'The road to our home must be the worst in the UK'

'The road to our home must be the worst in the UK'1 hour agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJo LonsdaleNorth East and CumbriaHarry ByattThe Byatt family live in the last farm in the Upper Coquet valley in NorthumberlandA farming family in one of the most remote corners of England say they have become almost "cut off" by the state of the road to their home.The Byatt family, who live at Philhope Farm, in Upper Coquetdale in Northumberland, said the unclassified route along the valley was "the worst it's ever been".Harry Byatt said: "Delivery vans have refused to come up here, we don't get visitors, our girls can't even have friends over." Northumberland County Council said it was "currently carrying out a mixture of structural patching works and safety related repairs to ensure the road is brought back into an acceptable and safe condition". Dry stone waller Byatt, 43, and his wife Megan, 39, a sheep farmer, moved to Philhope nine years ago.Their home is 12 miles (19km) from the nearest village, Alwinton, on a road used by residents, walkers and military vehicles accessing the Otterburn Ranges beauty spot.The area is so remote they do not have mains electricity, although farms further down the valley are being connected, in a project due to finish in summer 2026. Harry ByattPeople living in Upper Coquetdale say parts of the road are falling into the river CoquetThe family said they loved where they lived for its "isolation and beauty" and accepted the long distances they had to travel. But what they did not accept was a road where "bits are falling into the river". "Every year they carry out temporary repairs and I do appreciate they are spending a lot of money but it gets worse and worse," Byatt said. "If there's a worse stretch of road in the UK, I'd like to see it, and if anyone thinks I'm overreacting I'd be happy to show them."Harry Byat...