[MAK]

I am keen to know how many members had always lived on a smallholding or had planned it for years AGAINST those of those who fell into it by accident.
How did you become a smallholder ?- Accidentally or what was you plan?

My accident:
Now aged 53 I was born in London and always lived in large towns - we had a budgerigar when I was little and my daughter had gerbils when young. " weeks holiday a year - long working week - and decorating on bank holidays!!
Life went tits up for me when I was 50 but soon had another good job and an allotment. Wife was a teacher and then threw me out after she had a particularly bad psychotic episode - lost my job 9 months after that and then  lost a lot of money on a my flat when  I finally sold it 9 months with savings spent.
Having met a great woman - ( and me not optimistic or enthusiastic about finding work) we realised our assetts and we bought a farm house in France that leant itself to smallholding.
After 1 year here we have accidentally learnt how to build chicken sheds etc,  kept ducks , chickens and pigs and accidentally -  I have learnt to kill, butcher, process and cook our produce whilst renovating a house ( with no experience).

I think we are very much accidental smallholders - and the knowledge and tips we have picked up from this forum has been so important  - books are OK but the knowledge and experiences that is shared here is better.
Not sure what accidents will be fall us  next ( though I have been given a small wood to harvest logs from) and the OH is keen to make cheese ( I don't want to be chasing goats though).

[Fleecewife]

What a good story MAK.  Lovely that you have landed up somewhere so good after all that strife, with a smallholding life.

I started at the opposite end, born on a farm, so life raising children and following OH around the Air Force bases, was always only an interim phase for us - the intention was always to come back to farming of some sort.  Well, when the children finally grew up, we didn't have enough money to buy a farm (and my brother inherited the family one), so we bought our lovely smallholding in the south of Scotland.  The original intention was to be a market garden and the soil is wonderful for that.  However, we soon realised that the local weather made growing vegetables and fruit a huge challenge, so we now grow only for ourselves and the family and use most of our land to rear pedigree rare breed sheep, plus a few hens.  We also concentrate on improving our small acreage for wildlife of all sorts and to make it somewhere for us to live out our days.

[Sandy]

How wonderful both Mak and Fleecewife...life is never an accident, more change of direction!!! I do not have a smallholding at all, just love the countryside and wildlife, animals etc and believe people who share that love also share a lot of my values and view points. I could have easily gone down the farm route as I lived in a market town and most of my friends and boyfriends had some sort of farm, my ex having a farm too...I just like working from home and that's always been my plan, running a B&B so I can get out the rat race and enjoy getting out into the country with my dogs and forraging for whatever I can find...I do have hens and would love to keep lots of different things but I am being practical and so keep to what I can do!!!

[MikeM]

for me it has been the ambition and plan for as long as I can remember to have a smallholding. I'm not even sure where the idea came from, but it's been  there for as long as I can remember. There have been times, in the past, when it all seemed so far away as to be unobtainable, and the thought of leaving the security of the SE was quite scary, but here we are. All our savings, pension plans etc blown to buy this place and fund it. I guess technically it's not a smallholding, more just a large back garden (about 3/4 acre), but it was run as a smallholding in the past and will be again. And if I can persuade the church to lease me the paddock next door then we will have a smallholding.

[goosepimple]

...and that was a nice story too Juliet.  Here's another one..
I remember seeing a lovely illustration in a childs story book when I was about 6 or 7 - it was of a farmer on a tractor with fields all set out with livestock and arable produce and I kept going back to it because I loved that picture so much.  Having been brought up in the deprived area of a city and then working as a professional for years in Edinburgh, I always thought I was born and brought up in the wrong place and that I was in my head a country person.  We moved down to the borders 6 years ago with 2 kids (my OH still earns his keep in Edinburgh) and are probably seen to be one of those ill considerate families who earn their money and then buy a country pile - not the case, I honestly don't know any family who has worked harder than us to be where we are now and we contribute lots to the school and community.  We are now rennovating our lovely historic buildings and breeding rare breeds.  Life is extremely hard work here but we don't have to take the kids on days away and activities, they have kiddy heaven here, something I never had as a kid.

