Splendid isolation

Billed as the most remote home in the Dales with no electricity, no gas, no mains water and accessible only by off-road vehicles up a rough mile-and-half-long track, Cosh House was an unlikely des res.

Yet it excited interest from all over Britain when it came up for sale in 2005 with a guide price of £100,000. The estate agent was deluged with enquiries from those who recognised that this isolated farmhouse offered a rare chance to really get away from it all.

First-time buyers Edward and Amy Pickard were among the throng that viewed the semi-derelict dream home in the middle of a glorious nowhere and they felt sure they had no chance of getting it.

“The cars parked in the bottom field at Foxup were worth more than the house,” says Edward, who put in a bid and was amazed when it was accepted.

Reality had bitten for the wealthy romantics who realised that this renovation needed more than money.

“We were amazed we got it but I think the wealthier people realised when they got up here that finding a builder to take it on would be almost impossible, and getting anything to site was going to be logistical nightmare,” says Ed, a builder, who has made hundreds of journeys up and down the rock strewn “driveway” that boasts some of the best views in the world.

Cosh is known as the last house up Littondale, one of the prettiest dales made up of hamlets and villages, including Halton Gill. The 18th-century farmhouse was once used by youth hostel groups and was later rented by a couple with six young children.

“They were happy here but it was very basic. It was cold and damp with no electricity. They used candles and oil lamps for light. It was amazing really,” says Amy, an interior designer who works for Sense of Space Architects, in Ilkley.

Planning permission to transform the three-bedroom house took six months. The Pickards wanted to create a new kitchen and utility room from the old lean-to and extend the sitting room over the beck with an arched base, while building a little bridge to the adjacent barn. They also wanted a separate tandem garage and store. Upstairs, there would be three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The couple set to work in the summer of 2006. ripping off the roof and taking out the white plastic windows. Foundations were dug for the extensions and the whole place was insulated.

They lived with their parents in Keighley but every weekend and every holiday for two years was spent at Cosh, camping in the rubble in rain, shine and snow, and washing in the beck.

“The lowest point was half-way through the renovation. It was really grim and dirty up here. Ed gave me Christmas Day and Boxing Day off that year. His phrase was: ‘Short-term sacrifice for long-term gain’,” says Amy.

“But it got better, and a couple in Foxup, Jan and Mike, were wonderful. They felt sorry for us and let us stay with them sometimes so we could have a bed to sleep in after a hard day.”

Ed, a stonemason by trade, did most of the work himself with a little help from friends and his two brothers. Getting materials to the property was a major issue. Much of the stone for the extensions was reclaimed from the site and Ed had his own digger and dumper but everything else had to be carted up the track.

“Our building suppliers, Naylor Myers, were brilliant. They got up as far as Foxup and I’d take it from there. One day I was still out at midnight driving up and down the track collecting 240 boards and 50 bags of skim and bonding,” says Ed, who now has his own building company, Cosh Construction.

Creating a home that would withstand the weather was vitally important and they spent four weeks painting the 22 window frames with two coats of aluminium oxide, two of undercoat and two final coats.

But their main consideration was working out how to power heating, lighting, hot water and appliances.

In the 1950s, the owners of Cosh were offered electricity and said no as they didn’t want any bills. Ed and Amy were quoted £93,000 and that was only if Ed dug the trenches for the cables. So they decided on a 15-metre, 6kw wind turbine that cost around £30,000.

The government feed-in tariff pays them between £500 and £1,000 a year for generating their own electricity.

The turbine generates 90 per cent of the power needed for the house and the rest is from a back-up generator. Water is from a spring and drains are into a septic tank.

“We don’t have any utility bills, which is great though it can be problem when you’re sometimes asked to provide them,” says Ed.

Living in a remote location has made them more eco-friendly. They compost and recycle what they can, as the rest of their rubbish has to be dropped off at Foxup for the refuse collectors.

It’s a lifestyle they have embraced after living at Cosh for three years, during which time they have had two daughters Heidi, two, and new baby Isabelle.

Their home is picture perfect and a tribute to their skill and hard work. The renovation, including the beautiful hand-built kitchen, was funded first with savings and then whatever they earned but there was little left for furnishing, so Amy and Ed have benefited from hand-me-downs and second-hand finds.

Ed’s dad, James, was invaluable and found them furniture and fittings from reclamation yards, including antique cast-iron radiators.

“I had to wire-brush 14 old radiators and I was cursing by then end but Ed wouldn’t hear of us having them professionally stripped. He kept a really tight rein on the finance,” says Amy

The beautiful tapestries in the guest bedroom are from Amy’s great aunt, Barbara Reynolds, while the bunting is from neighbour Judith Devlin, of Heartfelt Designs. Another neighbour, Jan Stevens, made the curtains.

“The neighbours are fantastic. We were stuck for a week one winter and the farmer helped get us out on his quad,” says Amy.

He also rode to the rescue when Amy’s parents arrived at the bottom of the track with turkey and presents to celebrate Christmas at Cosh – only to be faced with impossibly deep snow and ice.

“We thought there was no way they’d get up but the farmer was determined to get them here. He got his quad out again and I can remember my mum coming up the track sat on the handlebars. It was brilliant,” says Amy.

She is now preparing to say goodbye to her rural idyll after a wrangle with the National Park authority

The Pickards wanted to make the adjacent barn into a bunk barn to create a small home-based business that would allow them to spend more time together. They were refused on the grounds that there would be excess parking.

“We couldn’t believe it. It wouldn’t mean lots of vehicles and anyway, I could have as many as I wanted here myself if I wanted. We’re very disappointed. I think this place will probably sell as a holiday home, which is sad when it could be lived in by a family,” says Ed.

“We’ll be sad to leave. Living here away from everything gives you a sense that everything is well with the world. Even the estate agent said: ‘why are you selling this?’”

Cosh House is for sale with Carter Jonas, Harrogate, for £495,000. Tel: 01423 523423, www.carterjonas.co.uk

USEFUL CONTACTS

* Cosh Construction tel: 07714 249583, email:[email protected] * Turbine Services, Cockermouth, www.turbineservices.co.uk

* Naylor Myers building supplies, www.myersgroup.co.uk

* Oldfield Lighting, Skipton, www.oldfieldlighting.co.uk