Thanks for those very swift replies and the warm welcome.
There is a thin line of woodland which follows the front (road and west facing boundary which I think is probably a windbreak for the orchard/veggie garden (does it make any sense to grow veggies on a North facing plot? Apparently, that was what was being done, but there's the least amount of sun that end). We are on a hill, so it can get a little windy. The weather is fairly mild in this part of Wales.
The more substantial woodland is to the rear of the property in a dell. It's been suggested we could keep pigs in there. The previous owner built a pig house (outside the boundary tut tut) but apparently couldn't face the thought of sending them to slaughter so only kept hens, guinea fowl and geese. There are various sheds that have been used for fowl and storage but most are sadly rotten now.
The problem with the fruit trees is I'm not sure they are! They have no leaves on them at the mo and are covered in lichen and moss.
As far as the refurb is concerned, we're going to have at least the shell sorted out and the inside remodelled by professional builders before we move in. We need planning permission for some of what we would like to do so it's a drawn out process. Our money may run out then....
The building work will mean it's probably unwise to invest too much effort in growing or starting to buy livestock (which I'm uncertain of anyway because at the moment, we have our hands full with the children! I think I'd rather wait the couple of years 'til the twins start school). It strikes me that it's prep work that will be the best way to go. As you suggest, Chris, pruning trees and hedges (apparently we need to do this to the hedge on the field before the birds start nesting - soon!) and fencing - the land that isn't hedged only has trees as borders so we need something more substantial - to keep the children in and potentially stock in due course. The front of the property fronts a fast country lane (it's a cut through from an A road to a large village) and the rear has a country track along the back so we want to make sure that the children can't escape through the back nor can the dog walkers let their dogs come onto the property and poo everywhere or disturb any of the animals we might keep.
We've dreamt about doing this for a few years now. Buying in Wales was the only place we could feasibly afford to buy, but I love Wales and Pembrokeshire is about the most beautiful part of it, so I can't complain.
Rockstar, we haven't got a holding number yet as we've only just bought the place. (What are the advantages?) In fact we know hardly anything about the place - we not even sure where the septic tank is - because it's a deceased estate so the old boy sadly isn't around to answer any questions, although the neighbours have been really helpful so far.
In danger of writing an essay here - so I'll stop for now.
