From high up on pillars to deep in the Antarctic, here are 10 of the most amazing isolated homes
in the world!!
10.
The Drina River House
You’ve always wanted a house surrounded by a moat, right?
Everyone has!!
But how about taking it a step further and building your home in the middle of a river?
Well, that’s what a group of boys decided to do in 1968 when they were looking for the
ideal spot to sunbathe.
The rock they chose wasn’t so comfortable so over time they added floorboards, then
walls, and then a roof- with all materials transported to the site by boat.
The house has, unsurprisingly, been victim to flooding of the Drina river, which nearly
destroyed it several times.
Every time it was built again from the ground up.
Despite its remote location on the eastern edge of the Tara national park in Serbia,
it’s still fairly close to the local town of Bajina Basta, so there’s not too far
to go to get supplies.
Even so, this solitary house seems as if it were just surrounded by nothing but nature
for miles around.
9.
Casa Do Penedo
The Casa Do Penedo, which means the house of stone, is in the Fafe mountains of northern
Portugal.
The 16.5-foot-tall house, built at 2,600 feet above sea level, is often referred to as the
‘Flintstones House’, and it’s clear to see why.
The house has actually been constructed between 4 large granite boulders, and took two years
to complete after work began in 1972.
While it doesn’t have any electricity, to keep with the Flintstones theme, it does have
a large fireplace, and even a swimming pool that’s carved into one of the bigger rocks.
For those concerned about safety, not that I think you were worried, but you’ll be
glad to hear that the doors and windows are all completely bulletproof- something that
would have keep the owners feeling secure when they spent their holidays there.
Not sure why they thought that was necessary!!
You’ll have to go there to find out!
Now, the house has been turned into a museum, and is open to any visitors willing to make
the morning’s walk up the side of a mountain to see it.
8.
The Crystal Mill
The Crystal Mill is one of the most famous, and isolated, homes in Colorado.
It was built on a rocky outcrop in the Crystal river, and is surrounded by the most amazing
views!
It’s about 6 miles away from Marble, and is close to the former town of Crystal.
It’s so remote, that it’s only accessible during summer and fall months by a 1 lane
track, and only accessible by foot across treacherous terrain at other times of the
year.
It’s best to only really go there if the weather is good.
The mill was originally constructed in 1893, and the flowing water would be used to power
its air compressor which, in turn, powered drills in the nearby mines.
It was known as the Sheep Mountain Power House, and was crucial for the miners to be able
to drill the holes into the rock.
Then they would fill them with dynamite and blow everything up to release the ore.
The mill’s functional role ended in 1917, and has since been used as a home and a popular
visitors attraction.
Which do you prefer, the Flintsones or the Mine??
7.
Katskhi Pillar
How far would you go for your beliefs?
Religious devotion can lead people to make big sacrifices for their faith, but one monk
has taken the idea of isolation to a whole new level.
Maxime Qavtaradze has spent the past 20 years living in a cottage on the Katskhi Pillar-
a 131-foot-tall rock that stands above his monastery in Georgia.
He lives his life in almost complete solitude high above his Georgian monastery.
It’s such an isolated place that the only means of accessing the home is by a 131 foot
ladder, something that takes 20 minutes in each direction.
Maxime does it twice a week to pray with his followers.
Maxime became a monk after doing time in prison and he wanted to make a change.
There is now a small religious community down below and his followers also winch supplies
and other things to him whenever he needs them.
He very rarely allows visitors to climb the pillar- those that do are required to spend
a number of days praying at the base before being deemed pure enough to make the ascent.
Originally it took him years to complete construction of his cottage, and to start with he was forced
to sleep in an old fridge until he had hoisted a bed frame up there.
It might seem like an extreme place to live, but the practise of living on top of the Katskhi
pillar has its roots in the 15th century when Christian monks would live in such places
to avoid worldly temptation.
That way, it was easier to feel closer to God and feel his presence.
6.
Wordie House
If you like the cold, and staying indoors for most of the year, then maybe this is the
place for you.
Wordie House is one of the most remote buildings on the planet- located on Winter Island in
Antarctica.
It was a former outpost, known as Base F, that was set up by the British during the
second world war to protect their interests from Argentina!
After that, it became a base for scientific operations in the following years.
Its role was primarily as a meteorological research station, but in 1954, it was replaced
by another outpost on a nearby island, leaving Base F as a relic of a far gone age.
Today it’s known as Wordie House, in honour of James Wordie, the chief scientist on Shackleton’s
trans Antarctic mission between 1914 and 1917.
It’s maintained by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust, and remains virtually identical
to how it was when it was in use.
It has a kitchen and a bunk room to hold up to 5 people, with a wooden stove for warmth.
The bookcases along the walls are full of books and board games, a telling sign that
there wasn’t much to do here over the winter months when it would snow for days on end.
You can actually go visit and stay at the house today, and it offers a unique opportunity
to see how people used to live.
