It’s known as Devil’s Island, but as these pictures show it looks just heavenly – and it could all be yours for £2.5million.
What you get for that big spend is an island ‘perfectly positioned’ in the middle of Norway’s Sørfjorden (Osterøy) that comes with 23 acres of woods, meadows and pathways and 30 buildings – including a ‘majestic’ main house.
Its formal name is Ulvsnes (also Ulvsnesøy), with the Devil’s Island moniker originating in 1881, when it housed a school for ‘misbehaving boys’. According to the listing agent, in folklore mothers would yell at their children ‘if you’re not a nice boy, I will have you shipped to the Devil’s Island’.
Ulvsnes Island, perfectly positioned in the middle of Norway’s Sørfjorden (Osterøy), has hit the market for £2.5million
The island comes with 23 acres of woods, meadows and pathways – and 30 buildings
The listing says: ‘The island has massive potential’
The school closed in 1982 and from then until just last year, the island functioned as a low-security prison before being sold to a private buyer.
Now it offers up an opportunity for a deep-pocketed buyer to create a private and exclusive residence, or perhaps a commercial venture. Or both.
The island, which is being sold by broker Erik Steen with Aktiv Eiendomsmegling Asker og Bærum in Norway and listed on Jamesedition.com and the Vladi Private Islands websites, is just a short boat ride from Vaksdal on the mainland.
It can also be reached by fast boat in 30 minutes from the nearby city of Bergen, or by helicopter from Bergen Seaport.
The main building on the island, pictured, dates back to 1904 and covers 20,000 square feet
The properties on the island include five free-standing dwellings. One of them is this building, the principal residence, which was built in 1918
One of the storage houses on the island, which also boasts a barn, garages, several greenhouses, a smokehouse and sheds
The Devil’s Island moniker can be traced back to 1881, when it housed a school for ‘misbehaving boys’
The listing says: ‘With 23 acres of woods, pathways and meadows, more than 32,000 square feet built and a private wharf with deep anchorage, Ulvsnes Island is home to everything you could possibly need’
According to the listing, the island lies ‘protected from the elements by a steep mountainside diving directly into the crystal clear water’.
It adds that the main house, which covers 20,000 square feet, has a ‘commanding presence overlooking the island’ and is ‘framed by lush gardens and pathways’.
Other buildings on the island include five free-standing dwellings, a barn, workshops, storage houses, garages, a boathouse and a utility building, in addition to several greenhouses, a playground, a smokehouse and sheds.
Around the island there are ‘beautiful hiking trails and several bathing areas’. And a bunker
The island is just a short boat ride from Vaksdal on the mainland. It can also be reached by fast boat in 30 minutes from the nearby city of Bergen or by helicopter from Bergen Seaport
According to the listing, the island lies ‘protected from the elements by a steep mountainside diving directly into the crystal clear water’
Meanwhile, around the island, there are ‘beautiful hiking trails, several bathing areas and a big wharf’.
The island has also been operating as a fully functional farm, with animal husbandry and cultivated land, and has been adapted for eco-farm operations.
The listing explains that it recently had horses, sheep, alpacas, pigs and poultry as well as several greenhouses for organic food production.
The island has ‘a wide variety of trees and plants, a football pitch, several bathing spots and spectacular 360-degree views of the fjords and mountains’
It adds: ‘With 23 acres of woods, pathways and meadows, more than 32,000 square feet built and a private wharf with deep anchorage, Ulvsnes Island is home to everything you could possibly need.
‘Ulvsnes Island has a wide variety of trees and plants, a football pitch, several bathing spots and spectacular 360-degree views of the fjords and mountains, which can be enjoyed from all around the island – there aren’t many views that can rival this!
‘The island has massive potential, be it as a private and exclusive residence or summer home, converted to an exclusive hotel resort or as a holiday rental property with eco-farming possibilities.’