RISING to the CHALLENGE

Bridget and Andrew Hall overcame many obstacles during this passion project to rescue a 400-year-old farmhouse

- HEATHER DIXON

Gaia Farmhouse nestles within a remote valley in the Lake District and Bridget and Andrew Hall saw it as both an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity to create a unique home just a short walk from the shores of Ullswater; a challenge as the farmhouse is at the end of a narrow five-mile lakeside road, ending in a steep pass with six tight hairpin bends. ‘We never thought it would be easy, but there were times when we seriously questioned the wisdom of buying a dilapidated property in such a remote area,’ says Andrew. The couple’s five-year labour of love has paid dividends, however. With painstaking care and inspiring vision, they have rescued a semi-derelict and overgrown 400-year-old farmhouse and given it an exciting new future.

UNCOVERING HISTORY