Photo: Magnefl·CC BY-SA 4.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Færder / Nordre Årøy
Inhabited island in the Årøysund area at the southern end of Nøtterøy, partly within Færder National Park. Counted as important for plant life and insect fauna.
Nordre Årøy lies straight west of the village of Årøysund at the southern end of Nøtterøy, across Årøysundet. South of the island is its sister, Søndre Årøy, and the Geiteskjærene rocks break the surface between them. Locally the name is pronounced "Å'rø", useful to know when you point.
Partly Færder National Park. The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Private boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
The name is old. The original Norse form was probably Alrøy, from the tree name olr (today's or, the alder), so the alder wood island. The written forms follow the island through the centuries: Alrøy in 1390, Arøen in 1593, Aarøen in 1668, Aarø in 1922. The island has been inhabited, and the settlement lies in the sheltered sound facing Årøysund.
Nordre Årøy is inhabited, with permanent residents and cabins. Parts of the island lie within Færder National Park; the shore zone and the surrounding skerries are protected, while the houses and the farmland are private ground.
Come by private boat or kayak. Årøysund on the Nøtterøy side has a guest harbour and is the nearest point to set out from. Respect private quays and farmland on the island itself; access along the shore follows the right to roam (allemannsretten). The protected part lies within Færder National Park, established in 2013. Check Naturbase, the national map of protected areas, for whether Geiteskjærene or other nearby islets have an access ban in the breeding season from 15 April to 15 July.
"Å'rø" means the alder wood island. The name records that real alder forest stood here before the island turned into ordinary holiday skerries.
The Årøy name has been written five different ways since 1390. The cartographers never quite settled it.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Nordre Årøy on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Nordre Årøy på norsk.