In the late Spring of 2019, a local explorer discovered a time capsule in the middle of the woods. After being abandoned for over two decades, professional adventurer, The Bearded Explorer, discovered a breath-taking, deserted cottage.
While he and his team of explorers were sure that the cottage would be completely wrecked and empty, the woodsy home was filled with all sorts of knick-knacks and gadgets from decades ago.
You’ll never believe the treasure the explorers found, let alone the breath-taking state of the “enchanted” house. So, let’s dive in and see what they uncovered!
The Bearded Explorer
When you think about exploring the lands or diving into the mysteries of the past, you might think about the days of frontiersmen in the times of the Wild Wild West or even fictitious characters like Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft. However, there are modern day explorers all around the world finding some incredible treasured items and stories.
Just like Colin a.k.a. “The Bearded Explorer”, who, according to his YouTube page, “explore[s] anything abandoned & derelict across the world”.
There’s no doubt that this professional explorer is hungry for adventure, and there was a very special and abandoned cottage calling out to him in 2019.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
Exploring with New Technologies
Back in the day, explorers would track everything manually by either drawing out maps or writing notes in their personal journals. But with the development of technology, adventurers like The Bearded Explorer have taken things to a whole new level.
With over 60k subscribers on YouTube and more than 26k followers on Instagram, the Bearded Explorer doesn’t just find mysterious sites to explore, he also shares it with the word and via camera, allows his viewers to be a part of the journey. He prides himself as a video producer, and of course, he brought a camera along with him for the ride to this particular enchanted cottage.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
A Wild Ride
The beginning of this late Spring adventure started out with Colin and his partner driving down a shrubbery-filled path.
It seemed like this abandoned little cabin they were looking for wasn’t the only thing that had been forgotten. With all of the fallen logs on the ground and the broken branches everywhere, the road itself proved to be quite bandoned and the quest to make it all the way there would be a tough one.
In fact, they actually couldn’t even drive all the way down to the cabin. Talk about an actual wild ride!
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
Abandoning Ship
Colin shared the whole journey and revelation on his YouTube channel. The official tour video starts by him saying, “hello guys welcome back to the channel and welcome to a brand-new location. Today we are in the middle of the English countryside, and we’ve needed the 4×4 to get most of the way here, but sadly we’ve had to abandon it there, and we can’t drive any further due to these trees which have fallen down.”
The fact that they needed to abandon ship, so to speak, and were left to continue their journey down to the cottage by foot just left them even more excited and eager to find the cottage.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
Multiple Buildings in the Area
Upon approaching the cottage, Colin and his partner noticed that the cottage wasn’t the only building in the area.
“Okay, so we’re finally approaching the first building at this location. It’s some kind of an out-building, with a corrugated iron roof. Which kind of shows the age of this place,” Colin shared.
However, the two were on a mission to find the cottage, and so they continued on with their journey.
The closer they got to the cottage itself, the more surreal it all seemed.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
An Enchanting Exterior
The exterior of the cottage looked like the combination of an enchanted cottage from a magical land, combined with a haunted house from a horror film.
Regardless of how creepy it might seem from the cold, gray environment surrounding it, the green scenery covering the walls of the home brought it life, and was like a surreal piece of artwork.
“As you can see, it’s been completely taken over by nature, it’s almost invisible from certain locations. Like the top where we were earlier, you could quite easily drive past this not even know it’s here,” Colin expressed with fascination.
For a cottage to be so covered in the surrounding greenery, it must have been abandoned for quite some time. So, how long exactly has it been since it was last lived in? The answer wasn’t as obvious as they thought it would be.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
Another Enchanting Feature
The “invisible” exterior can definitely be considered enchanting, however, while they were looking for a way to enter the building, Colin and his partner passed by another enchanting feature of the property.
Along the side of the cottage, there was a really big ditch deep in the ground. “Oh my god, that’s quite scary, actually!” Colin shrieked as he got closer and closer to the ditch.
As he peered in with his flashlight he noted, “that goes down a very, very long way. It looks like it could be an old well. The water is so clear, I couldn’t actually see it. Wow! That’s pretty cool.”
