Hiking Stage Borup Hede-Viborg (33 km)

Because the trail follows the railroad, it has only minor ups and downs. On the way, info boards inform about the history of the old railroad trail. There is an opportunity of resting at the many benches and tables, or at a lunch house, or you may choose to grill your food at the outside barbecue or in a bonfire house along the way.

Møldrup
Like many other market towns, Møldrup is a young town. It was established in 1893, shortly after the railroad between Løgstør and Viborg was finished. Today, Møldrup is a typical market town with no station, but with an inn, a bakery, a grocer, a pizzeria and a gas station. In what was the station area there is a lunch house with tables and benches and an outdoor barbecue. There is access to a bathroom next to the old station building. Møldrup has bus services to Viborg and Aalestrup.

Five kilometers west of Møldrup via Vester Testrup, you can take a side trip to the nature preserve Borup Heath and C.E. Flensborg’s Plantation.

The trail continues south to the village of Skringstrup where Skringstrup Town Park is right next to Himmerlandsstien. Here are two shelters, a soil toilet and a bonfire house. You can put up your tent and you have access to water. There is also a B&B in Skringstrup.

Hvolris Iron Age Settlement
From Skringstrup you can make a side trip to Hvolris Iron Age Settlement in Bjerregrav, about five kilometers east of the trail. Here is an archeological site with a reconstructed Iron Age Settlement, 4000 years of Denmark’s history collected in one place with remains of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. In Bjerregrav you also find a grocer.

Skals og Sklasnæs
From Skringstrup the trail goes across fields until you reach the village of Skals. Skals is on a foreland (næs) – hence Skalsnæs. The town is uniquely placed next to the fjord, the brook and the hilly landscape. Skal is almost entirely surrounded by water; such as Hjarbæk Fjord, Simested and Skals Brook, ideal for fishing. In the Railroad Forest in town, near the old station area, there is an outdoor bonfire place with benches and two tables. In Skals you find a grocer, a pizzeria, a public bath, a café, a bakery and shop, an inn and a B&B. There are bus services to Viborg and Møldrup. 

Hjarbæk Fjord
From Skals you follow the Himmerland Trail to the brook from where you have an excellent view to Hjarbæk Fjord on one side and Skals Brook Valley on the other. On the railway bridge you find info boards about the fjord and the brook valley, as well as about the local birdlife.  On the same side of the dam as the brook – sheltered from the west wind from the fjord – there is a rest area with tables and benches. Hjarbæk Fjord is a natural wildlife reservation, and especially in the autumn and winter, many birds stop by.

If you proceed, you reach Vorde. From Galgehøjen (Gallows Hill) you have an excellent view of Hjarbæk Fjord. This is where criminals condemned to death were hanged in the 1600s. To the south of the hill is Vorde Church, built in Romanesque style.

Hjarbæk
Continue to the lovely old town of Hjarbæk. The town has its own harbor, a marina and a cosy inn, a couple of artwork shops, a camping site and a lot of holiday houses. The history of the harbor goes back to the Viking Era when King Canute the Holy gathered his Viking ships in Hjarbæk Fjord and Lovns Bredning. Every year in August, in the weekend between week 33 and 34, old and new fishing boats gather for a world championship in fishing-boat racing.

Løgstrup
The trail goes on to Løgstrup where you find a grocer, a butcher and a bakery. There is a lunch house with tables and benches in a wooded area some 500 meters to the north.

Undallslund Plantage
The trail continues south to Undallslund Plantage and Magrethelund, on your way to one of the oldest cities in Denmark, Viborg. There is an info board at the former whistle stop Margrethelund and benches and tables at Undallslund Plantage.