Denmark’s Marguerite / ‘Daisy’ route

[Wapping]

I have been to Denmark and all the Scandinavian countries umpteen times times on business, but had never heard of this route.

Overview





Denmark's "Daisy Route," formally the Marguerite Route(Margueriteruten in Danish), is a scenic 3,600 km network of roads that winds through the country's most picturesque landscapes, past over 1,000 attractions and historic sites. Marked by brown signs with white daisies, this route can be explored by car or bicycle, offering a journey through Denmark's diverse regions, from the northern tip of Jutland to the islands and coastlines of eastern Denmark.
What it is:

• A Scenic Tourist Route:The Marguerite Route is designed to take travelers through Denmark's beautiful nature and past significant cultural attractions, both large and small.
• A Tribute to Queen Margrethe:The route was inaugurated in 1991 and named in honor of the former Queen Margrethe II, who is also affectionately known as "Daisy".

How it's marked:

• Daisy Signs:The route is clearly marked with distinctive brown square signs featuring a white daisy, making it easy to follow.

What you can see:

• Diverse Landscapes:You can experience the distinct nature of both the east and west coasts of Denmark, as well as beautiful meadows and plantations.
• Major Attractions:The route passes by national parks like Thy and Mols Bjerge, and historic sites like Stevns Klint and Børglum Abby.
• Charming Villages:You'll also discover picturesque small towns and villages scattered throughout the journey.

How to experience it:

• By Car or Bicycle:The route is suitable for both cars and bicycles, though some sections may have restrictions for larger vehicles like buses or campervans.
• Sections of the Route:You can choose to explore a specific section or the entire network, which is divided into different areas, including Jutland, Zealand, and the islands of Funen, Møn, Falster, Lolland, and Ærø.

I need to dig around some more to see if I can find a map (or maps) of where it goes.

It might well be a nice way to see the country.

 

[Wapping]

Blimey, that was hard work and I ain’t finished yet.

The ‘Daisy Route’ is apparently a well established Danish ‘cultural / tourist centric’ thing, with a proper website. But it seems to be very unfriendly as to where the routes actually go. I couldn’t find a map of the specific regions or the whole of the country, using what I take to be the route’s official site.

I therefore went digging around on Google, eventually tripping over what I take to be the map, hosted on ‘All Trails’. The distance looks about right, so I can only assume that it’s near enough correct:



All Trails requires a subscription, but you can have a seven day free trial, so I signed up *. The All Trails site is as equally unfriendly, as it kept dropping the full map. Instead, it kept directing me to umpteen sub-sections or back to the site’s home page. In short, useless.

Eventually, I managed to get All Trails to hold the full map on the screen and then allow me to do a download into MyRoute, but this proved to be all but useless, as it was umpteen segments again and far from complete. But, at least a I had a download, all be it I didn’t know of what.

Pocket Earth Pro then came to my rescue. Over time I have learned that Pocket Earth Pro is very good at opening and displaying recalcitrant GPX files. Bingo!



I think I now have the complete ‘Daisy route’ in a workable form. I can now try to get it into MyRoute or, if that - as is likely - fails (it’s trying at the moment) I can create it manually.



* Having got what I wanted, I have cancelled the auto-start / alto-renew subscription. I am sure All Trails is vey good but I didn’t like the app or the website. Maybe I’ll have a look again at some point.

 

[Wapping]

I can now try to get it into MyRoute or, if that - as is likely - fails (it’s trying at the moment)

As I suspected, MyRoute cannot import the GPX file. This is because it is made up of several distinct sections, which MyRoute (unlike BaseCamp and Pocket Earth Pro) can’t cope with.

Hey ho…. I’ll do it manually, using split screen on my iPad. It’s not too hard and, not least, it’s good practice at route creation:

 

[Wapping]

Not too bad. I have created one of the legs manually:

It’s one of those jobs that:

A. Might be easier in BaseCamp, as you could trace over the track or maybe convert it and stitch pieces together easier.

B. Requires a bit of patience and zooming in / out, as it sometimes takes some very small roads.

That aside, it’s interesting to see where it goes, which (as Google’s street view covers just about all of Denmark) is easy to do in MyRoute:




OK, it’s not the twisty mountains, mate. But, it’s very probably a nice way to see a country that is maybe ignored. Maybe I’ll give it a go (God willing) in 2027?

 

[Mad Hatter]

Great discovery Wapping

 

[EVskiy]

Looking rather nice Richard.

Some bods have a great need for the must have Twisty Mountain Roads, but it is equally nice to be able to see well into he distance shoulder to shoulder whilst trundling along at 50mph and enjoy the views. I like it! Great discovery! Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Wapping]

Great discovery Wapping

Thank you.