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
The Truth of the Rumors
At the start of the video, Colin stated that it’s believed that the house has been abandoned for around 30 years, but no one knows for sure. Not only that, but there were many rumors surrounding the secrets that the cottage holds.
So, before they voyaged down the shrubbery-filled path down to the cottage, and passed the wondrous old well of water as clear as crystal, they had no idea what to expect once they entered the cottage. They only knew that it holds certain magic.
And once they found a way in, they couldn’t believe how true the rumors about this cottage were.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
A Crumpled Clue in the Corner
How Colin and his trusted partner stumbled upon this enchanted English cottage in the first place is still a mystery, but they were determined to explore it and share it with the world.
But it wasn’t until the team reached the final room that they were able to figure out how long the time-capsule cottage had been abandoned for. However, the whole place was absolutely fascinating! So, let’s take a look into what they have found inside, and how they learned to realize how long it has been abandoned.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Absolutely Speechless
So what exactly was stored away in this cottage that made this journey so fascinating in the first place?
“We just gained entry to the house, and [I’m] absolutely speechless. If I’m honest, this place is absolutely amazing. Like everything, I mean everything, is still here,” Colin gasped with pure amazement and joy while taking his first look at the house.
At a quick glance around, this little hidden home seems to be just abandoned with trash and junk. However, true explorers know that hunting for treasure is all about focusing on the details and investigating the site, to understand the background story of it all.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
“Like Something from a Doomsday Movie”
Surprisingly enough, The Bearded Explorer and his partner did not enter through the front door and so the first room they began to search around seemed to be the kitchen. However, there were so many peculiar things about this room that told them a lot about the owners of the house—wherever they were. One of the first things to catch their attention was the drinkware in the cupboard.
“Look at all the cups hanging up on the wall. This is like something from a doomsday movie or something like that, it’s just so surreal,” Colin remarked.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
Ready to Sleep In
As Colin and his partner explored the little kitchen area, they couldn’t help but notice something incredibly odd.
In the midst of the dusty and abandoned meal area, there was an actual bed. Even though the bed was covered in dust, debris, an old book, and some big forest green cooking pots, what made seeing the bed there so eerie was the fact that it was basically untouched.
And by untouched, we mean that the bed wasn’t just a ripped up and old mattress—as you might imagine to see in an abandoned house. It was an actual ready-to-sleep-in bed with pillows and colorful bedding.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
“They Needed to Actually Sleep In The Kitchen”
Seeing a bed in the kitchen was quite intriguing, and gave the explorers an idea of what was going on in the house.
Well, The Bearded Explorer inferred that “[since] we’ve got a bed in the kitchen, I can only imagine that whoever was living here was … very, very elderly, and they needed to actually sleep in the kitchen. You know so he [wouldn’t have to] climb up stairs and things. It’s quite sad really.”
Another eerie item they spotted in the kitchen, was that beyond the bed above the stove cooker, there were socks hanging up to dry.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
An Amazing Anomaly
It’s truly an amazing anomaly to see a decrepit room filled with all sorts of untouched, time-capsule treasures.
And although the items left in the house didn’t seem to have been moved since the mysterious owners had been there, the interior walls were completely faded and depleting, the pictures hung up around the kitchen were quite old, and all of the dishes were dirty from dust and debris.
However, once they entered the second room of their adventure, they got a better idea of how old the house truly was.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
A Cast-Iron Bath
Colin had witnessed and discovered so much just from one room alone, which made him even more eager to continue on to the rest of the house.
“We’re walking into the bathroom, [with a] cast-iron bath. This house must be very old,” Colin declared.
Even though the house was abandoned, it seemed like someone had rummaged through everything. There was an assortment of items spread out and scattered on the bathroom counter, including empty bottles and cleaning products.
However, Colin had a theory about why there were so many trinkets and things everywhere.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
“I Don’t Think Many People Have Been Here”
The next room that they entered looked like the main lounge area, or the living room. The second that Colin walked in, he was completely blown away, “This is incredible. This really is. It’s a shame to see the place in such a mess, but I mean I don’t think many people have been here, to be honest. I don’t know whether they’re the last owner could have been a hoarder, possibly … I mean look at the amount of books here.”
