Situated in one of the most alluring locations, The Bat House seemed to defy its precarious position high upon a mountain side. Its exterior walls crumbling through neglect, windows and doors missing allowing the elements to rush through adding to its fragile state. In its day, it boasted the best seat in the house with magnificent views of the surrounding countryside. Fast forward to now though and its sad decline is indicative of the mass exit from this part of the world some decades ago with a lack of work at its heart. Its name derived from the single bat, asleep, high up on a wall and unaware of the curious people scurrying around inside.

In tow with friends, our first visit was cut short, whilst inside we were asked to leave by a local lady who seemed intent to scare us more than anything but did admit it wasn't her house and considering it is on a public right of way it was perfectly fine for us to be there. The house is completely abandoned [information from locals] and has no owner and is in essence 'in limbo'.

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So, some weeks later a return visit was undertaken and a few hours were spent inside photographing this magnificent reminder of a past era.

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Inside it is in an extreme parlous state. walls crumbling, the staircase half missing, floors with holes that would swallow up any unsuspecting explorer who wasn't careful. Yet it retained enough of its glorious past to make wonderful images. What was the downstairs lounge still had its piano with sheet music upon it. Scattered around the floors, hundreds of old letters, bills, magazines  from the 1920's onwards. An old diary dated from the 1940's gave a glimpse into the lives of the people who lived here. A copy of 'Woman's Realm' magazine dated September 1962 left behind showing fashion styles from the 1960's. Next to it a copy of 'Today' magazine with pictures of the 1961 Royal Wedding of the Duke of York & the Duchess of Kent.

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Upstairs once the precarious staircase had been negotiated, the bedrooms still had their beds inside with linen on which had seen better days. War letters and documents lay on the floor beside one bed and personal grooming items still on an old dressing table in front of lace curtains fluttering in the breeze by the window with views stretching as far as the eyes could see. 

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One of my favourite locations to date for sure. It has everything, decay, history, personal items and a hint of danger with its crumbling state. Why no one owns it is anyone's guess but it would make for a magnificent holiday home for someone yet maybe its decayed state is too extreme for it to be saved. Anyway, this was just one more example of the time capsules to be found allowing a glimpse into the past, to how lives were lived and how times have ultimetly changed.