The Beach House

After many years of hoping for an approach to this location, the initial visit threatened to go south after only 15 minutes....

Welcome to the Beach family farmhouse, long-time residents of Port Colborne and Fort Erie. Here you will find the dilapidated homestead torn completely wide open at the rear and succumbing to the intrusion of forest growth, yet still furnished and filled with family treasures. With ties to the Robin Hood Flour Mill, Port Colborne Historical, and Central United Church, the influence of the Beach family has been felt in the area for many decades. This farmhouse was abandoned in 1994.

FRIENDS-ONLY RATIONALE: It is critical that an approach to this location be well-planned. This is an extremely quiet rural road and the descendent farmer with an adjoining property is retired and ALWAYS home. He has a physical demeanour that does not exude friendliness (see gallery photos). It is mandatory that you visit in summer when there is very thick foliage, as it is your only means of getting here undetected. This will allow an on-foot approach from the Friendship Trail to the south. If you just bite the bullet on ticks, and are critically stealthy, you may be able to come in from the west without setting the farmers dogs off. Use any passing car's engine noise as an opportunity to move forward. But it is like a game of Operation: one wrong move, one breaking branch, and the dogs will go ballistic.

After a long bike ride and very careful hike through the field on a day when the farmer did not appear to be home, I finally made it inside the house. Only 15 minutes later, my heart sunk to the sound of a ride-on lawn mower starting up. He was right outside the house cutting the grass. My first temptation was to panic and get out, but my heart sunk deeper when I saw a very large dog trotting around beside him. I realized that as long as he was on the lawn mower, I would know exactly where he was... and with comic relief, I realized his dog was actually a small donkey. I finished shooting with stress-sweat absolutely pouring and crept out of here leaving many secrets available for the next visitor.