I've been thinking about sheep lately. Three days of being snowed in makes for introspection.
Binge-watching the Yorkshire Shepherdess's wild weather do-up made me think about her Swaledale sheep in this snow. And about how sheep can roam freely across our hills and Dales, safely hefted through generations to their one place, their home. And how few humans in our world share the security of a hefted sheep.
Anyway, all of that prompted me to look at Swaledale itself today in my search for homely 'wrecks' to show you. Starting here.
'Ann's Cottage' (above and below) sits in one of the small huddles of houses strung along the B6270 and above the River Swale. It's not my usual pick, being a semi not a detached house, and smaller than I tend to go for, but there is something really very sweet about it. The views from that (small) garden and that kitchen window seat, the fires waiting to be lit again. The ceiling that looks like it's been replaced...
It's a very higgledy-piggedly layout, driven by the rear being lower than the front. Going in through the front door lands you onto the first floor and into the main bedroom (or second living room); go in through the back door/porch and you arrive much more sensibly in the ground floor living room.
On the ground floor is the kitchen and living room, and a large utility room with similarly odd access - under the stairs or out through the backdoor and in again. On the first floor (or ground floor if you carry on using the front door) is that living room/bedroom plus another bedroom and bathroom. Anyway, I'm sure you're capable of reordering the rooms into something more useful.
On the market through Robin Jessop with a £175k guide price. Details and more pictures on the agent's website here and on Rightmove here.
My next pick to show you is even more out of my usual zone, being an unconverted barn. Generally, I avoid these (often overpriced, lots of build and access issues, planning restrictions) but this one is unusual in itself. It comes with a good plot of land (over seven acres) that includes your very own waterfall and bit of the River Swale. A waterfall, crikey!! Plus you have sheep for neighbours.
Planning permission is in place to turn it into a camping barn (albeit with a bucket-load of restrictions) and the Upper Swaledale location is just gorgeous.
It's also comparatively accessible - about a mile from popular Muker and half a mile from Thwaite, on a junction with the same B6270 that Ann's Cottage sits on.
It's a complex one, however. Planning was turned down twice before being accepted on appeal, and with the deliberately off-putting list of conditions that national park planners now utilise, there's a big hill to climb before an amateur doer-upper would recoup investing their money and time.
But every 'wreck' brings its own challenges, and we love them for that, don't we? And I've already mentioned that this particular wreck brings with it a waterfall and sheep for neighbours.
On the market through Savills at offers over £150k. Details and more pictures on the agent's site here, and on UK Land and Farms site here.
Anyway, I'll leave you with Amanda and the Owens and a particularly chilly episode of Our Farm Next Door. Get a cuppa and biscuits, settle in.
