Farmers who live in house in middle of M62 share insight into life there

A couple who live in the famous farm that sits right in the middle of the M62 motorway share an insight into what it’s like to live in the awkwardly placed home.

Us Northerners all know the farm; the one which sits right in the middle of junctions 22 and 23 of the M62 near Huddersfield as the motorway splits in half.

It’s been the main talking point of travellers taking the route to go on family trips out for years, with the tale being that the farmer refused to budge when the road was being built in the ’60s, and so they built the motorway around him.

It’s fascinated many passengers and children who’ve wondered why a farmhouse would be situated in such a strange and awkward place, and what it must be like to live there?

Married couple Jill Falkingham and Paul Thorp, and their son, John-William, have made Stott Hall Farm their home since its previous owner Ken Wild passed away.

Ken refused to move from his farm when plans to build the huge stretch of road were underway. The house was eventually saved when it was determined that land there was too steep to hold the motorway.

Paul came to work on the farm as a young 22-year-old lad who was ‘mad about farming’.

He moved into the farm in 2008 and Jill moved in the following year. They work together as sheep farmers, looking after 900 ewes and 20 Angus cattle, which graze on the hills surrounding the motorway.

Appearing on Channel 4’s show ‘The Pennines: The Backbone of Britain’, the couple both gave an incredible insight into what life is like living here and now all our questions have finally been answered.

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.

“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.”

Speaking about her experience when she first moved into the unusual home, Jill said it really isn’t that different to living near any other road, explaining how they took extra measures to minimise noise or constant surrounding traffic.

Jill explained: “We have treble glazing and it’s no different to living anywhere that has a road.”

Although her husband has no issues with the sound of passing traffic, she admitted that it does sometimes bother her, saying: “The noise does affect me as I’m quite noise sensitive.

“Paul is fine with it but it does grate on me. It’s the sort of thing that if you’re having a bad day the noise is the last straw. But it’s not going away.”

About the volume of traffic, Paul added: “The mind boggles as to where everybody’s going everyday.”

Aside from the noise, the traffic also presents other problems. Paul and Jill have to ensure their animals are safe from passing vehicles. The answer to this modern-day issue is the dry-stone walls which have marked out the Pennine hills for hundreds of years.

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.”

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

Jill also spoke about the condition of land their farm is built on, adding: “ The grass doesn’t grow because we are so high up and it’s so cold.”

Despite it’s obvious issues, the couple are very satisfied with the plot they call home, as Jill said: “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.”