Wildlife, water and views from the top of the bridge

Walk from Middelfart’s high street and you’re in the woods within minutes. Hindsgavl Peninsula stretches out into the Little Belt, with cliffs, beach and beech forest, where red and fallow deer graze among the trees. In 1848, Hans Christian Andersen wrote that the view from the park here was probably the finest in all of Funen.

The peninsula belonged to Hindsgavl Manor until 1921, when Middelfart Municipality took over the area. Today you can roam freely across the entire site. At Hindsgavl Rampart you’ll find an oval mound 15 metres high, and by the coast lies Vasnæs Battery, built in 1808 as part of the defence of the Little Belt and later restored during the First Schleswig War (1848–51) and the war of 1864.

In Hindsgavl Deer Park you meet the deer, whose grazing keeps the open plains of the old manor landscape free of scrub and trees, so the views stay open and the landscape keeps its original character. Follow the Deer Park trail to get close to the animals, especially early in the morning.

A short distance away lies Naturcenter Hindsgavl, with a nature playground, a climbing course and the option to cook over an open fire. There are tables and benches, both outside and in the packed-lunch shelter.

At Søbadet you’ll find shelters where you can sleep with the Little Belt as your neighbour, and perhaps spot harbour porpoises.

Bridgewalking starts from the welcome centre at Naturcenter Hindsgavl – the walk to the top of the Old Little Belt Bridge, where the bridge, the town and the strait are suddenly far below you.
Alternatively, you can view the great structure from below by walking underneath the bridge on the north side of the peninsula.

The hiking trails on the peninsula lead you on past Middelfart Marina and beach, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Lillebælt Shipyard, and down to the Old Town and Old Harbour. Routes vary in length, from the short walk along the Deer Park trail to the long route along the entire coastline. You choose whether it becomes a one-hour walk or a full day’s hike.

Hindsgavl Peninsula suits you if you want nature close to town, with short distances from parking to forest, beach and deer park.

Tip: Walk the Deer Park trail early in the morning. That’s when the animals are most active, and the light falls low through the beech trees.