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!!
