Laeso

Laeso lies in the northern Kattegat and is almost entirely flat, ringed by sand and tidal flats with a landscape of heath, dune, salt meadow and small plantations. Two things distinguish it. First, the seaweed roofs: because timber was scarce and eelgrass was abundant, islanders roofed their farmhouses with thick bundles of dried seaweed, sometimes a metre deep and lasting centuries, and although a wasting disease in the early 1930s killed the eelgrass and nearly ended the tradition, a number survive and restoration is under way. Second, salt: the island produced salt in medieval times by boiling brine drawn from the salt meadows, an industry that stripped the woodland for fuel, and a reconstructed salt works operates today.

The landscape

• Seaweed-roofed farmhouses - eelgrass thatch a metre thick.
• The reconstructed salt works - brine boiled as it was in the medieval period.
• Wide tidal flats - sand and salt meadow around the whole island.
• Flat heath and dune - the interior landscape, cycled rather than driven.

When to go

May to September; the ferry runs year round but services thin in winter and much closes. Two to three days. Bicycles are the practical way round. Summer is busy with Danish holidaymakers.

Good to know

The ferry is the only access and books out for vehicles in summer. Accommodation is limited. Only a small number of seaweed roofs survive and several are private houses seen from the road. It is very flat and can feel monotonous in poor weather.

Nearby

Frederikshavn is the mainland port; Skagen lies north on the Jutland tip.

Key facts