The mountains and mountains of books in the room weren’t the only interesting thing that they found, though!
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
A Majestic Piece to the Room
One of the most beautiful possessions one can own is an instrument—and a piano is one of the most majestic ones out there. And surprisingly enough, the owners of the house had an upright piano right there in their living room!
“Of course, I didn’t even see that piano there. You look straight past it,” Colin mentioned as he did a 360-degree look around the room.
Although the piano has been lost in all of the knick-knacks and books piled around and surrounding it, and the wood seems very faded from time, how amazing is it that it’s still standing there?
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Paradoxical Property
While the upright piano is surely a treasure to have in your home, there was one other majestic piece in the forsaken living area. To the left of the piano, in between the line green painted walls, was a grandiose fireplace.
“The fireplace is amazing, look how big it is! The ‘ol bellow is still hanging up,” Colin shrieked with fascination.
It’s safe to say that it’s quite paradoxical that there would be so many beautiful pieces in this depleted house, but there were a handful of spooky quirks to the home, as well.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
The Eerie Entrance
The curious couple was so amazed by the first few rooms they got to explore, but when they continued on to the next room, they were faced with a little bit of danger.
They had finally reached the house’s entryway, which seemed the most eerie of any of the rooms so far. The front door was taken over by the dirt and vines from the outside world, creating a spooky atmosphere, almost like the entrance to a haunted house.
Not only did the entrance feel so eerie from the ripped up wall paper searing down the wall, but there were bits of plaster “literally hanging on by threads” from the ceiling.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
A Wooden Spider-Web
The entry way looked like it was taken straight from a horror film, but the next room had its own unsettledness to it, too.
“Wow, look all that growing inside. It’s like ivy, but it’s died,” The Bearded Explorer noted. The entrance to what seemed to be a “sitting area” had spindled branches against the wall, and looked almost like a wooden spiderweb. How interesting!
This might’ve been the room to show the most signs of abandonment, but it was far from empty. In fact, it almost looked like it was hit with a chaotic tornado.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Dark Deserted Room
There was broken furniture thrown in the room: wooden tables, coffee tables, and chairs filled the dark, deserted room. Plus, the glass from the windows was shattered, as well as, the glass and frames from the paintings that were fallen to the floor. How mysterious!
“The wall paper is literally just falling off the wall. It’s actually faded there quite badly as well. Probably where the sunlight used to come from the window,” Colin mentioned while investigating the room.
But there was something hidden in the back of the room that left The Bearded Explorer with a big question mark.\
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
“They Must Have Liked Reading”
The “sitting area” was filled with tons of broken-down furniture and more mountains of novels and books.
“Again, the sheer amount of books that have been left here, they must have liked reading,” Colin mentioned as he investigated the room.
But through all of the chaos, The Bearded Explorer also noticed that there was a fireplace hidden in the room. “That one looks like it’s been covered up for one reason or another.”
Who knows what that reason could be?
The fireplace wasn’t the only hidden feature of the house that the curious couple stumbled upon.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
A “Hidden” Stairwell
As Colin continued on touring the house, he was baffled that they hadn’t found the staircase to take them up to the second story of the house. However, after circling back to the main living room, Colin’s partner found a door that lead them to the stairway.
As they approached the doorway to the staircase, they found something special hanging on it—a beautiful old-timey jacket. The color of it seemed to be faded, but overall, the cloak looked like it was in decent condition.
Again, the way it was left hanging up on the door as if it was frozen in time, was so intriguing.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
“They’ve Definitely Got Their Drink”
Before going up stairs, they entered one small room, which seems sort of like a mini multi-purpose room. And by the looks of it, every single corner in this room was filled with bottles—both full and empty. And all of the containers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from mini glass jars to win bottles.
“It looks as if they were into making their own alcohol … They’ve definitely got their drink,” Colin humorously remarked.
