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'We live in middle of two motorway lanes - it's bleak and noisy but we're happy'

04 July 2023 , 14:14
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'We live in middle of two motorway lanes - it's bleak and noisy but we're happy'

Their house is surrounded by speeding cars and lorries, lots of noise and plenty of wind, but farmers Paul Thorp and Jill Falkingham-Thorp wouldn't have it any other way.

The married couple, who proudly live on an 18th-century farmhouse sandwiched between two busy motorway lanes, lead a life that's different from most people's.

Every day, they wake up to more than 100,000 motorists crossing the M62, which runs on either side of their family home - that's slap bang in the middle of junctions 22 and 23.

Though, it hasn't stopped Paul and Jill, and their six-year-old son, John-William, looking after hundreds of ewes and cows on the moorland beside the split roads.

'We live in middle of two motorway lanes - it's bleak and noisy but we're happy' qhiukiqriuzprwThe family farm sits in the middle of the M62 between junctions 22 and 23 (PA)

Its history has long fascinated the nation, and people used to believe that the previous owner, Ken Wild, refused to budge when the road was built in the sixties.

'My neighbours parked on my drive so I blocked them in - now they're furious''My neighbours parked on my drive so I blocked them in - now they're furious'

So, the six lanes of traffic grew around him instead, and created the peculiar piece of land that drivers thunder past today.

Though, this myth was busted by Ken and his family in an ITV documentary, when they revealed the M62 had to be built around the farm because of a geological fault beneath.

The space forced the lanes of the motorway apart, and re-joined them further down, leaving a secluded and long patch of land for the farm to live on.

After Ken passed away, worker Paul moved in during 2008, and welcomed wife Jill one year later, to work together as sheep farmers on Stott Hall Farm.

Speaking previously about her first experience at the home, Jill admitted that it was a shock to the system and "seriously dated", but has since been transformed.

'We live in middle of two motorway lanes - it's bleak and noisy but we're happy'Sheep farmers Paul and Jill have adapted to the busy traffic and loud noise (PA)

"When I first came, the house was horrendous. It was dated and there was no bathroom upstairs. We had to rip all the flags up as everything was damp," she told Yorkshire Live.

"I remember how cold the house was and there being a hole in one of the walls where you could see outside."

According to Jill, living next to one of Britain's busiest motorways isn't much different to living near to any other road.

"Traffic is very close," she said. "But it's always windy here, which takes the pollution away. Students from the University of Huddersfield took soil and air samples and actually pollution is surprisingly low.

"The noise does affect me as I am quite noise sensitive. Paul is fine with it but it does grate on me.

Mum films woman throwing poo and boiling water on her car in furious parking rowMum films woman throwing poo and boiling water on her car in furious parking row

"It's the sort of thing that if you are having a bad day, the noise is the last straw. But it's not going away."

Jill added: "A lot of people say it's bleak and like Wuthering Heights but I don't see it like that. I think it's beautiful."

The couple explained that the motorway is the least of their challenges, as working on an upland hill farm is incredibly hard work and cold.

'We live in middle of two motorway lanes - it's bleak and noisy but we're happy'The history of how Stott Hall Farm got there has long fascinated the nation (Channel 4)

Last year, Paul appeared on Channel 4's show 'The Pennines: Backbone of Britain' to give an incredibly insight into life on the farm.

"I came here as a 22-year-old lad who was mad about farming," Paul told the documentary.

"To get an opportunity to take on a farm this size were once in a lifetime, so it's my home now. It's just everything."

He added: "It's just like any other farm really. You've got to know your land, know your job and plan around it.

"The only thing is we've got six lanes of traffic through ours. It throws up its challenges, it's very unique."

Referring to the traffic, he said: "The mind boggles as to where everybody is going. I just cannot get me head around where everybody's going every day."

The farmer is seen tackling a vital problem - how to ensure any of their four-legged friends never collide with four-wheeled vehicles.

If they do jump over the fence, Highways England staff have to call the couple and the motorway is shut until they recover their livestock.

On the show, Paul needs the help of dry stone wallers to help resolve this modern problem.

Paul explained: "As my grandad said, the stone in Yorkshire were put underneath Yorkshire so it could be used on top of Yorkshire.

"There's nowt else that would last, if you put a concrete wall up here, it would just erode in no time."

Do you live in an out-of-the-ordinary place? Get in touch. Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.

Nia Dalton

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