An exuberant golden retriever wasn’t on my bingo card when it came to showing me how to behave in one of Europe’s most strange and wonderful natural landscapes. Confronted by a gigantic set of sand dunes set against a cornflower blue early evening sky, and with only the sound of my breath for company, I felt oddly immobilised by the sheer beauty and scale of the unique vista before me.
I padded slowly and tentatively towards the honeyed peaks – consisting roughly of a colossal 3.5 million cubic metres of granules – that constitute Denmark’s Rabjerg Mile. All was still until a rogue pooch that had broken free from its owner tore into view. The dog’s flaxen fur was almost camouflaged among the gently rolling slopes. As it raced and rolled among the dunes with the enthusiasm of a toddler hopped up on sherbet, I began to smile. Following suit, I started to run into the soft, virgin sand.