But the creepiest part of this room is that there were tons of cob webs covering up the bottles for what seemed to be years and years. Yikes!
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Art Supplies and Clothing
The couple was finally ready to take on the second floor, and carefully climbed their way up the yellow painted stairs which were apparently, “very fashionable back in the day,” according to Colin.
He entered one of the bedrooms which was labeled as “Louise’s Room” which was filled with all sorts of paintings and art supplies. “Definitely an artist of some sort,” Colin further concluded.
It’s so mind-blowing how much you can learn from someone just based on their personal belongings, but again, the fact that almost everything was left untouched for years was that much more astonishing.
“It’s incredible this house has just been left here like this. It’s still got all the clothes in the drawers,” The Bearded Explorer further mentioned.
Image via @thebeardedexplorer/IG
A Silly Find
Right outside of Louise’s room, there were two interesting things that laid upon the seat of an old-timey chair left in the hallway.
The chair itself was quite peculiar. It was covered with vibrant colors and floral print cushions, which was quite a contrasting sight to see with all of the dusty, decrepit environment surrounding it all.
On top of the seat cushion there was a book titled The Concise Dictionary of Cats. What a strange and silly find! And on top of the silly feline book, though, was a mysterious photograph.
“So, this is possibly the people that used to live here,” The Bearded Explorer declared. Wow!
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
When Nature Truly Takes Over
As soon as they walked into the next bedroom, the two explorers were completely baffled and speechless, yet again. It was a like a dried up and abandoned enchanted forest growing inside that very room. The whole wall was covered in tree branches that had emerged from the outside world, and magically found its way in.
“That just shows like how long this place has actually been empty. Doesn’t it? For nature to actually come in and literally take over half of the room,” The Bearded Explorer expressed with amazement.
But they will soon find actual evidence as to how long the place has been abandoned.
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Unique Taste
Not only was the second bedroom beautifully taken over by nature, but the closet had piles of clothing and bedding stuffed inside it.
Another interesting tell about the people who used to live here, is that even though everything seems to be left untouched, whoever was the last person to touch everything seemed to have rummaged through it all, and didn’t care too much about organization.
But according to The Bearded Explorer, they definitely had unique taste: “That’s quite a nice bed sheet there, with leopards and lions on there.”
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
The Last Room
It was not time to enter the final room of the second floor where they found all sorts of junk laying around, tons of books just like in the other rooms, and even a paraffin heater. But there was one special item that the two explorers found crumpled up in a corner.
There’s been no confirmation on when or why this cottage was abandoned, however, The Bearded Explorer found something that might help solve the mystery—a newspaper! As soon as he spotted it, Colin hoped that this would be able to help them discover how long it’s been since the house was abandoned.
He grabbed it, laid it out on the surface beside it, and opened it up to view the date. The paper was from Thursday February 11, 1993, meaning that it had been there for at least 26 years. How wild!
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
Collapsed Chest of Drawers
And that wasn’t the only thing special about the last room. Interestingly enough, in the final room of the abandoned cottage, the dynamic duo discovered something quite different than the rest of the house.
While all of the other cupboards, wardrobes, closets, and shelves seemed to be well enough intact to stand up and function as a storage unit, this room had a broken-down chest drawer covered in debris.
“So, sadly, we’ve got some water damage in here. It looks as if [the ceiling] has actually collapsed on that wardrobe, or chest of drawers, I should say,” Colin concluded. How mysterious!
Screenshot from “We Explore A Cottage Abandoned” via The Bearded Explorer/YouTube
“This is Just a Time Capsule”
It’s amazing how much you can tell about a person or family based on their personal belongings—even if it’s almost three decades old!
There seemed to be a reoccurring theme of a fascination for felines hidden all over the house. Whether it was paintings, The Concise Dictionary of Cats book, the bedding of leopards and lions, it’s safe to say that these folks were crazy for those cuddly balls of fluff!
“This is incredible, this is just a time capsule, it really is,” Colin expressed towards the end of his journey around the fascinating frozen-in-time cottage.
Image via @thebe