After a horrendously hectic few months at work doing unholy hours and fearing for my sanity, I decided a much needed break was in order. I hadn't seen my family for a while, and after seeing Mikey's reports from Scotland I was starting to feel a little homesick so another road trip up north was planned. I had quite a lot of places in mind, but the weather was pretty grim so most of them didn't happen. Which is probably a good thing in a way, because it was a nice relaxing time off in the end.
Every time I drive back home, I see this creepy looking house nestled away behind some trees at the top of a hill. Its only visible for about 15 seconds, but I have been intrigued by it for years. The first time I took H up to Scotland and pointed it out she said it looked like something from a horror movie. We tried to locate it on a map but no joy. Last time we drove up in June I tried my best to find something near by that could help us pin point it, and after a long time scouring google maps I finally found it. So needless to say, that was to be our first port of call!
We planned to have a few hours sleep after work, set off from Surrey at 11pm and drive through the night and arrive at sunrise. Given that I had worked 6am-5pm I thought sleep wouldn't be an issue. I got about 30mins! Sod it, lets go.
We set off and I made it was far as the Midlands and was fearing I would fall asleep at the wheel. No amount of coffee and Lucozade could keep me going, so an hours nap was needed. We set off again and I got to Cumbria and felt the same. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and that lifted our spirits so we did the final leg in a much better frame of mind, and less danger!
Looking at the map, it seemed fairly straight forward. Over a hill, scramble through some undergrowth, up a hill and there we are. Oh how wrong was I! It was an absolute mission, hence the name!
Not really knowing what lay ahead, we parked up and set off. Along the way we discovered a derelict smallholding and a beautiful house. After a quick nose we decided to stick to the plan and crack on. The weather wasn't looking promising so we headed for our target and decided to have a proper look on the way back. By the time we passed it on the way back we were both exhausted and it was beginning to rain so no pics sadly. Maybe next time...
This is all you can see from the road, and its about a mile away so its a blink and miss it kind of thing.
Now I have to admit, some of these pics are not the greatest. I'd only had 3hrs sleep and driven the best part of 500 miles and was suffering. A lot of these were taken hand held, which is something I have never done. The place was littered with sheep crap and the last thing I wanted to do was clean it off the feet of my tripod! It was an absolute ball ache to get there so its not as if I can nip back and retake them!
Anyway, on with the rest of the pics.
The main farm house:
Most of the inside had collapsed so there wasn't much to see.
The workers cottage:
(Sorry for the blurry pic but it was the only one I got!)
The various outbuildings:
A sign of how long this place has been empty - the pylon was so rotten it had collapsed!
Thanks for looking!
Every time I drive back home, I see this creepy looking house nestled away behind some trees at the top of a hill. Its only visible for about 15 seconds, but I have been intrigued by it for years. The first time I took H up to Scotland and pointed it out she said it looked like something from a horror movie. We tried to locate it on a map but no joy. Last time we drove up in June I tried my best to find something near by that could help us pin point it, and after a long time scouring google maps I finally found it. So needless to say, that was to be our first port of call!
We planned to have a few hours sleep after work, set off from Surrey at 11pm and drive through the night and arrive at sunrise. Given that I had worked 6am-5pm I thought sleep wouldn't be an issue. I got about 30mins! Sod it, lets go.
We set off and I made it was far as the Midlands and was fearing I would fall asleep at the wheel. No amount of coffee and Lucozade could keep me going, so an hours nap was needed. We set off again and I got to Cumbria and felt the same. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and that lifted our spirits so we did the final leg in a much better frame of mind, and less danger!
Looking at the map, it seemed fairly straight forward. Over a hill, scramble through some undergrowth, up a hill and there we are. Oh how wrong was I! It was an absolute mission, hence the name!
Not really knowing what lay ahead, we parked up and set off. Along the way we discovered a derelict smallholding and a beautiful house. After a quick nose we decided to stick to the plan and crack on. The weather wasn't looking promising so we headed for our target and decided to have a proper look on the way back. By the time we passed it on the way back we were both exhausted and it was beginning to rain so no pics sadly. Maybe next time...
This is all you can see from the road, and its about a mile away so its a blink and miss it kind of thing.
Now I have to admit, some of these pics are not the greatest. I'd only had 3hrs sleep and driven the best part of 500 miles and was suffering. A lot of these were taken hand held, which is something I have never done. The place was littered with sheep crap and the last thing I wanted to do was clean it off the feet of my tripod! It was an absolute ball ache to get there so its not as if I can nip back and retake them!
Anyway, on with the rest of the pics.
The main farm house:
Most of the inside had collapsed so there wasn't much to see.
The workers cottage:
(Sorry for the blurry pic but it was the only one I got!)
The various outbuildings:
A sign of how long this place has been empty - the pylon was so rotten it had collapsed!
Thanks for looking!