[doganjo]

When I was four (so my Mum used to tell everyone) her friend asked me what I was going to eb when I grew up.  My answer was that I was going to be a Farmer's Wife.  Now how precocious is that!

I didn't quite manage that with dear late husband number 1!    We lived and worked in the city till the kids were teenagers, then found a place 3 miles out of a small town with a third of an acre and planted fruit and veg, but made friends with the local farm manger for a large estate and learnt a lot about cattle and sheep from George and Esme. Met John a  year and a  bit after Sandy died and moved to a small croft so got real close to the farmer's wife idea with 22 acres, but both of us had to work so let the fields out again to another local farmer, but with a few cattle and sheep of our own in with theirs.  For a time we did day olds to 13 weeks free range but it wasn't that profitable and John kept standing on the little 'uns (very tall with huge feet  ) so we gave that up as a bad job.  Built a house after he died, but didn't do anything except train my dogs on the 10 acres I'd kept with it, moved down near my kids and downsized to 1 acre, but now have a polytunnel in the making thanks to Bloomer; ducks, chickens, and fruit trees and bushes, and hope soon to have raised beds for vegetables again with the help of Bloomer and my kids. So pretty well accidental in fits and starts.

[sabrina]

We have just over 5  1/2 acreas of land which was all used as grazing for my mares and foals. when i became ill i gave up the breeding side and downsized the ponies. once on the mend i decided to grow as much of my own food as possible. So our garden was turned into a veg plot, other end we have the pollytunnel. Bought chickens and raise lambs and pigs for the freezer. I love working out doors, find it very relaxing and having our own animals gives me a sense of doing something towards food for the house. 

[jaykay]

I love all these stories.

We always had any sort of animal as kids, but in a big back garden, no more. So chooks, rabbits etc. And all things in the house.....
I had chickens in my own town garden as an adult too. Then I had an horrendous time with a particular job, so stressful it made me very ill. Just before I completely crashed I managed to hold it together enough to get a new job in Cumbria. Then it all went dark for a bit.

We bought the house, needing a lot doing to it, and 8 acres of very wet land that hadn't been used for decades. I can honestly say that this place mended me. Hubby seemed to throw himself into it too and we renovated the house, redug drains, mended walls and erected fences.

I brought my four Black Rocks with us and added to them, plus ducks and geese. And sheep and goats.

Then last summer, hubby had a classic midlife crisis, decided to ditch his entire life including me, to take up with a girl his youngest daughter's age and become an outdoor ed instructor. Oh well.

But I am still here and happy again now, learning to farm on my own with a lot of good help from friends, family and neighbours. I love being outside and with animals, and whilst I have to work to pay the mortgage, here is what makes me happy.

So - a lot of it wasn't intended but has worked out well 

[plumseverywhere]

I still have the toy farmyard that I played with as a toddler (I'm 40 this year) and now my children play with it. I was desperate to live on a farm as a child and had to make do with mucking out at the local stables of a weekend (which I loved but not the same as your own animals)
We lived in London. I trained as a nurse, also in London and then 9 years ago moved to Worcestershire with my husband and then just the 2 children. We lived in a barn conversion next door to a sheep farm. Our friends lived in the sheep farm and we were able to watch lambing etc. Our garden was tiny and I was just so frustrated    we had 3 chickens.
then...we realised our house was just too small for a family with 4 children and a dependent mum so started looking at properties. I literally dragged hubby here as it was £100 000 over budget but I had a 'feeling'.   Of course we fell in love with the views, the land, the 7 bedroom semi delapidated house but couldn't afford it...until the very junior estate agent let slip that the owners were sooooo desperate to get it sold after 3 years (overpriced) on the market they'd take really silly offers. We made an incredibly silly offer. they accepted it 

Accidental? no not really. It was in life's great plan I think. The fact that 3 of our daughters can't drink cow's milk so need goats milk, the fact that I built a business out of goats milk soap, the land is hilly and suits goats...there's a plum orchard that makes hubby's wine...fate too I think...

[Ina]

I'm still waiting for  the accident to happen.

