Espevær- the Trading Post

In the sea west of Bømlo lies Espevær, half an hour’s rowing trip across the sound from Vespestadvågen. This is a well-run and well-maintained local community, established on the back of the rich herring fisheries in the 1850s. It is fishermen, skippers and the tradesmen who have made their mark on the culture in Espevær, with their contacts to the south towards Haugesund and across the North Sea to the British Isles.

Hiskjo

Hisøya

"I am going to prove to you that I am right". That is what the idealist and county doctor Christian Heitmann is supposed to have said in the early 1890s. He sat together with the parish priest, Kullmann, at Heitmann's home in Stord and discussed whether the islands in western Norway could have been forested or not. The priest thought that the area was too barren and weather-beaten for forest to have been able to grow so far out in the sea. But, Heitmann was sure he was right. He challenged the scepticism and set off to work.

Skogafjellet

You have to travel to Scotland in order to find pine forests similar to those at Bømlo. The nearness to the sea has contributed in different ways to shaping one of the westernmost pine forests in Norway.

Hopsfjellet

On June 2nd, 1992, a big forest fire broke out in Sveio. The fire started southeast of Hopsfjellet. In a strong wind the flames spread quickly northward. Houses on the other side of the highway were threatened, but escaped unscathed. The burned area, which is easily visible about a 5 minute's drive south from the tunnel at the triple- junction, was made into a nature reserve in 1998. The intention was to ensure that the re-establishment of plant- and animal life would take place without disturbance.

Tjernagel

For almost three thousand years Tjernagelshaugen (the Tjernagel cairn) has lain as a landmark at the Bømlo fjord. The poet Torarin mentions the cairn in his account of Knut the Mighty, who in the year of 1028 sailed from Denmark to Nidaros: “And in front of the old cairn at Tjernagel sailed soldiers sharp with peace”.

Vikse

Bolstad

The village at Bolstadøyri acquired its structure around the middle of the 1800s, but from the old days there has been a meeting place here; court location and trading post. The guesthouse place stems from the second half of the 17th century, and in the previous century Bolstadøyri was one of the largest rural trading posts in Nordhordland.

Byrkjehaugen

On the farm Bø, close to the highway between Bulken and Voss lies Byrkjehaugen, one of the largest burial mounds in West Norway. Originally it was around 50m across and 5m high, but following the excavation in 1908 and chipping off by both railway and road construction, the cross-section has shrunk to 37m and the height to 4m. All the same, it is an impressive burial monument for the passing traveller to see.

Fleischers Hotel