The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: robnrachel on January 04, 2010, 05:45:37 pm
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First of all Happy New Year to all :)
Well we've (wife and I) have finally decided to up sticks from city existance and search for a small holding. Tho' when I say small holding I doubt it will be en par with a lot here, we're initially aiming for a vegetable plot/chickens etc etc as we are complete novices so guess 2010 will be a little interesting ;D
I (rob) actually work mostly from home as an IT project manager whilst Rachel looks after the tazmanian devils (3 kids under 5!). We've been dreaming of living in the country for so many years and now it's getting close! We put our house on the market in November with 2 or 3 serious interests so quite confident we'll sell in the not too distant future which then opens our doors to the opportunity of country living (I cant wait!).
I guess now the real investigation starts, size of land, location, schools etc etc. If there's any books worthy of buying I would really appreciate the info'.
One very basic question:- what size plot of land should we look for? We need at least a half acre just for the little ones to run around in. But for the future i.e. sheep/pigs possibly is there a recommended minimum? Is there any rules/regulations applicable to size of plot? for example, possible grants for hedge maintenance or something that guides us to understanding the pro's/cons of number of acre's in terms of workload & costs of general maintenance.
I've babbled on for long enough! If you've managed to read the above without falling asleep thanks ;)
I'm really looking forward to reading all the historic posts on this site tonight when the kids are in bed.
All the best
Rob & rachel
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Welcome to the forum, Rob and Rachel
what size plot of land should we look for?
My answer would be decide on a couple of areas you'd like to live in then go for as much land as you can afford. Here in Clackmannan I was lucky to find a house in my price range with an acre. But I only keep ducks and chickens, dogs and a cat, and grow a wee bit of veg just for me.
Good luck!
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Thanks for your kind welcome :)
We've really got our heart set on Powys, Wales and close to llandidloes hopefully. There's such a variety of opportunities from 1 to 15 acres but I guess I'm looking at that old saying "be careful what you wish for" if that makes sense? i.e. would love 15 acres but the work/cost to maintain it should be a serious consideration I presume?
Cheers
Rob, Rachel
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We had 21 acres adn the only costs were ensuring the fencing was up to scratch - till we let it out to a friend for her cattle and instead of four fields we ended up with one big one - the cattle had a big runabout one night and took all the internal ones down. We think a fox got in with them and spooked them. Powys is pretty but hilly. I have friends at Llanfair Caerinion who have 11 acres. You could try the local solicitors property website. or Rightmove - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Powys.html?index=750
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Thats really good to know thanks :) (is your name Annie?).
If we looked at say 10+ acres I guess what I'm concerned about is the actual maintenance of it given I work fulltime so it would have to be after work/weekends (which is great by the way, but in reasonable moderation, if that makes sense!). So keeping it from becoming overgrown etc.
Reference Powys being hilly,well for me that is just great and just what we're looking for (wife is from just south of there, and I spent a few years in Breacon).
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Cheers
Rob, Rachel
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Hello and welcome from a genuine 'backyard smallholder' in Derbyshire
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(is your name Annie?).
Sure is! (and I don't have a gun ;D ;D ;D)
All we had to do with our fields was put some fertiliser on in spring - advice from local farmers in abundance to get contractors; check the tansy was all pulled out, top them in summer - again advice freely given, got us a number of hay or silage bales we could sell to local horse folk to cover the costs. The cattle were on it from May to October and we got £85 an acre.
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Excellent info :)
I guess the next few months will be really interesting ;D....... I cant think of when I've ever been more excited and I havent even found a place yet!
Kind regards
Rob, Rachel
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Hi and welcome - we're moving to a bigger smallholding this year - 12 acres. Sooo excited.
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Hi Rob and Rachel
We have just moved into our small holding in October it is a huge learning curve but everyone on the TAS site has been really helpful, we now have 36 chickens, 1 drake, 1 duck, 4 cats,2 rabbits, 15 eggs due to hatch 14/1 (ducks) and hopefully some pigs in the spring.
