Discover Bø: Coast, Beaches and Culture

The Nyke/Tussen nature reserve protects one of Nordland’s largest and most geomorphologically well-developed pebble beaches. The reserve includes a continuous pebble beach stretching 3.5 kilometres. It showcases a distinctive feature of Bø: its coastline is 294 kilometres long and deeply indented by fjords. Particularly in the northwest and east, steep, rugged mountains define the landscape. Bø brings together open sea coast and sheltered skerries, with white-sand beaches, alpine peaks, bird cliffs and wetlands. This means that different coastal and landscape features come together in one destination, from pebble beaches to mountains.

Beaches and Coastal Trails

The beaches also differ in length and location: Fjærvollstranda is 800 metres long and lies by the road; at 1,870 metres, Svinøyvalen is Bø’s longest beach. The beach is so shallow that you can wade across to the island of Svinøya. At low tide, you can reach Svinøya on foot. The island is home to Northern Norway’s largest registered collection of Iron Age burial mounds.

A comparison of their sizes brings together a long pebble beach, Bø’s longest beach and an 800-metre beach by the road. Svinøyvalen adds to this selection with its shallow water and the possibility of wading to the island. The coastal destinations therefore differ not only in size, but also in the described connection to Svinøya.

The coastal trail from Nykvåg to Sandviksanden follows the shore and offers views of the six distinctive bird cliffs around Nykvåg. Alongside Svinøyvalen, it offers a different option for planning your day: there, the focus is on reaching the island at low tide; here, it is on a coastal trail with views of bird cliffs.

Art and Cultural History

In Vinjesjøen, the Friluftsgalleri displays all 36 sculptures from the Skulpturlandskap Nordland project; admission is free. The sculpture “Mannen fra havet” is also located there. It is about a 400-metre walk from the car park. The Friluftsgalleri presents the complete sculpture project, while “Mannen fra havet” is a single work with a specific walking distance from the car park.

Five late medieval sculptures from Lübeck are located at Bø church. The available facilities are also relevant to visitors: there is ample parking, wheelchair access, an induction loop and toilets, including an accessible toilet. Here, a specific art and history theme is combined with practical information for visitors.

Archaeological Sites and Fishing History

Stone cists, burial mounds and standing stones are visible at the Føre archaeological site. On Buholmen in Hovden, the fishing village mound is an automatically protected cultural heritage site. Buholmen’s history also reveals a distinctive fishing practice: the fishermen there specialised in “rav og rekling”, fatty strips of halibut that were dried and then smoked or salted. Together, these offer different historical perspectives: the protected cultural heritage mound and the specifically described processing of halibut.

Discover more destinations: Hovden, Steine, Bø, Straumsjøen, Bø in Vesterålen, Guvåg, Bodø, Meløy

Go to the main travel overview: Nordland.