My name is John, but I seem to be known here just by my second name, Moloney. I live on Ærø with my wife Louise, and we have two teenage boys, Max and Charles. I grew up in Sussex, and then spent 29 years in the RAF. When Louise and I started a family it seemed sensible to finally put some roots down, and Ærø, where Louise’s family have lived since Jurassic times, was the perfect choice. We have lived on the island since 2007, and I have semi-retired, whilst Louise runs Danish Island Weddings. I did some hiking in the past, including the Pennine Way, the North Norfolk Coastal Path, and the Peddars Way. But between work and family commitments I somehow got out of the habit - until covid.

I started walking and hiking again due to the lockdown. With many other activities no longer possible, walking seemed like a good option. And, with the restrictions, it was clear that walking on Ærø, where we live, would be the best way to get going. I had soon walked many of the paths on the island, and in the process realised that a lot of them were not in the public domain. So using the “Alltrails” app I started logging them, and then got interested in finding out more about the things I saw. Some if it I googled, but then got a lot of help from Sille at the Ærø Museum. and Karsten at the Marstal Maritime Museum. I discovered stories about Ærø which I didn’t know, and which other people didn’t seem to know either, so I included some bits in the walks. Having gathered all this information, and with interest also from the local tourist board, it seemed logical to take the next step and make my walks and new-found knowledge available to others.

If anyone thinks I have missed a good story, by the way, or got something wrong, do please let me know.

Having got back into walking I have then started venturing further afield, including the Gendarmensti, the rest of the Øhavssti, and the Westweg (in the Black Forest), and I will include a few notes about my experiences in the blog.

Thanks to Sille Larsen at the Ærø Museum in Ærøskøbing and Karsten Hermansen at the Maritime Museum in Marstal for answering questions and allowing me to use their work. Thanks to Camilla Jørvad for her help setting up the website and taking all the pictures. Thanks to all the friends who have tried the walks and given me feedback, and especially to my family, Louise, Max and Charlie, for encouraging me and joining me on occasion!