Hope you find your dream spot, we found ours we are at the bottom of the pentland mountains in Central Scotland.
Good luck
Lavinia and Joe
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Wow what a uber friendly lot :)
Thanks for the kind welcoming guys it really is appreciated. We've got a couple visiting our house tomorrow for their second viewing so we're keeing our fingers crossed then all systems go lol.
Looking forward to learning a lot on this site and thanks again!
Cheers
Rob, Rachel
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Good luck for tomorrow's viewing!
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Hi and welcome.
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Hello from me in snowy south lanarkshire ;D
I hope all goes well with your house sale and look forward to hearing how you get on.
Karen x
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Hello and welcome from North Devon :)
Hope your house sale goes well and you find the right place soon.
When we were looking for a smallholding, this time last year, we were given the advice that you can never have enough land....So go for as much as you can get. I'm glad I took that advice. I thought 8 1/2 acres would be far more than I would ever use/look after...and it's not. I think you 'grow' into whatever land you have.
Good luck and let us know how you are getting on :)
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hi from the glens in Angus
We have 10 acres here - luck not design. I think Annie's point about the fencing is really important.
Our biggest headache since moving here is lack of fencing and out buildings. We stretched ourselves to buy the land because it is the area we have rented in for 20 years and plots like this are like hens teeth around here. However we overlooked how much time effort and money fencing and building sheds would take.
So when you're looking, think about what you might need on the land and what is there already.
Ideally I would want a small area of woodland, water, pasture and garden area all fenced. Our next door neighbours moved into a set up small holding so it was already to go. Oh and first try to find a plot that is on a south facing slope with good wind prtection from the prevailing wind. If you haven't got it already John Seymours book A practical guide to self sufficiciency is where many of us start reading. I bought it 27 years ago and never recovered.It is a bit basic and is really just a starter for thinking. The river cottage everyday is a good starter book too. :)
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If I had our lives over again, John would be bolted to the ground so he couldn't go climbing, ::) we'd have found this forum, and he'd be too involved with working our 22 acres and tending the animals to worry about going up mountains! ;D ;D ;D ;D Just pure dead brilliant - thanks to Rosemary and Dan!
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Hi Rob and Rachel, we're very new to all this too. we bought 17 acres nearly 2 years ago. we were looking at about 5 acres but this dream property had a massive price reduction and we ended up living in the dream!
i have few bits of advice, others may dissagree but if you genuinly feel you will end up with livestock make sure you.add the price of good fencing into your purchase pricing equasion. There is nothing worse than trying to round up escaped livestock especially if, like us you're near a road. also beware of people giving away bargains or getting you to take stock off them because you feel sorry for them, i have heard of so many people who have ended up with goats that don't produce milk or chickens that all turn out to be cockerels, do you get my drift. that being said all the farmers who've given me advice in the last year have been very helpfull and always happy to give advice. Finally, take it slowly don't be swept along by the excitment of it all. Get a few chickens and learn about them, plant some veg and sort out where the best place is for everything. you don't have to use all your land at once you can always get a contracter in and make hay and sell it. If you can afford it go on some courses, there are plenty of adverts in smallholder and country smallholding magazine. read lots of books. tim tyne is great for sheep, john seymour is a good alround read and there are some great farming biographies, chas griffin is a good read just to keep you chuckling.
No matter what the weather, standing in the middle of your own field and breathing in the morning is one of the greatest joys in life, my only regret, not managing it when my children were small.
have fun, Helen
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Hi Robin and Rachel....we're really new as well and have bought some land in Tyneside (16 acres) and are going to attack it and get it developed as soon as the lovely pigging snow dissappears.
My one piece of advice, cos we've been having discussions with the planners, is to buy land in excess of 5 hectares if you can (around 12.5 acres) as this seems to be the magical figure for them when you're wanting to erect barns/polytunnels etc under the permitted developments rights. Otherwise is gets more tricky.