[Maesgwyn]

Hello, my husband and i have moved from Hampshire over a year ago now to West Wales and have some land here, so far we have fenced one of the three fields and have poultry and pigs. We have been doing up an old house and still have quite a way to go as the place has not been lived in for five years and the land not really worked for 20 looking at the saplings that are now growing at least 60 away from the hedge line.
Julia

[Rosemary]

Hello  and welcome from sunny (well, it was) Carnoustie 

We moved to our place eighteen months ago, renovated the house (lived in but nothing done since about 1920  ) and we're working on the smallholding. Great fun and very satisfying 

[dyedinthewool]

Hi Maesgwyn 

Welcome to a sometimes sunny Carmarthenshire - though we have morethan our fair share of the wet stuff.

There's lots of 'incomers' to West Wales on this forum - and lots of lovely people who help out us 'newbies' who ask daft  questions and get some very good advice back.

I know the feeling, we are the same - nothing been done on the holding for years I'm currently cutting back some more of the hedge thats about 15' out into the field. 

We've concentrated on building the extensions so far but still have the old house to renovate...

[Jimbofish67]

Hello Maesgwyn

be interested to hear how you're doing, we have a similar task a head of us when we finally make our final move down to Wales. Old house and neglected land.
We'll almost be neighbours being just up the road on the edge of the Breacons.

Jimbofish

[Plantoid]

Hi Julie,

Like you we have brought in  improved breeding stock to the local populace .

We came in from Cambridgeshire and live close to Ammanford.

 I don't work the land per see as I'm a physical ( and some days mental ) wreck but I do have a fair bit of experience in crop growing and have still managed to grow things via a big glasshouse and numerous raised 900 mm high beds done in engineering bricks & filled with a decent mix of stable muck , sharpe sand and brought in top soil,  as the soil here is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot .

 I've been dragged up as a farm labourers colt in the wilds of Lincolnshire since 1950 and had my own small mammal  farm and couple of acres to play with .

Happy to offer you any knowledge and experiences I have .

Have fun with clearing ..I had to remove over 90 trees with boles of over 10 inches  diameter and all the associated scrub on the place I had .

We kept anything over 1 & 1/2 inches thick for the wood burner , then used the rubbish , brambles and leaves etc to help  burn  the roots that we dragged out once they were fairly dry then used the ash as potash on the new veg and lawn areas.

[Miss Piggy]

Hi Julia, welcome from another West Wales smallholder. We are furher west, right on the coast at Cardigan Bay.

[Cinderhills]

Hi and welcome from North Yorkshire. 

[ballingall]

Hello and welcome from Central Scotland!

Beth

[Blinkers]

Hiya Maesgwyn, from Carms/Pembs border (but then you know that ..  )  

[Maesgwyn]

Wow what a welcome. miss Piggy where abouts on the Cardigan bay do you live? I am off to CCF and the supermarket tomorrow as that is our local 'big town' 
We concentrated on the house first as we like our creature comforts though things did not go as planned as we lived in a caravan through that very cold winter last year, frozen pipes etc, we are now in the house but still surrounded by building work and the mud that goes with it! We have three fields and are fencing one at a time, bar the lack of polly tunnel we have reached all our targets for our first year which is pleasing, now the nights are drawing in we can concentrate on the inside of the house again.
It has been a very steep learning curve but fun at times, my spinning keeps me sane!
Julia

[kaz]

Hi & welcome. I'm a bit further up the Cardigan bay coast 10 miles away from Aberystwyth.

[Maesgwyn]

Kaz I belong to the Ceredigion Weavers Spinners and Dyers guild that meet in the school hall at Aberaeron so come up your way once a month, there seems to be quite a few of us on here that live this far west.

[Bionic]

Kaz, Maesgwyn,

I am hoping to move to the same area in Jan. I wasn't aware of the Ceredigion Weavers Spinners and Dyers previously but will no doubt see you there once I get settled in

Sally.

[digit]

Hi and welcome from  Nr Swansea 

[little blue]

hello and welcome