Urban explorers have unearthed a boot-shaped house hidden deep inside some woods in the UK, with parallels to the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe.
The tiny, moss-covered property seems to have been forgotten for decades as leaves and vines have begun climbing the walls to take the house back to nature.
The stone shape of the boot looks perfectly preserved, while its wooden roof has certainly seen better days.
Peeking in through the window, explorers were able to see that some of the structure has collapsed, making it an unsafe place to play – or even live as the Abandoned UK Facebook page claim a woman once lived inside in the 50s.
The boot is covered with moss and leaves as nature has begun to take it back
In a Facebook post, the explorers explained: “This took some finding but we did it, so after walking through the woods for ages trying to find the boot we finally saw it at the bottom of a steep cliff.
“We eventually made it down in one piece almost like rock climbing at some stages. Apparently, a woman lived in the boot in the 1950s.
The back of the boot house that’s been hidden in the woods since the 1950s
The story of the woman living inside the obscure home reminded fans of the nursery rhyme of the woman who lived in a shoe.
One user said: “Is this where the “there was an Old woman who lives in a shoe” tale from childhood comes from?”
Another wrote: “I wonder if she had so many children, she didn’t know what to do! Great find really love it.”
A third added: “That is absolutely amazing .. would be tough living in that though.”
The structure inside the property has collapsed
A fourth said: “Her landlord must have gave her the boot so she lived in this.”
The poem of The Little Old Woman who lived in a Shoe originated in 1794, written by Mother Goose but has changed over the years, according to the American Literature website.
The last line in the 1794 edition which said that she “whipp’d all their bums, and sent them to bed” was changed in 1901 to “kissing” as a nod to more positive parenting methods.
However, others claim it was actually part of a theme park and had never had residents before.
Abandoned UK have not disclosed the location of the boot house to protect it from vandals
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One user said: “No one lived in it lol! It was part of a theme park.”
Another added: “It was also part of a previous resort that was there, so this is what’s left of it all, it was for the children to play in.”
Abandoned UK’s urban explorers never give out locations of their finds to protect them from vandalism.