To the west, the sea gives and takes, dynamically and relentlessly. Vast tracts of unspoilt countryside. From Nybækken south of Løkken, on the border with the Municipality of Jammerbugten, and to the outskirts of the Tversted dune plantation at Skiveren, on the border with the Municipality of Frederikshavn, the Skagerrak breaks onto 50 kilometres of shoreline, shaping cliffs and dunes, greatly assisted by the wind.

Only by breakwaters and groynes from Norwegian boulders at Lønstrup and solid concrete piers at the Port of Hirtshals are we digging our heels and defying the sea.

From here, Jammerbugten, or the Bay of Lamentation, stretches south, witness being borne to the significance of its name by the large ship’s anchor sited at Mårup Church, in the very place where our different views of nature and culture meet and battle. And from here, or from Tannis Bay to the north, it is a mere 30-35 kilometres inland to the holy spring Fuglsang in the southeasterly corner of the municipality and to the Skærum river on the eastern border with Frederikshavn, only about 10 kilometres from the Kattegat. From south to north, the Municipality of Hjørring covers just over 40 kilometres.

Farmland dominants
As is the case in the rest of Denmark, farmland dominates the cultural landscape in the Municipality of Hjørring, with fields that have grown considerably larger in recent years. The extensive growing of uniform crops (monoculture) where weeds are controlled through spraying – and with ever fewer grazing animals in fields and meadows – is putting the flora and fauna of the farmed land under increasing pressure. For some years, numbers of e.g. lapwing, skylark, starling, partridge and hare have thus been in constant decline. For the hare, a weed-free field of corn or maize is like a desert.

However, windbreaks of three, six or more rows of deciduous trees and berry bushes have in several places enriched the cultural landscape both biologically and aesthetically. A total of 2,500 kilometres of hedgerows have been planted as a result of significant planting efforts over the past 30-40 years by the four old municipalities, which have now become one. However, with the increase in field sizes, many old hedgerows are still disappearing without being replaced by the new type.

In 2005-06, a total of nine farmers in the new Municipality of Hjørring accepted the offer of having a nature plan drawn up for their properties in collaboration with LandboNord’s nature and environmental consultant.

Such a plan proposes specific action which may be taken to protect and strengthen the countryside without negatively affecting the farm operations.

Nature also has its place
However, dispersed throughout the cultural landscape are also a number of large and small areas of countryside which on account of their location, geology or history, or their flora and fauna, are of not only local, but also regional and even national importance: To the west, the dune plantations have played an important role historically, offering protection for hundreds of years against the

drifting sand – from Rubjerg and Skallerup in the south, via Tornby, Lilleheden and Uggerby to Tversted in the north. Another example that we have been resisting, and that nature is also culture. Along the coast are also the enormous sandy cliff Lønstrup Klint with the point Rubjerg Knude, the inland dunes Skallerup Indlandsklitter, Vandplasken, the mouth of the river Liver Å and Uggerby Strand. Further inland are the hilly landscapes Præstegårdsbakkerne at Bjergby and Hjørring Bjerge. The remains of the old deciduous woods of Vendsyssel can be found from Rugtved and Odden to the northwest, via Baggesvogn, Slotved, Eskær and Tolne to Børglumkloster Skov in the southeast. On the outskirts of Bøgsted Østerskov stand the more than 400-hundred-year old Skovbo oaks, the oldest in Vendsyssel and still vigorous.

To the east, the wooded Ilbjerge hills rise up, while the inland dune Dalsager Klit holds a humbler position. The meadows around the river Uggerby Å between Ilbro and the border with the Municipality of Brønderslev in the south remind us of the absence of the many grazing animals. Tollestrup Mose – the Iron Age sacrificial bog where you can now hear the song of the greatest number of nightingales in the municipality – and the remains of other stretches of bogland east of Poulstrup also deserve a mention. And even further to the east and north, a number of different types of landscapes contribute to the natural diversity and cultural history. These include the hills at Tolne Bakker, the prehistoric landscape at Højen-Bjørnager bordering on Skagen Odde and at the top of the Jyske Ås hill formation, the hills Katsig Bakker and Tislum Bakker – an expansive hilly terrain which 100 hundred years ago was virtually devoid of trees. This is also the case with Måstrup Mose, Tryn Mose and Tversted Rimmer – all important bogland areas which are becoming overgrown with ‘natural woodland’.

Protected nature
Several of the coastal areas are part of the European network of protected sites enjoying international conservation status. There are five such sites in the Municipality of Hjørring: The dune plantation Uggerby Klitplantage-the mouth of Uggerby Å, Kærsgård Strand-Vandplasken-Liver Å, Rubjerg Knude-Lønstrup Klint, the hills Tolne Bakker and the millbrook Tislum Møllebæk – and actually two more off the coast, i.e. the stony reefs at Lønstrup Rødgrund and Knudegrund
see: www.hjoerring.dk/beskyttet natur

Conservation orders are due for several of these areas. All in all, the Municipality of Hjørring has 1,880 hectares of protected nature, divided into 43 areas of varying sizes Conservation orders are planned for other sites, including the Præstegårdsbakkerne hills at Bjergby and the unprotected parts of Hjørring Bjerge, the green heart of the old market town.

Natural network
The Municipality of Hjørring covers 930 square kilometres. To the west and north to the Skagerrak, the whole of this landscape is drained by the rivers Liver Å, Varbro Å, Uggerby Å and Tversted Å.

These rivers connect the land with the sea through river valleys wider and narrower which may become important ‘ecological corridors’ facilitating the movement and dispersal of flora and fauna in what could be called the future natural network in the large municipality. Not least if the drainage and cultivation of the river valleys ends. To the southeast, the first stretch of the river Voer Å provides drainage to the Kattegat. And to the northeast, the river Nors Å carries the water from the land up towards the drained lake Gårdbo Sø, once – and perhaps soon to become again – Vendsyssel’s largest lake, which the Municipality of Hjørring will come to share with Frederikshavn. A similar future may be created for the drained lake Ingstrup Sø on the border with the Municipality of Jammerbugten.

The hedgerows, and especially the above-mentioned new type of hedgerows consisting of deciduous trees and berry bushes, are valuable elements in this network, provided that their numbers are increased significantly, and preferably according to coherent ecological landscape planning.

The original landscape
On the face of it, this cultural landscape is man-made. However, if we imagine the landscape without any trees and without all the buildings, wind turbines, road systems etc. made and erected by man, the original history of the landscape emerges:

The strongly undulating moraine landscape as it was left by the last Ice Age stretches from Hirtshals via Bjergby and Sindal to Jyske Ås. Hills of up to approx. 90 metres above sea level are visible to the northwest (Tornby Bjerg, Hellehøj and Teklahøj) while others (Jomfrubjerget and Rammelhøj) between Tolne and Klosterskoven are hidden behind woodland and plantations.

Around this expansive undulating terrain, the more than 10,000-year-old raised bed of the former glacial sea (the Yoldia Sea) spreads towards Bindslev and Hjørring, Tårs, Vrå, Poulstrup and Løkken. Scattered around this ancient seabed the hill islands of Børglum, Rubjerg, Vennebjerg, Vinstrup Bjerg, Hjørring Bjerge and Ilbjerge stand out. And thanks to the deposits of glacial clay, this is also where we find the tileworks, most of which have, however, been closed down. To the north and east, the coastal cliffs created by the several thousand years younger Littorina Sea stretch from Dvergetved via Eskær to Tversted-Hirtshals. It is the raised bed of the Littorina Sea which makes up both Skagen Odde and the narrow foreshore between Lønstrup and Tornby, below the old coastal cliff there.

Joint responsibility
The Municipality of Hjørring is one of richest municipalities in Denmark in terms of types of nature and landscape variation. The transitions between undulating terrain and raised seabed are particularly characteristic here, as in the rest of Vendsyssel. Protecting the diversity of the flora and fauna – the so-called biodiversity – of these landscapes is an important part of our obligation to look after our cultural heritage. From the rare fungal flora of the dune plantations and the many orchid communities both in the coastal areas and further inland, to the endangered

toad in the ponds, the bat in the hollow old beech tree, the butterfly which is totally dependent on its own sparse flowering plant, the pair of cranes in the bog, the trout and the otter in the rivers and waterways, and the shy kite on its nest. The kite has, by the way, been earmarked by the Danish Minister for the Environment as a particularly endangered species in the Municipality of Hjørring.

Protecting the countryside and ensuring its use in a sustainable way is thus a considerable challenge for the town council and the municipal administration, for the farming community and the tourist trade, for the green associations and other outdoor societies – and for everybody who loves nature and who feels a sense of responsibility. The Green Counsil, which includes representatives of the state forest district and the museum of cultural history among others, is a useful forum for dialogue about this issue.

When tourists and newcomers to the municipality are asked why they prefer our part of Denmark and the Municipality of Hjørring to others, they do, not surprisingly, cite the countryside as the most important factor. The discussion and planning of national parks in Denmark has also made it clear that parts of the Municipality of Hjørring may form part of a future Skagen Odde National Park.