Hike to Brandasundsåto

Terrain

Footpath, slack incline, steps up the final ascent.

Time

About 1.5 hours

Start

The car park near Brandasundsåto

Tour description

Starting at the parking lot follow the road further to the sign to
Brandasundsåto. Take the footpath to the right, approx. 20
minutes each way. The first section is easy, open terrain, later an incline and steps up the final ascent. Near the bottom of the steps you
will find an adobe hut which was used by German soldiers during World
War II. Brandasundsåto has been a look-out post and signal station since World War I.

The views from the summit

Northwest: Slåtterøy Lighthouse, designed in 1858 by the Lighthouse
Director Carl Frederik Diriks and built in 1859

North: Stolmen, Selbjørn, the mountains of Bergen, Rekstern and Tysnes.

Southwest: Siggjo
« They say that you can see the English coast in clear weather»

Take the same pathway back to the road and turn right to the centre and
the harbour.
The dam and lake you can see on the right hand side of the road was
dammed to provide power for the canning factory. An electricity generating
plant was built on the island in 1917. The plant supplied the whole of
Brandasund with hydro-electric power.
The inhabitants of the area were among the lucky few that had electric power
in those days. Nowadays the lake is the local source of drinking water.
A little further down the road turn left on the «old road» towards the
centre.
Return the way you came, back to the parking lot.

Some hisorical information

The excellent sheltered harbour has played a central role in life along the outer coast line in this area for over a thousand years.

The name Brandasund is probably derived from the tradesman
Jacob Brandt who lived here around 1660. During the
great herring era during the 1700 and 1800"s, Brandasund was
full of life and vitality.
You can see buildings standing as silent monuments of the
abundant herring years, when the sea provided the source of
good living for the local inhabitants.