado, and green herbs. It was a real beach feast…
We spent several hours there, swimming, eating, talking, enjoying this wonderful island. However, the sun was burning, and we had to find a shadow. We also wanted to see other places on Anholt, so we biked to the harbour.
There were lots of boats:
I love being in harbours… There is often a special, calm and relaxing atmosphere.
We found a small shadow in one of the harbour’s restaurants where we enjoyed coffee and ice cream.
After cooling a bit down, we went south and stopped by one of the beaches:
Anholt is surrounded by luxury white sand beaches. Even with those 60.000 visitors a year, in a peak season there were not many people on the beach.
We again spent some hours there.
The water was very clean.
Unfortunately, the sun was going down, and it was time to go home. We got back to the aerodrome, did a pre-flight check of our aircraft, and took off.
We did a round over the island again. This is how the Anholt’s dessert looks like from air:
Totten and the Anholt lighthouse:
We flew over the beaches we’ve visited, and waved goodbye to the harbour:
Two happy pilots on their way home, after a marvellous day on Anholt:
