Denmark

0:00:16 > 0:00:18Beaches, boats and bicycles.

0:00:18 > 0:00:20I must be in Denmark.

0:00:24 > 0:00:28For most of us, this is uncharted territory,

0:00:28 > 0:00:31but we're about to discover the stories we share

0:00:31 > 0:00:33with this spectacular coast.

0:00:33 > 0:00:38There are over 400 islands and the odd wind farm to explore.

0:00:38 > 0:00:42In the dunes of Denmark, life really is a beach.

0:00:45 > 0:00:48This stunning wind-swept coast is apparently home

0:00:48 > 0:00:50to the happiest people on earth,

0:00:50 > 0:00:54and now we're here to meet them, our North Sea neighbours.

0:01:20 > 0:01:24From Scotland, we've crossed the North Sea to embark on a great Danish journey.

0:01:24 > 0:01:27I'm travelling down the coast of Jutland

0:01:27 > 0:01:30heading for the Isle of Fano in the south,

0:01:30 > 0:01:32starting as far north as you can go, Skagen.

0:01:41 > 0:01:45This is the tip of the top of Denmark,

0:01:45 > 0:01:48where two great bodies of water meet.

0:01:50 > 0:01:55Look at this, Denmark is a country that actually comes to a point.

0:01:55 > 0:02:00A few steps this way I'll be in the North Sea headed towards home.

0:02:00 > 0:02:04A few steps this way and I'll be in the Baltic, headed towards Russia.

0:02:04 > 0:02:07Now this is my kind of coast-to-coast walk!

0:02:10 > 0:02:12And I'm not the only one,

0:02:12 > 0:02:15crowds of Danes come here to witness the eternal battle

0:02:15 > 0:02:17between the twin seas.

0:02:21 > 0:02:24It's captivating to watch opposing currents collide

0:02:24 > 0:02:27as two waters wrestle for control.

0:02:34 > 0:02:36Many Danes make something of a pilgrimage

0:02:36 > 0:02:39to this picturesque province of Skagen.

0:02:40 > 0:02:44Why does the heart and soul of a nation seem to lie

0:02:44 > 0:02:45at its most northerly tip?

0:02:52 > 0:02:59'I'm hoping Skagen Museum Director, Lisette Vind Ebbensen, can shed some light.'

0:02:59 > 0:03:02Oh, yeah. It's so flat, and the sea on either side,

0:03:02 > 0:03:06- it just feels like the sea could take it.- Yes, take it all, yeah.

0:03:06 > 0:03:10British people are fond of saying that they are a sea-going island race.

0:03:10 > 0:03:14Do Danes have this connection to the sea?

0:03:14 > 0:03:18I think it is, yes, and it probably goes back to the Vikings.

0:03:18 > 0:03:21We're still proud of the Vikings, I suppose,

0:03:21 > 0:03:24and the coast, and the sea does mean a lot.

0:03:24 > 0:03:28And, I mean, in Denmark, you're always close to the sea,

0:03:28 > 0:03:33and, especially here in Skagen, where you have two different seas.

0:03:33 > 0:03:38I've heard that the Danish are the happiest people in the world.

0:03:38 > 0:03:40Can that be true?

0:03:40 > 0:03:44Well, I've heard that as well, and I guess the Danes are very happy.

0:03:44 > 0:03:48- Why?- There's only like 5.5 million people here

0:03:48 > 0:03:52and Danish people are happy people, they're warm,

0:03:52 > 0:03:54they have a lot of hygge.

0:03:54 > 0:03:59- Hygge? - Hygge is really hard to translate to any language in the world.

0:03:59 > 0:04:05It's a very Danish word, and I suppose it means friendly or cosy.

0:04:05 > 0:04:07We can have a hyggeley time.

0:04:07 > 0:04:10A hyggeley time? You're making this up.

0:04:10 > 0:04:16- No.- Is this just something that Danish people say to foreigners to make them go away?

0:04:16 > 0:04:20# Oh, the good life

0:04:20 > 0:04:27# Full of fun Seems to be the ideal... #

0:04:28 > 0:04:32'For my first lesson in this uniquely Danish concept of hygge,

0:04:32 > 0:04:36'I've got to get on my bike like everyone else here.

0:04:36 > 0:04:38'Am I having hygge?

0:04:38 > 0:04:43'Maybe. Something tells me I need to investigate further.'

0:04:46 > 0:04:49Every summer in Skagen, they celebrate the longest day

0:04:49 > 0:04:54with a giant bonfire and whole lot of hygge down on the beach.

0:04:56 > 0:04:58Sankt Hans is all about hygge.

0:04:58 > 0:05:01Sankt Hans is all about hygge.

0:05:04 > 0:05:06Sankt Hans, St John's Eve,

0:05:06 > 0:05:10is a festival of light from the earliest times.

0:05:10 > 0:05:14The celebration of Sankt Hans is a very old tradition

0:05:14 > 0:05:17started by the Vikings or years before Vikings.

0:05:21 > 0:05:24You put the witch on the fire,

0:05:24 > 0:05:29then you light the fire sending the bad spirits away.

0:05:29 > 0:05:30You come dressed as you are,

0:05:30 > 0:05:34you don't have to dress up to come and hyggesheim.

0:05:34 > 0:05:36You'll go and sit on the beach,

0:05:36 > 0:05:39and you have some wine and it will all be hygge.

0:05:39 > 0:05:44And people will have a beer and just walk around, and have some small talk with each other.

0:05:44 > 0:05:46It's very romantic.

0:05:57 > 0:06:00When the students come down here to the bonfire

0:06:00 > 0:06:04and they want to throw their notes just before the fire

0:06:04 > 0:06:08is getting started, as a sign of "We don't need them any longer".

0:06:08 > 0:06:11So it has become a tradition

0:06:11 > 0:06:15that they all do that for Sankt Hans evening now.

0:06:19 > 0:06:22It's a big bonfire, you can feel it,

0:06:22 > 0:06:24we're standing 50 metres away,

0:06:24 > 0:06:30suddenly the heat is there and it's an incredible heat.

0:06:43 > 0:06:45It was a lovely evening,

0:06:45 > 0:06:50we had some good food and a very hyggely evening.

0:06:52 > 0:06:55It may be 11 at night, but the sun's yet to set

0:06:55 > 0:06:58and there's a lot more hygge to be had before dawn.

0:07:04 > 0:07:06Winds whip over northern Jutland.

0:07:06 > 0:07:11Its famous walking dunes have engulfed whole villages,

0:07:11 > 0:07:16so conifers and grasses were planted to anchor the landscape.

0:07:16 > 0:07:20But not everywhere has been pinned down.

0:07:20 > 0:07:23A small desert has been left to roam free,

0:07:23 > 0:07:27the Rabjerg Mile, a magic carpet of sand.

0:07:32 > 0:07:36This entire dune system is ceaselessly on the move.

0:07:36 > 0:07:40The whole thing began its journey over there on the west coast

0:07:40 > 0:07:43and it's moving across country towards the east.

0:07:43 > 0:07:47In 200 years or so, this huge ocean of sand

0:07:47 > 0:07:50will have travelled cross-country from coast to coast.

0:07:53 > 0:07:58The surreal shifting sands of this fairytale world stretch down to the sea.

0:07:58 > 0:08:03Don't stand around too long or you'll get gobbled up.

0:08:05 > 0:08:07Now, this towering sand dune

0:08:07 > 0:08:12is surely impressive enough, but I'm told there's a sight

0:08:12 > 0:08:16at the top of it that's nothing less than spectacular.

0:08:26 > 0:08:27Look at that!

0:08:27 > 0:08:32That's like a special effect from a film about the end of the world.

0:08:36 > 0:08:37Lighthouses, as we all know,

0:08:37 > 0:08:41are built for protection from the power of the sea.

0:08:41 > 0:08:43How ironic, then, that this tower

0:08:43 > 0:08:48should have been overwhelmed by a much slower moving wave...of sand.

0:08:53 > 0:08:56The light was lit for the first time in 1900

0:08:56 > 0:08:58and finally extinguished in 1968

0:08:58 > 0:09:01when the crew of this place had to admit defeat.

0:09:12 > 0:09:16Some 1,600 years ago, people from hereabouts in Jutland

0:09:16 > 0:09:19began getting in boats and heading for Britain.

0:09:19 > 0:09:21They left behind their own sandy shores

0:09:21 > 0:09:24and headed instead for the fertile lands of Kent

0:09:24 > 0:09:26and the Isle of Wight.

0:09:26 > 0:09:31The Jutes of Jutland were followed some 500 years later

0:09:31 > 0:09:34by more famous and fearsome Danes, the Vikings.

0:09:37 > 0:09:41Over on the east coast is Roskilde.

0:09:41 > 0:09:44It's an ancient capital of Viking power.

0:09:44 > 0:09:47Here, over 1,000 years ago,

0:09:47 > 0:09:51they planned raids on Britain, as Alice is about to explore.

0:09:55 > 0:10:00The cathedral at Roskilde is built on the site of a 10th-century Viking church.

0:10:00 > 0:10:04Generations of Danish monarchs are buried here.

0:10:14 > 0:10:18But there's one Danish king who's missing from Roskilde,

0:10:18 > 0:10:23someone whose remains are buried in Winchester Cathedral.

0:10:23 > 0:10:27That's because, in the early 11th century,

0:10:27 > 0:10:32King Canute was the ruler, not just of Denmark, but of England.

0:10:37 > 0:10:40Canute was a colossus of the Viking world.

0:10:40 > 0:10:43He didn't only reign in Britain and Denmark,

0:10:43 > 0:10:45but also Norway and part of Sweden.

0:10:45 > 0:10:51In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Vikings were THE European superpower.

0:10:55 > 0:10:59Each year, Roskilde throws a party to honour their warrior ancestors.

0:10:59 > 0:11:03The secret of Viking power wasn't the sword or the axe,

0:11:03 > 0:11:07but a weapon that guaranteed them speed and stealth.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18This is a reconstruction of the ultimate 10th-century war machine,

0:11:18 > 0:11:19the longship.

0:11:19 > 0:11:22This one is called a Sea Stallion,

0:11:22 > 0:11:25and she's based on an actual Viking longship

0:11:25 > 0:11:29that was excavated from the fjord here at Roskilde.

0:11:29 > 0:11:32She looks absolutely beautiful sitting here in the calm waters

0:11:32 > 0:11:37of the harbour, but I do wonder just how sea-worthy she really is.

0:11:48 > 0:11:52I've been offered the unique opportunity of signing up

0:11:52 > 0:11:56for her 60-strong crew, but this is no free ride.

0:12:01 > 0:12:03It's hard physical work

0:12:03 > 0:12:06but it's quite relaxing in a weird way as well.

0:12:08 > 0:12:11The rhythmic nature of it,

0:12:11 > 0:12:17and there's a little pause at the end of each stroke where you just get to catch your breath.

0:12:18 > 0:12:23This isn't a pleasure cruiser, the Sea Stallion's a living laboratory.

0:12:23 > 0:12:27Building and sailing a replica of the ship found in this Fjord

0:12:27 > 0:12:32has given the archaeologists a valuable insight into Viking technology.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34Luckily for us, when it was found,

0:12:34 > 0:12:37most of the keel and some of the floor timbers were found,

0:12:37 > 0:12:42so, by looking at that, the reconstructors were actually able to estimate

0:12:42 > 0:12:48the design, the length, the width and also the depth of the ship

0:12:48 > 0:12:51from, actually, just looking at those 25%.

0:12:52 > 0:12:55'This classic boat design was so successful,

0:12:55 > 0:12:58'it was still being used by descendants of the Vikings,

0:12:58 > 0:13:03'the Normans, for their invasion of England in 1066.'

0:13:07 > 0:13:10So do you think that King Canute would have had similar ships

0:13:10 > 0:13:12when he brought his fleet over to Britain?

0:13:12 > 0:13:18I would expect so, yeah. At least a few of them would be this size.

0:13:18 > 0:13:22And this size of ship, this was exclusively a warship?

0:13:22 > 0:13:27Yeah, a warship is always long and narrow and has a shallow keel.

0:13:35 > 0:13:39In 2007, to discover how Viking warriors like Canute

0:13:39 > 0:13:43crossed from Denmark to attack the British isles,

0:13:43 > 0:13:45the Sea Stallion followed in their wake,

0:13:45 > 0:13:49attempting a hazardous voyage across the North Sea.

0:13:52 > 0:13:55When I first saw the ship lying there in the harbour

0:13:55 > 0:13:57she looked beautiful but it was hard to imagine

0:13:57 > 0:14:01how she was going to perform on the open sea, so how does she perform?

0:14:01 > 0:14:06Yeah. Yeah. That was a big question for me too

0:14:06 > 0:14:08in heavy sea and heavy weather.

0:14:08 > 0:14:11It's a wonderful ship, it's a wonderful ship.

0:14:11 > 0:14:15I'm amazed how it's coping with these big waves,

0:14:15 > 0:14:19five metres of waves and very steep, short waves.

0:14:19 > 0:14:21- Five metres?- Five metres...

0:14:21 > 0:14:24Because I mean this rides very low in the water.

0:14:24 > 0:14:30Yes, it's not one metre, so looking up at these waves coming, "Argh!"

0:14:30 > 0:14:34Then you feel out there that it's a seagoing warship.

0:14:34 > 0:14:38So can you imagine King Canute taking his army across to Britain in ships

0:14:38 > 0:14:41like this, can you imagine what it would have been like for them?

0:14:41 > 0:14:44We were over there in one ship.

0:14:44 > 0:14:48They would have been sailing, maybe, 200 ships.

0:14:48 > 0:14:50It must have been an incredible sight.

0:14:52 > 0:14:57In 1015, Canute invaded England with a fleet of these ships.

0:14:57 > 0:15:02It probably took him just three days sailing from Denmark,

0:15:02 > 0:15:05his vessels both fast and seaworthy.

0:15:05 > 0:15:08When the longships reached the British coast,

0:15:08 > 0:15:10their shallow draft meant they could navigate up the rivers

0:15:10 > 0:15:14to take the English by surprise.

0:15:14 > 0:15:16Canute claimed the crown of England

0:15:16 > 0:15:21and cemented a relationship with our monarchy that has spanned the centuries.

0:15:21 > 0:15:25Which explains why Canute, King of Denmark and England,

0:15:25 > 0:15:28doesn't rest here in Roskilde,

0:15:28 > 0:15:31but back in Britain at Winchester Cathedral.

0:15:37 > 0:15:43Vikings no longer race down this coast, but the Danes are still drawn to their shore.

0:15:43 > 0:15:45In the summer, whatever the weather,

0:15:45 > 0:15:49they'll head to the west of Jutland for its feel-good factor.

0:15:57 > 0:16:01I'm off to the beach, to continue my quest for hygge,

0:16:01 > 0:16:05the uniquely Danish sense of wellbeing or happiness.

0:16:05 > 0:16:08I'm going to need some tips from a Dane.

0:16:10 > 0:16:15'Whenever you wash up on foreign shores, a little local knowledge goes a long way.

0:16:15 > 0:16:17'So I'm joining Mette Lisby,

0:16:17 > 0:16:22'who's going to show me how to enjoy the seaside Danish style.'

0:16:22 > 0:16:27I've been on a sort of pilgrimage in search of hygge,

0:16:27 > 0:16:29or to experience hygge.

0:16:29 > 0:16:32Is there hygge to be had on the beach?

0:16:32 > 0:16:35There is, but it's actually not the best place for hygge.

0:16:35 > 0:16:38Is it a bit too exposed and a bit too open on the beach?

0:16:38 > 0:16:41Exactly, yeah, and most people when you say "hygge"

0:16:41 > 0:16:45will think about the long winter evenings where it's dark outside

0:16:45 > 0:16:49and you have candles inside, you might even have a fireplace.

0:16:49 > 0:16:54'So it's hard to find hygge on the beach, but you don't have to go far.

0:16:54 > 0:16:58'Apparently, you head for your summer house.

0:16:58 > 0:17:00'One in four Danes has one.'

0:17:00 > 0:17:04- I'm more used to a hut with a door and a padlock.- Oh, no, no.

0:17:04 > 0:17:09We have big beach houses, or summer huse, as we call them.

0:17:09 > 0:17:11Could I have one of those?

0:17:11 > 0:17:16- No.- No?- No, we're very protective of our beach houses.

0:17:16 > 0:17:20The rules are that you can only buy them if you're Danish.

0:17:20 > 0:17:24- Really?! No foreigners?- No.

0:17:24 > 0:17:26That's not really in the spirit of the European Union.

0:17:26 > 0:17:31It's not at all, no. In Denmark, foreigners can't buy the beach houses.

0:17:31 > 0:17:34You're very possessive about your coast.

0:17:34 > 0:17:39Yes, I think so. Yeah, it's mentioned in all the national songs and anthems of Denmark.

0:17:39 > 0:17:42I think it's something we're proud of, really.

0:17:42 > 0:17:44You can come, you can look at it, but you can't stay.

0:17:44 > 0:17:48- And then you have to leave! - When are you people going home(?)

0:17:52 > 0:17:55I'm not ready to throw in my beach towel just yet.

0:17:55 > 0:17:58There's hygge to be had out there somewhere.

0:17:58 > 0:18:01My search for coastal cosiness continues.

0:18:12 > 0:18:15Heading away from the open sea is the Limfjord,

0:18:15 > 0:18:18which twists and turns as it carries the coastline

0:18:18 > 0:18:20deep into the heart of Jutland.

0:18:23 > 0:18:25Carved out in the last ice age,

0:18:25 > 0:18:29the landscape around Limfjord's had a surprisingly big impact

0:18:29 > 0:18:31on the British breakfast.

0:18:33 > 0:18:38On the banks of the fjord, Nick's making himself at home.

0:18:42 > 0:18:46For generations, Britons have been connected to this country

0:18:46 > 0:18:51by what's written on the back of their bacon, Danish.

0:18:52 > 0:18:55Mass-marketing has always been a vital ingredient

0:18:55 > 0:18:58in the Danish recipe for success,

0:18:58 > 0:19:02but what got them started them on the business of selling us bacon,

0:19:02 > 0:19:04and why did we gobble it up?

0:19:06 > 0:19:11'One name is enjoyed by more homes in this country

0:19:11 > 0:19:16'for its consistent high quality than any other.'

0:19:28 > 0:19:31It's British consumers who have helped to make the Danes

0:19:31 > 0:19:35one of the biggest exporters of pig meat in the world.

0:19:35 > 0:19:38There are two porkers for every person in Denmark,

0:19:38 > 0:19:41that's over 12 million pigs.

0:19:44 > 0:19:47'Surprisingly, this rich bacon business

0:19:47 > 0:19:51'was built on very poor coastal terrain,

0:19:51 > 0:19:56'a landscape familiar to rural expert Flemming Just.'

0:19:56 > 0:19:58Is this a beach or a field?

0:19:58 > 0:20:03It's a field and, in fact, it is very typical for Jutland - sandy.

0:20:03 > 0:20:09It is just sand, isn't it? There's not a lot of nutrients in sand.

0:20:09 > 0:20:11Until the middle of the 19th century,

0:20:11 > 0:20:15it was totally covered by heather and almost no forest.

0:20:17 > 0:20:22Once this was a windswept wilderness without a pig in sight.

0:20:22 > 0:20:25Its transformation to bacon central

0:20:25 > 0:20:30began with a disastrous defeat for the Danes some 200 years ago.

0:20:34 > 0:20:35In the Napoleonic wars,

0:20:35 > 0:20:39Britain attacked Denmark to capture its fleet.

0:20:39 > 0:20:43In the aftermath, the Danes lost control of Norway

0:20:43 > 0:20:45as the map of Europe was re-drawn.

0:20:45 > 0:20:49Later, the Germans grabbed a chunk of Danish territory,

0:20:49 > 0:20:53their rich agricultural land in the south.

0:20:53 > 0:20:59To survive, the Danes had to make the most of their infertile coastal plains in North Jutland.

0:20:59 > 0:21:03Denmark's bacon boom was about to begin.

0:21:03 > 0:21:10So, from that time on, they started to cultivate the heather land here in Jutland,

0:21:10 > 0:21:17so a kind of agricultural revolution at the same time as Britain had its industrial revolution.

0:21:17 > 0:21:21Those two revolutions, they combined,

0:21:21 > 0:21:26so Britain deliberately decided only to focus

0:21:26 > 0:21:30on their industrialisation and not care about farming.

0:21:30 > 0:21:32Britain couldn't feed itself,

0:21:32 > 0:21:37whereas Denmark became the larder for the British industrialisation.

0:21:40 > 0:21:44These sandy fields weren't good for growing crops,

0:21:44 > 0:21:45but pigs aren't that fussy,

0:21:45 > 0:21:50so this coastal region became farmland to feed us bacon.

0:21:50 > 0:21:53As intensive rearing replaced this rural idyll,

0:21:53 > 0:21:56pigs grew into big business, and, 100 years later,

0:21:56 > 0:22:01Danish was one of the first foods advertised on British TV.

0:22:03 > 0:22:07Hello there, I'm the Danish bacon Viking.

0:22:11 > 0:22:16The majority of Jutland's pigs end up here in Esbjerg.

0:22:16 > 0:22:21Denmark's largest North Sea port was founded in 1868

0:22:21 > 0:22:24especially for exports to us.

0:22:27 > 0:22:35But before they can be loaded onto ships, Danish pigs have to become Danish bacon.

0:22:35 > 0:22:37140 countries now buy Danish,

0:22:37 > 0:22:40but they claim the best cuts head our way.

0:22:43 > 0:22:46These are backs of bacon.

0:22:46 > 0:22:507,000 of them are going through here today,

0:22:50 > 0:22:53and they're all bound for Britain.

0:22:53 > 0:22:57It's staggering to think how, from humble beginnings,

0:22:57 > 0:23:02shipping pig meat from this port really did save Denmark's bacon.

0:23:03 > 0:23:07Now they send us over 250 lorry-loads each week.

0:23:07 > 0:23:12That's 300,000 tonnes of the stuff every year.

0:23:12 > 0:23:16And it's not just bacon the Danes have fed us from here.

0:23:16 > 0:23:20Over the years, we've spread butter that's past through this port,

0:23:20 > 0:23:25gulped lager, and even done a bit of building with the odd plastic brick.

0:23:25 > 0:23:29They've all passed through Esbjerg bound for Britain.

0:23:41 > 0:23:46My journey continues south along the shore of Jutland.

0:23:46 > 0:23:48This is a protected stretch of beach,

0:23:48 > 0:23:51and you won't find many houses,

0:23:51 > 0:23:54but strangely, you can park right on the sand.

0:23:54 > 0:23:56No pay and display here,

0:23:56 > 0:24:00but take local advice, tourists regularly get stuck,

0:24:00 > 0:24:04and getting caught out by the tide costs more than a parking ticket.

0:24:10 > 0:24:14Just behind the dunes, Miranda's seeking some residents

0:24:14 > 0:24:18who've happily parked themselves in a very protected spot.

0:24:22 > 0:24:26It's just after dawn, and I've come here to find some animals you don't

0:24:26 > 0:24:30normally expect to be living by the sea, and that's red deer.

0:24:44 > 0:24:47(This is great. I'm just at the edge of the forest, using the forest

0:24:47 > 0:24:50(as cover. The deer are feeding out on this open grassland.

0:24:50 > 0:24:55(You can just see the dunes, and obviously there's the sea just behind me.

0:24:57 > 0:25:00(He's just put his head down, but I think that the deer

0:25:00 > 0:25:06(feeding behind us is probably a young male, just had tiny antlers.)

0:25:06 > 0:25:08'It's hard to get close to them.

0:25:08 > 0:25:11'These shy creatures are easily spooked.

0:25:11 > 0:25:15'But the serenity of the scene isn't quite as it appears.

0:25:15 > 0:25:18'These red deer have rather noisy neighbours.'

0:25:21 > 0:25:23They share their home with the Danish Army.

0:25:26 > 0:25:32This is a restricted zone, off limits to everyone not driving a tank.

0:25:33 > 0:25:39Oddly, this unusual relationship between wildlife and warfare seems to work.

0:25:43 > 0:25:47'I want to see it from the military perspective.'

0:25:47 > 0:25:52So, Fritz, tell me how long the Danish army has lived side by side with the red deer here?

0:25:52 > 0:25:57We have actually being living together since 1928-29,

0:25:57 > 0:26:02approximately, so we know each other quite well, I have to say.

0:26:02 > 0:26:05We have a little bit of a strange neighbourship because

0:26:05 > 0:26:08when we are outside of our vehicles they are gone,

0:26:08 > 0:26:12but when we're inside our vehicles we have no problems,

0:26:12 > 0:26:15they can stay just beside the vehicle,

0:26:15 > 0:26:19and it means they feel if we are starting shooting and so on.

0:26:19 > 0:26:22They just slowly disappear from the area.

0:26:22 > 0:26:25All around the shooting area there is a big forest

0:26:25 > 0:26:27so the deer can go into the forest

0:26:27 > 0:26:31and stay there for a long period and come out again if we are finished.

0:26:31 > 0:26:35- And do you like having them around, is it nice?- Very nice, yeah.

0:26:35 > 0:26:39'Despite the disruptions, the deer love being beside the sea.

0:26:39 > 0:26:44'There's tasty heather and shelter in the dunes from the constant wind.

0:26:48 > 0:26:52'It's early Autumn and the rutting season has begun.

0:26:52 > 0:26:56'Ole Daugaard-Petersen is head of the deer reserve.'

0:26:56 > 0:27:00There's some interesting activity going on in the group down there.

0:27:00 > 0:27:03There's a large number of hinds and there's that big stag

0:27:03 > 0:27:07that's constantly patrolling, looking after that group of females.

0:27:07 > 0:27:12Just now the mature stags are rounding up the hinds and

0:27:12 > 0:27:15the point is he wants to mate with all of them. He wants

0:27:15 > 0:27:20to keep his competitors away, and you will see the young stags

0:27:20 > 0:27:22circling around the herd,

0:27:22 > 0:27:26hoping to get the chance to get a go with the hinds,

0:27:26 > 0:27:29and the mature stag, he will keep them away.

0:27:29 > 0:27:36So he can keep going for two, three weeks rutting, no eat no nothing, and then you will see the stag,

0:27:36 > 0:27:40suddenly he will be lying sleeping for a few minutes,

0:27:40 > 0:27:43up again and so he carries on for three weeks,

0:27:43 > 0:27:46and then it's done and he leaves his hinds.

0:27:46 > 0:27:51He might have lost 30-40 kilos during those three weeks,

0:27:51 > 0:27:53so he's really busy, you know?

0:27:56 > 0:28:00Three weeks of rutting with barely a break,

0:28:00 > 0:28:04these majestic stags have got some serious stamina.

0:28:15 > 0:28:20We've reached Denmark's most westerly point, Blavandshuk.

0:28:22 > 0:28:25A top spot for a great view.

0:28:29 > 0:28:33Just three miles or so off the coast here is the most notorious reef

0:28:33 > 0:28:37in the whole of the North Sea. In the days of sail,

0:28:37 > 0:28:42it was known to the skippers as Duyvels Horn. The Devil's Horn.

0:28:42 > 0:28:45Once the graveyard of countless ships,

0:28:45 > 0:28:49today, Horns Reef is helping to save the planet.

0:28:49 > 0:28:54It's home to one of the world's largest off-shore wind farms.

0:28:54 > 0:28:58This is a site that's set to be increasingly familiar off our shores,

0:28:58 > 0:29:02but what you don't often see is how these big beasts get built.

0:29:06 > 0:29:10At the port of Esbjerg, engineering and green enthusiast, Dick Strawbridge,

0:29:10 > 0:29:13is about to discover how the pieces fit together.

0:29:16 > 0:29:21'They assemble what bits they can on the quayside before shipping them out to sea.

0:29:21 > 0:29:25'Bolting the blades on is job number one.

0:29:25 > 0:29:30'The bloke in charge is Siemens's technical wizard, Jesper Moeller.'

0:29:30 > 0:29:35- It's huge!- This is a 45 metre blade made out fibreglass.

0:29:35 > 0:29:37It's just literally fibreglass?

0:29:37 > 0:29:42Yes, it's fibreglass, fibreglass and balsa wood, and it's cast in one piece.

0:29:42 > 0:29:45Hold on, say, "It's cast in one piece again."

0:29:45 > 0:29:47There's an echo, it's long enough to give you an echo.

0:29:47 > 0:29:50The shape is developed over many years

0:29:50 > 0:29:55and it's actually consisting of different aircraft blade shapes.

0:29:55 > 0:30:02This is the tip, but you look at that, that's sharp.

0:30:02 > 0:30:03It's not quite straight.

0:30:03 > 0:30:08It has a slight curve, because when it's pointing up towards the wind

0:30:08 > 0:30:11- it has a slight bend towards the wind...- It flexes.

0:30:11 > 0:30:15It flexes, then when the wind pushes on it, it straightens out.

0:30:15 > 0:30:20Everything looks shiny and new right now, but out in the North Sea,

0:30:20 > 0:30:24these turbines are going to face a right battering.

0:30:24 > 0:30:28So why go to all the trouble of sticking them nearly 10 miles offshore?

0:30:28 > 0:30:31Well, offshore has a lot of advantages.

0:30:31 > 0:30:33It has a very stable flow of wind.

0:30:33 > 0:30:35Lots of constant wind?

0:30:35 > 0:30:38Yes, and also higher wind compared to onshore locations.

0:30:40 > 0:30:45It's time for this landlubber to brave the North Sea and take a look.

0:30:45 > 0:30:50The installation vessel is already on its way, and I'm hot on its heels.

