This island hosts an annual potato festival where chefs compete to make the best spud sandwich

Sarah Rodrigues holidays on the world's first carbon-neutral island, Denmark's idyllic Samsø

Samsø harbour, a port of arrival for tourists.

A CARVED statue of a mermaid stands at the entrance to Samsø Labyrinten, the Guinness World Record-certified world’s largest maze. She has, I’m told, the island’s most fondled breasts. She’s also the real deal. 

As the Labyrinten’s manager proudly reminds me, Hans Christian Andersens’ ‘The Little Mermaid’ is Danish, not Disney.

The largest maze, the most fondled breasts. A little competitive spirit goes a long way, especially when you’re a tiny (144km²) island.

In fact, it’s competition that has transformed the Danish island of Samsø which, thanks to its central position, was once an important Viking hub.

Denmark’s commitment to sustainability has been well documented, and is evidenced in innovations all over the country. 

Its capital, Copenhagen, is considered the greenest major city in the world. As long ago as 1998, the Danish government organised a national competition, with a challenge to to reduce Co2 emissions. 

Samsø, with it population of around 4,000, won and has been so successful in its conversion from fossil fuels that it is now energy-positive, producing more fuel than it consumes, and creating income for its inhabitants in the process.

Renewable energy off the coast of Samsø.

The transition, via community investment in wind turbines, solar panels and heating plants fuelled with locally-grown straw, took less than 10 years and has made Samsø the poster kid for how communities of the future could — and should — look.

That said, Samsø’s appeal goes far beyond (yet is inextricably linked with) its eco-credentials, which have trickled down to almost every aspect of life on this island located just off the Jutland Peninsula.

Søster Sidevind, in the island’s central village of Besser, was once a grocery shop. It’s now a café and store, crammed with irresistible finds, almost all of which have been sourced from deceased estates on the island. 

I dabble in boxes of buttons, their colours and sizes sifting through my fingers like seaglass. 

Baskets are crammed, variously, with skeins of wool and horse brasses. The shelves are lined with locally produced candles, preserves and bottled drinks. 

It’s difficult to leave a lunch — a simple but delicious variety of open-faced rye-bread sandwiches, topped with pickled herrings, strong (six years of ageing strong!) cheese, and salmon, which has been smoked, on-site, over cherry wood — without making a purchase or two.

Food is a key aspect of life on this Danish island (it’s known as the larder of Denmark) thanks to its mild climate, vast tracts of agricultural land, and the fact that it enjoys more hours of sunlight than anywhere else in the country. 

An award-winning kartoffelmad creation at the annual potato festival on Samsø

The potato harvest, usually in mid-May, is an occasion in itself, with the earliest unearthings selling for as much as €200 per kilogram to some of the mainland’s top restaurants.

At this time, the quiet roads (so quiet that there is not a single traffic light nor roundabout on the island) come to life, with farmers setting up roadside stalls; cornucopias of produce. 

Later in the month, there’s even a potato festival, culminating in a contest for the best kartoffelmad — an open-faced potato sandwich. 

I wouldn’t have thought you could do much with a potato, but apparently my imagination is sadly lacking, because some of the previous years’ entries are positively sculptural.

I wouldn’t have thought of making marmalade from potatoes either but, again, perhaps my lack of imagination is at fault — and sadly, too, because potato marmalade is a taste sensation. 

“Looking in my grandmother’s cookery book from 1928, I found the recipe and it’s now one of our best selling products,” says Lars Damgaard, who owns “Smagen af Øen” (Taste of the Island) along with his partner, also named Lars. 

When they moved to Samsø from Copenhagen in 2008 their plan was to open a store selling solely local products but there weren’t enough — only four, in fact — to make this an option. 

Today, as the island’s commitment to sustainability continues to inspire its inhabitants, you can now buy over 70 items — mustards, vinegars, alcoholic beverages, to name just a few — made by more than 30 islanders. 

Beyond the café, where I eat delicious smoked pheasant, there are also enticing gifts, flowers and homewares, displayed in a welcoming space scattered with vintage signs… but venture one room further still and you’ll find yourself in a surprising vinyl lounge, with an eclectic mix of albums ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Foo Fighters.

Nordby, on Samsø

Smagen af Øen is located in Nordby, near Samsø’s distinctive yellow bell tower, which was built in 1857. 

Don’t let its relative youth fool you though, this structure harks back, in a sense, to the 13th century, when the island’s church was built. 

Despite being called Nordby Church, it was so far from Nordby that most of the villagers couldn’t hear its bell, so a belfry was placed in the middle of a small square and eventually replaced by its current, daffodil-hued, incarnation.

A wander around Nordby, with its thatched cottages surrounding a serene duck pond, is well worth an hour of your time, but walk about 15 minutes to the north to discover the adventure of the aforementioned Labyrinten. 

Over 50,000 towering, susurrating trees comprise the maze, covering an area equal to the size of 16 football fields. Various challenges are available: Pages of questions, each with two possible answers. 

When you come to a T-junction and find a number directly in front of you, you must answer the question corresponding to that number. Choose the answer in the right-hand column, and you turn right. Choose the left, and turn left. 