It’s odd what pops up. I was actually looking for ideas on the ‘Otsee’ (the German name for the Baltic) by Googling ‘Otsee motorradtouren’ *, not least as the Germans are much better at touring than us. I followed a link to the ‘Daisy route’, having no idea what it was and just went from there.


* That's very probably very poor German, but Google doesn’t care.

 

[EVskiy]

Not too bad. I have created one of the legs manually:

It’s one of those jobs that:

A. Might be easier in BaseCamp, as you could trace over the track or maybe convert it and stitch pieces together easier.

B. Requires a bit of patience and zooming in / out, as it sometimes takes some very small roads.

That aside, it’s interesting to see where it goes, which (as Google’s street view covers just about all of Denmark) is easy to do in MyRoute:

Just look at the state of them goat tracks!

View attachment 443613

 

[Wapping]

Looking rather nice Richard.

Some bods have a great need for the must have Twisty Mountain Roads, but it is equally nice to be Abe to see well into he distance shoulder to shoulder whilst trundling along at 50mph and enjoy the views. I like it! Great discovery! Thank you for sharing it.

Thank you; I agree.

Denmark is small by way of a population but bigger in land area than Belgium or, to bring some perspective, about 20 times the area of Luxembourg. It can’t all be shite, surely? They once had an ‘empire’ which embraced us, so the history alone is interesting. Another book I’ll maybe have to download if I go.

I think there is only so many times you can ‘Do the must does’ before it becomes repeating stuff, just for the sake if it. I’d much rather now see something and somewhere different. I like the surprises that ‘boring routes’ throw up: Hairpins that come from nowhere, rivers, forests, little towns and villages, seeing how people live in places very different to London E1. In short, find some purpose in going, rather than just riding from A to B to C, the same way everyone else does.

 

[EVskiy]

I suspect a good time to go, is when everybody has same idea in July/August and want to be on a sunny beach in the south of France, Italy or Spain. It is unlikely to be blisteringly hot too, high 20°s-low 30°s.

Not an unreasonable distance either, in fact shorter than riding/driving to and from Italian lakes, etc.
A nice and leisurely three day pace of circa 325km per day or 200 miles, or a couple of days whilst blatting at the speed of sound on German Autobahn, will see you arrive to Copenhagen.

 

[Wapping]

At about 2,000 miles long, it’s the same length as just one of the four legs of the German Motorcycle Route, I hope to ride next year. I now have a strange calling to ride all the ‘Daisy route’ in its entirety in 2027. Add in some things to see and do along the way, as well.

But first things first, as my mother always told me.

 

[Wapping]

Second one completed;

 

[crumbles]

Jeepers Richard,,

You don't give in do you...!

 

[EVskiy]

Jeepers Richard,,

You don't give in do you...!

You wouldn’t know the half of it and how hard it is. You should give it a go though and see what’s it looks, try being a retiree…

 

[crumbles]

You wouldn’t know the half of it and how hard it is. You should give it a go though and see what’s it looks, try being a retiree…

My brain input too stuff like this is totally zero....

 

[EVskiy]

My brain input too stuff like this is totally zero....

Well you should be thankful that some retired clever clogs is doing for you and is sharing on here all the better.

 

[Wapping]

In a strange way, I quite enjoy it. Rather like the German Motorcycle Route, it’s odd that there seems to be no single (useable) GPX file of the complete route. Of course I’m having to put some trust in the route I found on All Trails is correct. I’d like to get a reliable paper map copy of the ‘Daisy Route’. If I can’t find one to order, I’ll ask a Danish client if they can find me one in Denmark. Failing that, there’’s a very good map shop in Stockholm, next time I go over.

 

[Wapping]

Third completed:

 

[Wapping]

Doing the routes, it shows how “No motorways, twisty roads only mate, green bordered” turns a straightforward route of a few miles into 220 miles ie. probably most of a day, by the time you’ve stopped for lunch, taken pictures, bought fuel or whatever.

Here’s an example. It’s 220 miles, entirely on a not particularly large island. MyRoute estimates the nonstop time to ride the route to be a bit over eight hours.





Taking the motorway, straight across the middle, is 50 miles in around 50 minutes or one eighth of the time to ride a quarter of the distance.

 

[ShakeyGS]

I really like Denmark. It's such a laid back kind of a country. We took the boat from northern Germany over to Malmo to visit a friend, and then drove to Copenhagen over "the bridge".
It's ripe for a bimble on the bike!