Lullaby Farm Cottage, April 2016

Dirus_Strictus said:

Very nice take on this place and a set of very good and revealing photographs - just how a photographic record should be. The holding certainly stopped being productive in the early 70's, but some of the labels you have photographed indicate possible occupation into the very late 70's early 80's. This is actually what one would expect - the original owner/occupier works the farm with their family and as the years go by family members move on, marry or die. Eventually the land is sold off to other farming concerns and the property retained by the original owner, who continues to live there as younger family member become ill and die or emigrate. Thus when the original occupier dies there is nobody around to claim the decaying property - or if they are, the place is so far off the beaten track that nobody is interested in taking it on. So it stands empty for the likes of Vertigo Rod to reawaken it and tell the story years down the line.

The above scenario has been going on for years. Around 50 years ago I stumbled upon three very similar properties, all just left after their old owner/occupiers had died. One was only accessible via a very narrow horse track or by driving a 4x4 over the moorland . Sadly in all three cases all the would be male heirs had been killed or died as a consequence of the First World War. Nature and the Dales are continuing to reclaim the ruins and all one sees now are a few ruined walls and foundations. Rural life can be brutally hard; to somebody from the crowded streets of say Manchester, the Dales always looked idillic - but the hill farmer struggling to keep his animals alive during the harsh winters would tell a very different story. People have been leaving the land since the Industrial Revolution, but now we see the process reversing as people with money buy these places up for weekend retreats.

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Malcog said:

An excellent photographic record of rural life as lived a few decades ago, my Grandfather and Uncle had crofts in Northern Scotland that were like the pictures, they sort of bring back distant memories og the old furniture and outbuildings. All thats missing is a tractor and a binder in the byre

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Rubex said:

Brilliant photos Vertigo Rod! That green kitchen is something I won't forget in a hurry lol I really love the last shot.

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Mikeymutt said:

Glad you finally got to see it.worth the hike though.it really is isolated

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