Halsted Deer Park
The small town of Halsted, with the characteristic yellow-washed houses and Deer Park, is definitely worth a visit.
The area itself is quite hilly as during the last ice age a large glacial river carved a deep trench in the ground, creating a valley - Halsted River valley. About 20,000 years ago, a torrential river that carried everything away with it created the valley, today a small stream, called Halsted Å, runs through the valley. It runs from Vesterborg lake and out to the Inner Fjord. On the first stretch it twists and turns, but in the cultivated areas it has been altered to form a straight channel. In the Deer Park many remnants of the historic mighty Deer Park, the hunting ground where the lord of the manor could shoot the game, once the beaters had driven it towards him can be seen. Avenues of lime trees, horse chestnut and maple lead from the monastery out to the Deer Park, where they spread out. The oldest lime trees probably date back to the 1740s, where written sources recount the construction of the Deer Park. When you enter the Deer Park, it is advisable to follow the avenue to the right. Here the ancient Deer Park with giant oaks can be imagined. This exact area is designated an EU nature protection area, as a very rare beetle called the hermit beetle is found here. In order to create light and open conditions surroundings around the trees an enclosure with grazing cattle has been erected. The animals are very peaceful, so one can, and may, enter the enclosure. 
Further into Deer Park huge rhododendron plantings can be seen. It is difficult to determine how old the plants are, as with long intervals through the years they are pruned right down, following which they shoot from the root, and within a few years again reach a considerable size. They are in full bloom around June 1st.
A huge mound, called Rævehøj, is also found in the Deer Park, and yews and and tall hemlock spruces have been planted here and there. At the end of the path lies the hunting lodge that had previously been used for storage of oak bark, which was sold for tanning hides. It has been well refurbished in recent years. 
The largest rhododendron plants are found on the other side of the wide forest road. In the centre are the tombstones of some of Halsted Kloster’s owners.
The Deer Park also holds the remains of an ancient stronghold and a massive, very impressive, hornbeam, but these are not accessible to the public. Cyclists can continue through the Deer Park to Vesterborg, described on another page. |
See map of Halsted Deer Park
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