Horreby Lyng Raised Bog

Falster’s High Moor in the Making

Horreby Lyng began life as a meltwater lake at the end of the last Ice Age, gradually filling with plant material until it rose above its surroundings and developed into a true raised bog. Today you step into a landscape of springy peat, open wet hollows and carpets of sphagnum moss that act like a natural sponge, holding water close to the surface. This constant dampness gives the area its distinctive colours and texture, shifting from rust browns and deep greens to soft purples when the heather blooms. Although relatively compact, the bog forms one of Denmark’s few remaining high moors and the only one on the island of Falster. It is ringed by more typical farmland and woodland, so the transition as you enter is abrupt: within a few steps tractors and traffic fade, replaced by the quiet gurgle of hidden water and the flit of dragonflies over dark pools.

From Peat Cutting to Nature Restoration

For generations, Horreby Lyng was worked hard as a peat resource, especially during the shortages around the Second World War. Peat cuttings and drainage ditches once criss-crossed the bog, drying large sections and leaving behind bare peat faces and open scars in the landscape. At the eastern end of the reserve, you can still see areas where the peat has been removed so thoroughly that the ground now supports birch scrub and deciduous trees rather than true bog vegetation. In recent decades, the focus has shifted to restoration. Ditches have been blocked, water levels raised and a long-term effort is under way to let typical bog species reclaim the area. The story of this transition from working landscape to conservation area is part of what makes a walk here so thought-provoking: you are literally walking through layers of environmental history, where every change in vegetation reflects choices made by people and the slow response of the land.

Wildlife Among Mosses, Pools and Heather

The oxygen-poor peat preserves organic material remarkably well, turning Horreby Lyng into a quiet archaeological archive. Finds from the Neolithic period and later prehistory – from tools to fragments of clothing – have been recovered from the bog, hinting at ritual deposits and everyday activity around these wet areas in earlier times. While those artefacts are no longer on site, it adds an extra layer of imagination as you look out across the dark water. Nature lovers come for the living residents as much as the buried past. The bog supports insect life in abundance, including dragonflies and damselflies hunting over the pools on warm days. Reptiles such as adders may bask along drier edges, and the vegetation includes specialist bog plants, with heather, cotton grass and occasional carnivorous species thriving where nutrients are scarce. Birdsong carries from nearby woodland, and in the open sections you may spot hunting birds of prey using the clear views across the moss.

Boardwalks, Waymarked Routes and Quiet Exploration

Several waymarked circular routes between roughly 3 and 5 kilometres loop through Horreby Lyng, making it easy to tailor a visit to the time and energy you have. A highlight is the approximately 300‑metre boardwalk that leads straight out into the wetter western part of the bog. Here you float just above the saturated ground, surrounded by water and moss, with views that change subtly with each season. Elsewhere, firm paths cross drier sections and skirt former peat cuttings now filled with vegetation. Information boards at key points explain the bog’s formation, former peat extraction and the ongoing restoration work. The terrain is mostly flat but can feel uneven and soft away from the boardwalk, so sturdy footwear is useful even on fine days. Because the bog lies on privately owned land that is generously opened to the public, access is limited to daylight hours and to established paths, preserving both the fragile habitat and the sense of undisturbed nature.

A Place for Slow Walks and Subtle Atmosphere

Horreby Lyng is best appreciated at an unhurried pace, letting your senses adjust to the small-scale drama of bog life. On still mornings, mist may cling low over the pools, while on bright afternoons the open sky reflects in dark water and the boardwalk gleams between tufts of heather. The reserve has an understated, contemplative character rather than headline-grabbing vistas, making it a rewarding stop for walkers, amateur naturalists and photographers who enjoy intimate landscapes. Because the area is relatively small and the marked routes interlink, you can explore for an hour or stretch your visit into half a day by pausing at viewpoints and detours. Whatever the length of your walk, Horreby Lyng offers a compact but layered glimpse into Denmark’s natural and cultural history, wrapped in the quiet of a recovering bog.