The kitchen still has cans of coffee and potatoes, the old radio equipment is still the pride
of place, and the instructions for the rudimentary fire prevention methods are still pinned up
on the wall by the entrance.
If you need an escape from the world, this is it!!!
5.
Long Studio
The Long Studio, on Fogo Island in Newfoundland, Canada, was built to give artists a secluded
space to work.
The modern structure has been built on a series of stilts to raise it above the ground- which
makes it feel as if it’s hovering over the landscape.
It’s made from traditional materials from the region, such as the rough-sawn pine used
on the exterior, and whitewashed spruce inside, and is split into 3 parts- the entrance porch,
a courtyard, and a studio or living space.
It was inspired by the local fishermen’s houses.
It’s a completely self sustaining building, with power provided from solar panels, and
its own waste treatment facilities.
Designed by Norwegian architects, Saunders Architecture, the Long Studio is actually
a proof of concept design that they are planning to replicate in other sites across Canada
as well.
It’s a special way to breathe new life onto the island.
It kind of reminds me of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway?
Do you think so?
4.
The Solvay Hut
Located on the north eastern ridge of the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland, the Solvay
Hut is the highest mountain hut owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, at 13,133 feet above sea
level.
The club has a number of huts in the mountains which provide shelter and food to anyone who
needs it, but the Solvay hut is by far the most remote, and is intended for use in emergencies
only.
It was originally built in 1915, when the materials were carried most of the distance
by animals, and then a temporary cable car was constructed solely to help with moving
the larger pieces on the final stretch.
It was fully rebuilt in 1966, but was only fitted with an emergency telephone as late
as 1976.
This hut really is on top of the world, and is only 1,500 feet from the summit of the
Matterhorn.
Its precarious position on a ledge offers spectacular views across the mountain range,
and is a favourite spot for climbers to take a well earned break before completing their
trip.
3.
Ellidaey Island
If you really want an isolated home, and an entire island to go with it- then how about
Ellidaey island in Iceland?
It’s a part of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago to the south of the country, and there’s
quite a mystery to the place.
It’s believed that people have lived there for more than 300 years, mainly because of
the abundant puffin population that they hunted and sold to the mainland, as well as raising
cattle on the pastures.
In such an isolated place, though, it became impractical to keep living like this, so by
the 1930’s, the island had been completely abandoned.
They went on to find, however, that there was nowhere quite like this to find puffins,
so a lodge was built on the island so they would have somewhere to stay when they returned
on a trip.
Since then, there have been intermittent residents in the one structure that remains there.
You are surrounded by natural wildlife and complete solitude!
There’s also a rumour that the government of Iceland has actually given the island to
the singer Bjork as thanks for increasing Iceland’s notoriety around the world.
While these rumours remain unsubstantiated, there’s still a chance that if you were
to spend time here, you’d be wondering to yourself why “it’s oh, so quiet…”
2.
San Colombano Hermitage
First built in 1319, the San Colombano hermitage was named after the Irish Saint Colomban who,
according to legend, took up residence in the cave after vanquishing the dragon that
originally lived there.
A small church was then built at the entrance to one of the small caves to provide accommodation
for pilgrims and monks.
As you can see, it’s quite high up on the rock face, and is accessible by 102 steps
that have been cut into the rock and lead to a path across the gorge of the river Leno
beneath.
The Hermitage was in constant use until 1782, and then was looked after by the local people
who lived in the valley.
More recently, in 1996, the local authorities conducted extensive restoration work to bring
back the original beauty of the place- including frescoes that depict Saint Colomban battling
the dragon, an image of paradise, and the main altar which features a 15th century Madonna
surrounded by saints.
1.
Just Room Enough Island
Just room enough island is, as the name would suggest, a small piece of land that is just
room enough for a house, and barely anything else!
It’s one of the almost 2,000 islands of the Thousand Islands chain on the New York
side of the St Lawrence River, and is the location of one of the most famous isolated
homes in the region.
The island was bought by the Sizeland family in the 1950’s who were looking for a private
holiday retreat.
They built their house with the walls as far to the edge of the land as possible, and placed
a benchon the front next to the tree, and that’s all the space they had.
The house has its own generator and because it’s not connected to the mainland, it is
still used today as a retreat.
I don’t know about you but being THAT close to the water makes me nervous!!
While the original intent was for the family to have peace and isolation, the peculiar
home soon attracted the attention of sightseers and tourists who wanted to see it for themselves,
and made the river a lot busier than it had been before.
It feels more like a houseboat than a house on an island, (so much for the peaceful moat
idea) and many have questioned whether it even counts as an island in the first place.
It could just be considered a house on a rock!!
Different areas have different classifications for what constitutes an island, and here an
island is defined as a piece of land that is larger than 1 square foot, is permanently
above water level, and sustains at least one tree.
By those metrics, Just Room Enough Island is definitely an island, but if the owners
decide to build a floating garage extension, it’ll surely be up for debate!
Thanks for watching!!