cycle tracks which both criss-cross and circumnavigate the island, we actually borrowed bikes from the hotel although I must admit I struggled and gave up after half an hour… I clearly prefer motorised horsepower over pedal power!

     Accompanied by local guide Ross Culiner, a jovial Canadian who married a Bornholm lass, we headed north to one of the island's best-known tourist attractions on our second day, the magnificent early 12th century ruins of Hammershus.

     Said to be northern Europe's largest castle, it is perched atop a huge granite outcrop offering magnificent views along the coast. 

      Originally built for a Danish bishop, it's actually 74 metres (243ft) above sea level and dates back to around 1255. Over the next few centuries, it grew to include a great stonewall stretching 750 metres (2,460ft) around its grounds and it was also strategically important to the Hanseatic League, a northern European trading confederation which was still in operation some 300 years later.

      With views over to southern Sweden clearly visible to the north, a brand new Hammershus Visitor Centre was finally opened in March this year.

      We then drove inland, passing through the Almindingen forest which is home to a herd of secretive and shy European bison which were brought to the island several years ago from central Poland. Close by there is also a trotting track which is very popular with the local Bornholm equestrian fraternity.

      Stopping off to visit the largest of Bornholm's four unique round churches at Østerlars – they also served as Baltic fortresses besides being a place of worship – it was then on to Svaneke, the island’s (and Denmark's) most easterly and probably prettiest town with its red-roofed houses and equally attractive harbour.

      Svaneke is well known for its liquorice while it also has an excellent brewery (Svaneke Bryghus) and a traditional boiled sweetmaker (Svaneke Bolcher) while glass blowing and ceramics are also regular attractions for visitors.

      "The locals all agreed that the town should remain as it is today and not allow any development which goes against the look of the place," said Ross as we walked past so many colourful merchants' houses.        We also visited the town's impressive Lutheran church which was being repainted in the traditional red-oche colour following our lunch stop at Svaneke Røgeriet – www.roegerietsvaneke.dk – an impressive five chimney stack smokehouse known locally as the 'Five Sisters'.

      And it was at Røgeriet where we were finally introduce to Bornholm's specialist iconic dish 'Sol Over Gudhjem'. It consists of smoked herring on fresh rye bread topped with a raw egg yoke and is accompanied by chives and radishes. Besides that we tucked into smoked cod, mackerel, salmon, prawns and shrimps accompanied by one of the many local brews. 

      Local fishermen take their herring catches to be smoked at the smokehouse for around five hours in the traditional way, with no artificial smoke flavourings being added… and judging by the huge piles of chopped wood, they are kept pretty busy!

      Following an afternoon tour of the Copenhagen Distillery with its deep fresh spring water well, we were introduced to the micro-brewery's sales manager Jesper Mathiesen… and we were more than happy to sample the various flavoured gins designed by fellow owner Sune Urth who is also responsible for research and development of the product. 

      En route to the distillery we called in at Plantation near the village of Rø where a series of glasshouses are looked after by both the physical and mentally disabled. They grow cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, etc alongside fields of delicious strawberries which we were allowed to

pick ourselves.

      We also sampled Sea Buckthorn cocktails at Høstet (it means harvested in Danish) – www.høstet.dk – owned by Mads and Camilla Meisner who explained the process of turning bright orange berries into jams, marmalades and delicious juices which can be added to spirits… especially Copenhagen Distillery's gin!

      Mads explained: "We planted the Sea Buckthorn bushes back in 2010 and it took three years before we had results. Buckthorn is rich in nutrition and is regarded as a super food. In order to get the berries, you need male and female plants. To collect them, we cut off the branches and freeze them with the berries still on them. We then defrost everything and the berries fall off. They are then pressed. It's a very exotic taste which can be used as a juice or made into preserves which chefs seem to love."

      I bumped into Mads from Høstet shortly after the cooking competition had ended and he was holding a special award. "I'm really thrilled that we've won the best product award for our Sea Buckthorn juice," he said. "In a previous year our marmalade got the same award."

      Having lunched at a former twin-chimneyed smokehouse called Norresan close to Gudhjem harbour, we then drove to the south of the island close to the village of Dueodde where we spent time on one of the best beaches I've ever seen.   

      Covered in glistening white sand so fine that it's used in egg timers and hour glasses, it seems to go on for miles while a short distance away is a wonderful camp site set among the pine trees.

      With no appreciable tide in the Baltic and a gently sloping beach, the area is clearly safe for bathing and popular with families with young children. It also offers miles of easy walks with hardly any traffic… and that also applies to the rest of the island.

      Before heading to the airport for our transfer back to Copenhagen, we visited another new venture accompanied by Elisebeth Falk from the Danish Agriculture & Food Council together with Destination Bornholm's cruise coordinator Peter Juhl who, just days earlier, had walked to Santiago de Compostela in Spain having taken 33 days to complete the 800 kilometres of the Camino Way.

      I then met up with Kasper Rasmussen who claims he's not a real farmer although he has certainly has his sights set on producing what is extremely expensive Japanese-style Wagyu beef.

      Although Kasper is officially a schoolteacher, as his brother runs the family farm, he has taken the bold step of inseminating some of the farm's black and white Holstein cattle with foetuses imported from Japan... and so far since December last year, the Holsteins have delivered seven healthy dark brown Wagyu calves which are all looked after by three very friendly Jersey cows.

      Incidentally it is said that there are around ten times more pigs on the island of Bornholm than there are people yet we didn't ever get to see a single one... although it was pretty obvious as we passed one large farm thanks to the smell which wafted into our coach!

      The previous evening we dined at Nordlandet - www.hotelnordlandet.com - a clifftop restaurant close to the conjoined villages of Allinge-Sandvig offering views all the way back down the coast towards Gudhjem. The restaurant offers true Nordic gourmet cuisine with much of the contents being foraged in the Bornholm countryside.... and it was all absolutely delicious!

      Meanwhile our final lunch was at an equally attractive location set high above the tiny steep-hilled hamlet of Vang where there are just a dozen fishermen's cottages plus an old watermill. Once again the Le Port Restaurant – www.leport.dk – had wonderful views from its terraces perched high above the tiny harbour… and as expected, the food and its presentation was absolutely exquisite.

      From what I saw (and tasted), the island offers a truly wonderful gastronomic experience while our only disappointment regarding the whole trip was that the planned Summer Solstice beach party celebrations – which were due to have been held on Saturday 23 June – had to be cancelled.

     The island – which is absolutely perfect for a weekend break – had received only a few drops of rain since early April and that means that everywhere was tinder dry. It would have been a disaster should a spark from just one of the bonfires get out of hand, so everyone agreed that calling off the beach parties was the sensible thing to do… that common sense approach clearly being very Danish!