The restored Bølling Sø shapes the landscape around Skygge. Perlen Bølling Sø is an 11.6 km walking trail around the lake, starting and ending at the Klosterlund Museum. The museum is located in a former peat factory and presents the history of the peat industry and heathland cultivation around Bølling Sø. Here, a specific route and the history of how the landscape was used sit side by side.

Lake, river and protected landscape

The entire Bølling Sø area and its surroundings are protected. Reeds, meadows and dry grassland surround the lake and provide habitats for many animals and plants. Today’s Bølling Sø was created through a restoration project that spanned several years and continued until 2005. Another change to the landscape followed at Skygge Å: In August 2016, a new, approximately 900 m meandering section was inaugurated there.

The course of the waterways can also be traced through specific local landmarks. East of Skyggevej, Skygge Å joins Elkær Bæk and Bording Å, becoming Karup Å. The Skygge Å ornithological site stretches from Bølling Sø to Klode Mølle. Visitors to the area can therefore encounter both protected waterside habitats and a river whose name changes at the confluence described here.

Trails and activities at Bølling Sø

The Perlen Bølling Sø circular trail starts and ends at the Klosterlund Museum, where free parking is available. Toilets are located at the museum and at Dværgebakken. A marked trail also runs west of Bølling Sø along Skygge Å and across the valley to Stenholt Skov. The marked Hærvejssti runs from north to west through Stenholt Krat. The marked Hærvejsrute through the thicket is open to visitors around the clock.

There are several geocaches along Skygge Å, northwest of Bølling Sø. Separate rules apply to activities on the water: boats without motors or sails are permitted in the western half of the lake, where fishing is also allowed. Both activities are explicitly permitted in this part of Bølling Sø. Fiskehytten ved Skygge Å is located at Vester Moselundvej 4. Members of Silkeborg Fiskeriforening can use the hut free of charge after booking in advance.

Peat history and traces of earlier use

The Klosterlund Museum connects the area with the peat industry and heathland cultivation around the lake. On selected summer days, volunteers demonstrate how peat was once extracted by hand and with machinery. The demonstrations complement the museum’s themes with a practical presentation of how the work was done in the past. As they take place only on selected summer days, this activity is seasonal.

Another interpretive route at Bølling Sø is called I fortidens fodspor. It features audio stations with dramatized stories, a corten steel figure of a peat cutter, binoculars, a hunting game for Stone Age hunters and a quiz about the Tollund Man. The different elements explore themes relating to peat and the Stone Age, so the route is not limited to a single type of interpretation.

Older traces of settlement are also part of the area’s history: In Skygge By, five farms stood along Klosterlundvej until at least 1866. A dam was built over Skygge Å at Klode Mølle. This created a pond to the southeast, towards Bølling Sø, and a mill house with an undershot waterwheel was built there. These details add earlier forms of land use and water management to the more recent history of landscape restoration.

Discover more destinations: Vrads, Kjellerup, Bording, Linå, Store Bredlund, Svostrup, Kongensbro, Them Kommune.

For the wider travel overview: Silkeborg Kommune.