If you come to a number that doesn’t correspond to a question on your sheet, you’ll know you’ve gone wrong and will have to try to make your way back to your error. 

In high season, the Labyrinten attracts around 800 visitors per day but, due to the number of themes for the challenges, it’s perfectly feasible to make multiple, and completely different visits, encountering, for example, a statue of Odin on one venture, and an eerie stone circle on another.

In keeping with Samsø’s eco-credentials, the Labyrinten has only basic facilities and is, thanks to its mass of trees, completely carbon neutral. 

Toppled trunks and autumn leaf-fall remain in place, fostering the ecosystem. With the trees absorbing so much sound, I can hear the tiny movements of insects. 

I imagine that the 35 species of birds living here, 15 of which breed in the Labyrinten, enjoy the constant source of food as much as locals enjoy those delicate first potatoes.

Seasonal produce from Samsø

Despite the advances that Samsø has made in becoming independent of fossil fuels, many of the island’s farms still employ conventional farming methods, thanks, in part, to the conservative attitudes of an ageing farming population. 

One exception is Yduns Have, an organic farm on the east of Samsø, which occupies 14ha with around 180 varieties of produce, plus over 300 hen-laying eggs. 

Camilla Mikkelsen of Økologisk Samsø (Ecological Samsø) speaks of plans to make the island completely free of fossil fuels by 2030, which will require other farms to rethink their methods.

It’s at Yduns Have that Mads Nielsen, co-founder of Sams Island Distillery, tends a plot of sugar beets, his substitute for sugarcane in the making of his rum. Evidently, potatoes for his vodka present no issue. Gin, however?

When your vision is to create small batch spirits purely with what you can source locally, how does one overcome the absence of citrus?

With ants, of course. Inspired by a NOMA dish in Copenhagen, Nielsen tracked down the ‘lasius fuliginosus’ — a variety of ant with a citrusy note — on the island and now cheerfully crawls around in the woods collecting the insects, freezing them until needed.

He flavours his gins with seasonal fruits, such as blackberries and strawberries, and the results are dangerously moreish, the perfect wind-down after a day exploring the island’s winding hiking and cycling trails (the full Samsø loop is 102km), weathered North Sea beaches, sheltered coves and blazing sunsets.

Well, if you ever make it out of the Labyrinten, that is.

ESCAPE NOTES 

Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Dublin to Copenhagen from €14.99 one way. 

From Copenhagen, take the train to Kalundborg: the journey takes about 2 hours and tickets are DKK116/ €10. 

Driving takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes - note that there are many electric charging points for ECVs on Samsø. 

From Kalundborg, the SAMSØLINJEN ferry ( samsoelinjen.dk) takes you to Ballen, on the eastern side of the island. 

Prices for a car, including passengers, start from DKK160/ €21.50. Departures take place 2 - 4 times per day, depending on season.

Alternatively, SAS ( flysas.com) flies from Dublin to Aarhus from €87 one way. From Aarhus, take the fast ferry Lilleøre (tilsamsoe.dk - foot passengers and bicycles only) which reaches Sælvig, on the island’s western flanks, in 60 minutes. 

Tickets are priced from €23 each way for an adult and bicycle. Car hire, if desired, is available on the island at Lasse’s Auto ([phone]) 

• For more information, visit visitsamsoe.dk

WHERE TO STAY 

The 48-room Flinch’s Hotel has a central location in Samsø’s capital, Tranebjerg. With cosy, comfortable rooms, and one of the most charming owner-managers you could hope to meet, staying here is a treat - as is a meal in the newly refurbished restaurant.

Doubles are priced from DKK850/ €114 per night

• flinchshotel.dk

Fancy yourself a rock’n’roll fan? Head to the Brundby Hotel, where the rooms take their names from rock icons and themes, and musical paraphernalia forms part of the decor. It hosts regular concerts; some rooms have a shared bath/ toilet.

Doubles are priced from DKK795/ €106 per night.

• brundby-hotel.dk

There are six holiday cabins available from Easter weekend until late October at Yduns Have. These share a communal kitchen and dining area and are popular with hikers and cyclists. Cabins sleep 4-6, with lounge and luggage rooms.

Cabins are priced from DKK340/ €46 per night.

• ydunshavesams-nnb.dk

An honesty box selling plants in Nordsby on Samsø

WHAT TO EAT

If you haven’t eaten a potato, have you even been to Samsø? The island’s bounty doesn’t stop there, however - asparagus (in season from May until June) is sublime, while red cabbage comes into its own in late August, through to Winter. 

At Yduns Have, the on-site shop is open 24/7, and operates an honesty box system. Elsewhere, stock up on rosehip jam, potato marmalade and, of course, ant-infused gin to take home with you. 

Freshly caught seafood is a must in this coastal setting - head to Skipperly ( skipperly.dk, open March to October) for some of the best.

Or eat locally sourced, traditional Danish dishes at Restaurant Dokken ( restaurantdokken.dk), with its striking decor and impeccable service.