World's loneliest home is hours from nearest town and people are banned from visiting

The world's loneliest home is hours away from the nearest town and people are banned from visiting for months at a time.

On the tiny island - also known as an islet - is a dilapidated lighthouse, which has recently been sold at a local auction.

Located at the northern tip of the Western Norway region, west of Trondheim, is the islet, called Skalmen.

To get there from the nearest town and airport, it takes two hours and two ferries before a four-mile boat trip.

Between May and late July, it becomes a protected bird reserve that’s off-limits to visitors.

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First built way back in 1907, its first keeper was Anton Lund, who went on an expedition with the famous explorer Roald Amundsen.

It is still thought that Lund's dog’s footprint can still be seen on the islet.

However, the Skalmen lighthouse hasn’t been looked after for over 20 years.

And authorities planned to tear it down before a backlash from locals made them try to sell it first.

Now, the lighthouse has been subject to a bidding war after it went on the market for £36,000.

Skalmen lighthouse first received five bids, and two buyers fought it out until the end.

In the end, it was sold for almost two-and-a-half times the guide price.

Andreas Bjarøy and his wife, Mona Kruse Bjarøy, picked up the property for a whopping £89,000.

The family only live a stone’s throw away from the islet in Brattværet.

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“We’ve spent a lot of holidays there over the years, love the area, and have fished a lot around Skalmen,” Andreas said.

"So, this became very interesting for us.

“We deal a lot with property in our job and like projects.

“It’s not every day you get to buy a lighthouse.

“We thought it would be cool to restore it to make it as good as it should be.

“And then we can spend more time in the area with our own place.”

Andreas and Mona said they plan to ‘completely refurbish the building’.

But the couple know they’ll have to put even more investment into the property.

Andreas added: “We need to have a dialogue with the municipality and others, but the goal is for it to be in tip-top condition.

“It’s not free, that’s for sure.”

Topics: Travel, World News

Anish Vij

Anish is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2024 finalist. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

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