“Mummy,” my son says, leaning across the breakfast table at Billund’s Hotel Legoland and looking at me intently, “I don’t want to leave here. And if we have to leave, we have to come back…soon.”
For as long as we can remember – and despite living in a house packed to the rafters with plastic bricks – Arthur, who’s now 11, has wanted to stay at a Lego hotel.
So, you can imagine the look on his face when we told him we were off to stay at the home of Lego in Denmark – where not only would he finally sleep in an actual Legoland bedroom and blast about the original Legoland park, but also visit Lego House with a playground set out across every section of its roof space.
British Airways has re-opened its direct routes to Billund. It packs an enormous amount of fun within walkable distance, and our first stop is Lego House, where a central 16 metre-high “Tree of Creativity” built from more than 6.3 million bricks begins a journey around four coloured zones packed with waterfalls, mountains and jungles, and play areas designed to encourage imagination and creativity.
Outside, the building’s staggered block architecture – designed to look like Lego bricks – entices us up brightly coloured steps to 13 roof terraces, each equipped with a play area. And so, under blue skies leaping about on the playground, we hear the first “I don’t want to leave here”. Fortunately, after drifting off to sleep in the surrounds of a Lego Kingdom Room, it’s off to Legoland next morning, where the small park packs a day full of unique and exciting rides.
© Press Association ImagesWe all declare one – the Polar X-plorer – our favourite ever for its totally unexpected shriek moment and delightful view of the resident penguins.
A two-minute walk home through an air bridge for Lego Hotel guests would have ended our day perfectly, were it not for the sobs of despair that we were leaving Billund the next morning. But we have a plan. Our route out of Billund stops after a 10-minute drive to Wow Park, a treetop adventure playground. The park, designed for all ages, is split into six zones full of zip lines, giant nets, climbing paths and swings, all set within the highest branches of a forest.
Helpfully, there are chill-out zones for any older visitors who might have slightly over-extended themselves showing the youngsters how it’s done.
You could easily spend an entire day here and not experience every feature of the park, but we’re moving on through South Jutland towards the Wadden Sea National Park, where the unique biodiversity and intact ecosystem has seen it made the Danish area of a Unesco World Heritage Site.
We meet Bente from Naturcenter Tonnisgaard, who takes us on a foraging tour to the beach where we collect herbs and flowers for our campfire. “Wadden Sea hotdogs” are on the menu for lunch – sausages made from lamb grazed on the local salt marshes in fresh bread and topped with mayonnaise enhanced with our pickings.
After lunch, it’s back down to the beach of Romo, where a stiff breeze provides the perfect conditions in which to try “Blokarting” down the flat beach in three-wheeled carts topped with a sail. A quick tutorial from instructors at operator KiteSyd teaches us how to control the carts and race safely, then we’re off. It’s enormous fun in spectacular surroundings.
On our final afternoon, we go out in style at the most luxurious campsite any of us have experienced. Marsk Camp, a five-minute drive from Romo beach, is all Scandinavian style where you can sleep in a tent. This is living the Danish hygge dream.
The glamping tents – with their own terrace and barbecue – have a real bed and a cosy living room with two sofas that can be turned into additional beds, and access to a private shower and toilet.
By the end of our Denmark adventure, it’s fair to say that none of us want to leave. And yes, we will be coming back soon.
P.S.
Last year, the park opened four new attractions within its new Lego Movie World, including Emmet’s Flying Adventure Masters of Flight, where you soar through the Lego Movie universe, and Apocalypseburg Sky Battle, in which you fight a Duplo invasion with as much spinning and upside-down action as you can handle.
Factfile:
A Kingdom Family Room at Castle Hotel, Legoland, starts from £295 per night, including breakfast. British Airways has direct flights between London Heathrow and Billund. Go to visitdenmark.co.uk.
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