Filsø

Filsø, on the sandy west coast of Jutland between Henne and Nørre Nebel, is one of the great success stories of Danish nature restoration and today one of the finest bird lakes in the whole country. It was once among the largest lakes in Denmark, but from the nineteenth century onwards it was progressively drained, and by the mid-twentieth century most of its bed had been pumped dry and turned over to intensive agriculture. In 2012 the Aage V. Jensen Nature Foundation, which had acquired the land, let the water back in, and almost overnight a lake of around nine hundred hectares reappeared where fields had been.

The transformation has been extraordinary. Freed to flood, the shallow basin has become a magnet for wildlife, and more than two hundred and forty species of birds have been recorded here. Huge flocks of ducks, geese and waders use the lake on migration, cranes and swans stop to rest, and among the reeds and open water hunt marsh harriers and, most thrillingly, white-tailed eagles — Europe's largest bird of prey, which now breeds again in the region and can often be seen patrolling over the water. In autumn the sheer numbers of birds gathering on the lake are a spectacle in themselves.

Filsø has been thoughtfully opened up for people as well as birds. It is free to visit and laced with walking and cycling routes, gravel tracks, viewpoints and bird hides, along with a modern visitor point that interprets the lake's dramatic story of loss and return. Because much of the access runs on firm tracks and level paths, a good deal of the lakeside is reachable by most visitors, including those with limited mobility, though the quieter shore margins are naturally rougher. Bring binoculars: even a casual walk usually turns up rafts of waterbirds, and patient watchers are frequently rewarded with an eagle.

There are no opening hours to worry about — this is open countryside, enjoyable in every season. Spring brings breeding birdsong and fresh green reeds; summer is gentle and quiet; but autumn, when tens of thousands of migrants throng the water, is the classic time for a visit. Winter can be starkly beautiful, with eagles especially visible against the bare landscape.

Set just inland from some of Denmark's best North Sea beaches, Filsø pairs easily with a coastal holiday around Henne Strand and Blåvand, offering a complete change of mood from the dunes and surf to still, reflective water alive with birds. Allow a couple of hours for a good walk and some time at a hide; for birdwatchers it can easily fill a morning. As a place to grasp both the wildness of west Jutland and the power of large-scale restoration, few sites in Denmark are as rewarding as this reborn lake.