Søby / Vitsø

The 3 Windmills

Starting from the ferry is the most obvious choice in terms of transport - the bus stops there and there is parking. But a better start point is Søbygård. It has parking, but the nearest bus stop is about 500m beyond Søbygård (towards Søby), and then you need to walk back along the main road. Starting here has the advantage of highlights right at the beginning (Vitsø) and the end (Vestermølle and the fort) and maybe a lunch stop in Søby half way.

The walk takes in 4 of Ærø's highlights - Vester Mølle with its amazing views, the fort earthworks of Søby Volde, Søbygård manor house, and the wonderful bird sanctuary of Vitsø Nor. There are notes about things of interest along the way on the Alltrails app (linked above) but things to look out for are:

• Vitsø Nor - a beautiful lake/inlet, bird sanctuary and nature reserve. There are often huge flocks of ducks and geese, and many other species. The lovely “panda cows” on the north shore are Galloways. The area was (slowly!) drained for farming during the 19th and 20th centuries, although the project suffered a major setback during the great Storm of 1872 when the dam to the sea was breached. The draining was largely done by the windmill. It was returned to nature in 2009.

• Vitsø Windmill is an interesting thatched windmill, now in need of renovation. Unusually, it was not used for grinding corn, but had an Archimedes screw to pump water out of Vitsø and into a drainage canal. The original wooden Archimedes screw is lying by the windmill looking sadly neglected, and inside the windmill you can see how it would have sat at an angle to pump water.

• The beach is often wild, windy and beautiful. There are a number of fishermen’s huts and winches. Out to sea you can spot Ellen, the electric ferry, coming over from Fynshav to Søby. Right on the horizon you might make out the other Fynshav ferry heading to Bojden on Funen.

• Nature reserve. Having headed up the hill away from the beach, towards Søby, you will come to a tiny wooded area with a small lake. You can wander through this tiny nature reserve, and there are picnic tables. Close by is Søby Mill, recently restored with new thatch - best admired from afar.

• Søby is a workmanlike town with a busy shipyard and port. The harbour will soon double in size. It is home to Ellen, which was designed and built here, and operates what is still the longest electric ferry service in Europe.

• The view out to sea as you walk between Søby and the windmill includes many of the islands of the archipelago - Avernakø, Drejø, Tåsinge, Birkholm and many more. On Drejø and Avernakø, some of the crew of Lancaster LL963 are buried, shot down en route to lay mines at Kiel in 1944. Many allied bombers en route to bomb Germany came this way to avoid the German air defences. Tåsinge is where Elvira Madigan and Sixton Sparre met their tragic fate - they are buried there in Sct Jørgens Church churchyard.

  The view from Vester Mølle is wonderful and it is a good place to stop a moment. Down below to the north you can see the pretty old mill house, now an art school - looks like a long way up the hill to lug corn…. As you head down the pretty track towards Søbygård manor house take the gate the right to enjoy the fort, Søby Volde.

• Søby Volde is an old fort, probably 11th century, built to defend against the marauding Wends from northern Germany. At that time Vitsø Nor was an inlet reaching as far as the fort, with a village and harbour. At some point the village was uprooted and moved to what became Ærøskøbing - no one seems to know quite why.

• Søbygard is an attractive moated manor house which has been beautifully renovated. It was built by the dukes of Schleswig Holstein at the time when Ærø was under their rule, probably as a hunting lodge.

Refreshments. The restaurant Artur by Søby harbour has recently reopened under new management and is getting good reviews, and has fast food annex called Øens which is fine. The bakery in Søby is good and also has a cafe area for pizzas and rolls. The cafe at Søbygård has just reopened too (the new management ran the Mejeri in Søby last summer) and should be good. The best places to stop with a picnic are at the top end of the beach (there are tables and chairs by the campsite, and also just before the turn away from the beach, near the public toilet). There is also a small supermarket in Søby, currently near the church, but moving down to the harbour soon. The pub in Søby, “Dok IV” (so called because there are 3 actual docks in Søby harbour) has good beer but is more for the local workmen than hiking families.

Places to stay. The choice is between Søby camping and finding an Airbnb. For hotels you need to look elsewhere.