The farm on Moss Moor March '09 13 snaps

Below me, lorries and cars crawl over Saddleworth moor on the M62, the highest motorway in England. The motorway splits around Stott Hall farm, (the second most famous farm in Britain?) due to problems with geology when the motorway was built. I've gone underneath both carraigeways and I'm nearly there.


The farmstead was built on the northern slopes of Moss Moor, and is partly ruined.


The track to the farm is overgrown and forgotten. Climbing over a gate, I'm here.


In an outhouse, strange and dangerous looking farming machinery is left, slowly rusting.


Carved into the lintel above the door is the date 1662. I guess the initials are the name of the person who built the house, three hundred and forty seven years ago.


The house is empty, save for wooden troughs for animal feed. Straw covers the floor.


I say empty. A range is set into the fireplace. It will have been a long time since this heated the house.


Looking through into the back room. Remains of blue paint peels from the rough walls.


Steps to nowhere. Up here, the roof has gone, and the upper floor collapsed.


In the hall way, a rusting milk churn is disgarded.


I love the light in here. The whole house feels warm and safe. It would have needed to be, with the weather conditions up here.


Up another stone staircase to the bedroom. Generations of the family would have been born, and died in this room. Late afternoon light falls on the straw, and a breeze stirs a few dead leaves before they fall still.


I love the history of these places, the passing of the seasons, and the people that once lived here. The sun came out for a minute as I left and I got a last shot.

I love farms too. These remote ones even more so, you can half imagine Hannah Hauxwell lugging buckets of water over the hill in her 70s. When we did Newlands we bumped into a guy who grew up on the farm. Spent a good half hour chatting away to him.

Some lovely images there mate, though in the first 2 my eye was drawn to the sky.
You've no idea how many times i've passed this place and wanted to go snooping. I even went up there one day in summer a few years ago on a Kona Stinky and ended up doing a 40 mile loop from Ripponden, all round the moor, Saddleworth then back again. Never got so much as a look in.

Thanks mate. Always nice to check out these places!

Rich wrote:

Thanks mate. Always nice to check out these places!

Give me a shout next time you're doing a farm.
I've found one near Newlands, though i'm not certain if its unoccupied or not. Apparently it is, a fire left it with a big blue tarpaulin over the roof so i doubt its got anyone there. My mate went other day and said it's pretty dead.

That sounds good mate, I love the old abandoned farms. I'll give you a shout next time i'm over that way.

Rich wrote:

That sounds good mate, I love the old abandoned farms. I'll give you a shout next time i'm over that way.

Cool. btw i uploaded those 50s photos from Hunslet Mills in your post