Bryggja

Bryggja combines a long coastline and an archipelago with traces of its maritime past. From Bryggja, you can see Hornelen, Europe’s highest sea cliff. If you want your holiday to focus on water, scenery and cultural history, you’ll find a range of options here to help you choose where to stay.

Experience the coast and the water

Bryggja’s long coastline offers opportunities for swimming, fishing and boat trips. The archipelago offers opportunities for kayaking. These are different ways to include the coast in your trip: when choosing your stay, you can focus on whether you’d rather be out on the water, go fishing or spend time by the water.

Nearby, the Søholmen recreational area is located at Totland, close to Bryggja. It has a landing stage for small boats and a swimming jetty designed in connection with the landing stage. If you’re exploring options for small boats, Søholmen is a specific place to include in your search. When choosing a holiday apartment, you can weigh up whether you want your holiday to focus mainly on coastal experiences or on historic sites and trails.

Historic trails

The historic Gamlevegen Rimstad–Berstad trail crosses Berstadeidet on its way to Bryggja. The trail between Berstad and Rimstad is about 11 kilometres long. The old postal road between Rimstad and Berstad is also part of Bryggja’s cultural history. For those interested in history, the connection between the trail and local history offers a different way to explore the area than the coast.

The old trail across Berstadeidet was probably one of the pilgrimage routes to the holy site on Selja in earlier times. This remains a supposition. It gives the trail an additional historical perspective, while the approximate length of the Gamlevegen also provides a practical point of reference for planning your trip.

Cultural heritage and life stories

Maurstad Gamle Bru is a historic cultural heritage site owned by the village community of Bryggja. The bridge was built around 1867–1870. If you’re interested in construction history and local culture, here a specific structure is connected to its significance for the village community.

Totland Church is also nearby, in Totland by Bryggja. It was completed in 1912, was formerly called Totland Chapel and has 250 seats. Another historic site is Tårvhuse, an old peat hut in Kvievassdalen near Bryggja School.

Two life stories are also connected with Bryggja: the artist Erling Solheim was born in Bryggja in 1911, died in 1973 and created hundreds of drawings depicting villages in Nordfjord. Alfred Maurstad was born in 1896 on the smallholding Tuftene at the Maurstad farm. Tuftene was his childhood home and lies on the slope down to Maurstadvika. These names and places offer a biographical way to explore the area, alongside its coast and trails.

Choose the right place for your holiday

If you want water and coastal scenery to shape your trip, you could consider Bryggja as a base when looking for a holiday apartment. If historic trails, cultural heritage or the life stories connected with the area are more important to you, the same local information can help you focus your decision differently. Choose your accommodation according to which of these interests you want to prioritise, without assuming that the individual places are close to one another.

More places to explore: Vågsvåg, Deknepollen, Raudeberg, Måloy.

For the wider travel overview: Vågsøy.