The case for Denmark's beaches

Denmark’s coast isn’t the first place that comes to mind when thinking about a beach holiday. But, a bit like parts of Wales, the beaches are wide and rugged with clean, yellow sand. They’re also pleasingly empty. 

Tisvildeleje is special to me because it was my first introduction to this stretch of coastline. Our days twere bracketed by early morning and after-dinner beach time. Each morning, my daughter and I would do as the Danes do and go for a bracing sea swim before breakfast. It would take us several minutes getting to feel brave enough to enter the water, while local folk dived in - often no swimsuit - without so much as a squeal as the chilly water shocked their skin awake. But by the third day of our morning ritual we were actually looking forward to our morning swim.

A group of older women were in the same spot every morning: they’d already been in and out by the time we arrived. We found them nattering and belly-laughing as they dressed and shared a flask of coffee on the jetty. The gentleman that arrived after us swam a couple of widths between the groynes then headed in the direction of town in his dressing gown to read the paper with a coffee - a common sight in the mornings in Tisvilde. We realised then that morning dips in the sea aren't about exercise: it gets the blood going, gives you energy and clears your head. 

On several nights after making dinner, we’d walk the couple of minutes down to the Tisvildeleje with a blanket and bottle of wine. The kids bury each other’s legs in the sand and we watch the warm sun disappear under the waves. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the cool crowd from Copenhagen comes in and the beach swells with impromptu and unexpectedly raucous family gatherings of every generation. 

The Danes know how to enjoy life and in the summer months the beach is the backdrop to it.

By Lucy, founder of Souvenir

Lucy's full 7-day itinerary in the Danish Riviera, with all the good beaches.