0:30:53 > 0:30:58Another good reason to build out here - no complaints from the neighbours.

0:30:58 > 0:31:02But some people do have to live near the turbines,

0:31:02 > 0:31:04and the maintenance team need a house.

0:31:06 > 0:31:09We're about 40 kilometres off the Danish coast.

0:31:09 > 0:31:14This is the accommodation platform, and we're in the middle of nowhere.

0:31:14 > 0:31:19The engineers share the platform with an electrical sub-station.

0:31:19 > 0:31:22There's lots of technology here, and that's not surprising,

0:31:22 > 0:31:24because all the electricity from the wind turbines

0:31:24 > 0:31:27are sucked in here before being sent ashore,

0:31:27 > 0:31:32and, when the wind blows, there's enough electricity to power 20 million light bulbs.

0:31:39 > 0:31:42This is a paradise for engineers.

0:31:42 > 0:31:46It may look like the turbines are in nice neat rows, but it's more complicated than that.

0:31:46 > 0:31:50The turbines aren't in a block, they're in a fan shape,

0:31:50 > 0:31:52which means, when the wind blows from the west,

0:31:52 > 0:31:56any turbulence doesn't reduce the efficiency of the other turbines,

0:31:56 > 0:32:00so all the energy from the wind can be captured by the wind turbines and turned into electricity,

0:32:00 > 0:32:03and there's absolutely masses of it.

0:32:08 > 0:32:11The installation vessel is now in position,

0:32:11 > 0:32:14and they've started to erect turbine number 70.

0:32:14 > 0:32:16I'm on my way.

0:32:17 > 0:32:22Denmark is the land of Lego, this is the ultimate big piece of kit to put together, isn't it?

0:32:22 > 0:32:25Seapower with its crane is going to assemble it all.

0:32:25 > 0:32:29So, how do they do it? Actually, it's a really simple system.

0:32:29 > 0:32:33They drive a mono-pile into the sea bed about 20 metres, then they put the yellow section on.

0:32:33 > 0:32:37It is actually the transition piece, and they make sure that's perfectly vertical.

0:32:37 > 0:32:40Then they've already added on one piece of tower,

0:32:40 > 0:32:42we're about to see a second piece of tower go on,

0:32:42 > 0:32:46then they'll shove the turbine on the top and then the blades and it's done. Really simple.

0:32:49 > 0:32:54The engineers are battling to complete the job before the autumn storms hit.

0:32:54 > 0:33:01In calm weather, they can put up three turbines in 24 hours of non-stop effort.

0:33:01 > 0:33:04This thing is massive!

0:33:04 > 0:33:05Thank you.

0:33:12 > 0:33:16I've got to get myself one of these!

0:33:16 > 0:33:17It's awesome!

0:33:25 > 0:33:30This beauty is over 1.5 times taller then Nelson's Column,

0:33:30 > 0:33:32but the technology doesn't stand still.

0:33:32 > 0:33:37The ones planned for our seas are going to be even bigger than these guys.

0:33:37 > 0:33:40Look out for them coming to a coast near you.

0:33:52 > 0:33:55I'm on the final leg of my journey.

0:33:57 > 0:34:00In my quest for happiness Danish style,

0:34:00 > 0:34:05I'm off to visit a very contented community on the island of Fano.

0:34:19 > 0:34:24My destination, the Isle of Fano, Denmark's oldest holiday resort.

0:34:24 > 0:34:29Life here's laid-back, the legacy of a privileged past.

0:34:32 > 0:34:36In 1741, this canny community clubbed together

0:34:36 > 0:34:39and bought their island from the king,

0:34:39 > 0:34:43and soon the good times started to roll

0:34:43 > 0:34:46with a whole lot of happiness ever since.

0:34:49 > 0:34:52Originally, the island's wealth was built on ship building.

0:34:52 > 0:34:56The money was put into bricks, mortar and thatch.

0:34:56 > 0:35:02My quest to experience hygge in Denmark has come to a cosy conclusion.

0:35:02 > 0:35:07# It's the good life

0:35:07 > 0:35:14# To be free and explore the unknown... #

0:35:14 > 0:35:21For me, this place embodies what I understand of the Danish concept of hygge.

0:35:21 > 0:35:25If it's about finding contentment in comforting, cosy places,

0:35:25 > 0:35:27then there's definitely hygge here.