"The shortest way to idyllic southern Norwegian villages goes to Holmsbu" it was said on the steamship Juno in the 1950s and all over Hurum the piers were full of expectant children when the "daddys boat" docked.
Holmsbu and Hurum have since the 1870s attracted bathing summer guests and artists. Residents began renting out rooms to visitors in the summer and are still to this day a favorite resort and destination.
Holmsbu center
From the early 18th century, Holmsbu has been a center for shipping and trade. Towards the end of the 19th century, steamships arrived daily with bathers, and in the 20th century, Holmsbu housed Norway's largest and most stable artist colony. Today, lively Holmsbu offers a variety of experiences and is the starting point for trips of many kinds: bike rides, fishing trips, boat trips, coastal trips and paddle trips. And why not take a refreshing bath from the sauna raft.
Holmsbu is a place to be, you must not go anywhere – just enjoy being. More ideas for visiting experiences can be obtained at the tourist office by the harbor. Holmsbu is known for Holmsbu picture gallery and the beautiful decoration in Holmsbu Church.
Kyststien and Støa.
Round trip to Holmsbu Picture Gallery in Støa and return through Holtnesdalen. Follow Støaveien and the coastal path south past Badehotellet to the car park by Støa.
In Støa, the "Holmsbum painters" lived in the 20th century. Here lived the artists from the artist colony. Støa is a great recreation area down by the water, with small red houses that hold art exhibitions and have sales of applied art in the summer. Here it is also great to bring the picnic basket to a lunch at the water's edge on a nice summer day.
To get to Holmsbu picture gallery, you have to walk through the forest to the left, which was one of several beloved motifs for the artists who painted here. The gallery was built in memory of the Holm album painters Oluf Wold Torne, Thorvald Erichsen and Henrik Sørensen. The building itself was built by people from Holmsbu in large stones of Hurum granite that have been found in ura on the site. The building's location and shape harmonize with the surrounding landscape and the art that was created there.
Holtnesdalen
Holtnesdalen is especially beautiful in April / May carpeted with whiteweed and lots of birdsong. Nature is magical with a deep and lush ravine, high sharp rock walls, narrow paths, and wild and beautiful rainforest.
Follow the blue-marked path from Tillaløkka by Billedgalleriet into the lower part of Holtnesdalen. The shortest alternative is to go in and out of here and turn around whenever you want. Then stay on the west side of the valley. You get a longer and heavier ride by walking the whole round and getting out at the other end. The tour is marked with small signs in the trees, and in some places you have to pay close attention so as not to overlook the sign. This is especially true on the east side of the valley, where at some point you have to climb down a few meters on a slope, instead of continuing straight ahead.
The whole valley is approx. 250 acres have a unique deciduous forest. It is a primeval forest with both deciduous forest and mixed forest, and the occurrence of plants with strange names such as middle wormwood, tooth root, and forest cataract. The colors alternate between bright green and blue and the deciduous trees provide acoustics like in a concert hall. The birdsong comes from monks, millers, woodpeckers, red-winged thrushes and target thrushes. The stream in the valley is divided into two parts and creates deep, dark valley depressions – with ferns and deciduous forest in the valley bottoms, and more coniferous forest at the height between them.
Return the same way, or by following the fields towards Holtnesveien and turn right onto Rødtangveien. Alternative route through horse gardens and farmyard goes the opposite way via Jahrenbakkene past Ravnsborg Gartneri, past architect Sverre Fehn's "Villa Holme" and Holmsbu Church.
The trip can be cycled as a round trip with detours on foot in Holtnesdalen.
Access:
Parking in Holmsbu. Free at Kjøia (below the church). Paid parking in the center. Parking on Støa.