Farming must be in my genes; my father always wanted to be one, too, but unfortunately - if you don't come from a farm, you need to either have a lot of money to get started, or be prepared to marry into one and take a chance of being told for the rest of your life what to do with it! He wasn't up for waiting for that to happen, so he became a bookseller (books were his - and are mine - second love in life). And he always had several very productive gardens (no lawn for us!). When it came to the time for my education, things were a bit easier (at least you could go to uni even if you didn't have money); so I did a course on agriculture, specialising in livestock production, although I've been veggie for a long time...

Unfortunately, jobs are difficult to get in that field, especially for women who don't actually come from a farm. Being of an inquisitive mind, I've always wanted to work in livestock research - but that's almost impossible... I even got a second degree only 10 years ago, in organic farming, again concentrating on livestock... I'm at the point of giving up on this life and hoping for the next one (if only I believed in reincarnation!). I'm 54, without a permanent job (contract about to run out, yet again - I'm currently working in a soils lab), never found the farmer's son who was desperate enough to take me on, never won the lottery (well, never bought a ticket, that might be the problem) that would have allowed me to get my own little place... On my good days, I think it could still all happen for me, but the bad days are taking over. I did, at one point, have a couple of goats of my own - have worked with them in the past for years; have worked with sheep and cattle, too - loved all of it. But, as has been noted by people cleverer than me, these days, to live a simple life, you have to have assets to start with. It helps to have family/friends/partner to share the need for assets with. All I have in the way of "livestock" is a cat, the feeding of which is my main reason to get out of bed every day.

[bigchicken]

When I was young my family lived on a farm father was a dairyman so I was around farm animals and I think that's where the idea was planted. I lived on a commercial poultry farm and there was a rather overgrown small field over the road no used for anythink so I enquired about the possibility of renting and got it with the idea of raising a few sheep for the freezer well it all escalated from there now I have five small fields about 20 ish breeding ewes a couple of pony's and various bantams as well as rearing turkeys for Christmas and hopfully a couple of weaners in the near future. 

[Brucklay]

We are accidental although OH say he thinks I planned it. Had a lovely wee cottage in Perthshire that OH and I bought as a wreck when we got married and spent most of our time and money improving things for the whole 13 years we were there. Had a few chickens their and my neighbour had lovey wee call ducks and I filled up the back garden with 6 aviary's for my bird of prey. The started building houses at the front of us which had always been planned and we said it wouldn't bother us but when they were well on their way we decided it did matter. So we sold up rented a farm house for a year and then decided to get looking. Eventually we ended up here with 3 and a half stone walls for OH to turn magically into a home and 5 acres for the dogs to have plenty of space. Call ducks first, folled by the goats - who would run up and down the wee deck outside the caravan we were living in, folled by the sheep as it became apprent we needed something to keep the grass down and after a few years with the goat I felt confident enough to move into sheep. I work for myself from home and feel very, very lucky to be where I am. All my spare time is spent either caring for the animals or improving their set up - joinery skills are improving I think/hope - wouldn't change it for the world even in this snow showery, windy day.

[YorkshireLass]

I tend to say I bumbled along and ended up here!

Always been into nature - Attenborough etc - wasn't allowed pets a a child, grew up in large city. Life plan of being a vet was thwarted (Maths A level?? Bahahahaha!). Got interested more in the foodie side of things - local, organic, welfare friendly, and all that. Made up for lost time in terms of pets once I left home, but never had a garden. I can confirm that blueberries struggle on a city centre balcony.... The more I lived and worked in the city, the more I wanted to get away.
Changed line of work, moved to a smaller town, ended up living/working on a farm (non commercial) where I finally got my own little patch of ground and tried to have chickens and sheep.

Moved again for work, this time my home has it's own garden which I'm nudging towards being edible - it has been cared for in the past and there are some lovely flowers.

However, I rent, and in this job I'll never be able to save a deposit so not sure where to go from here.

[Sudanpan]

Was born and brought up in London - but ALWAYS felt I needed to be in the country. After the usual ideas about being a vet etc I settled on the idea of becoming a Land Agent - ie managing somebodies else's country estate in Scotland or somewhere cos I knew I wouldn't be able to get my own 'proper' farm.

So, to that end I went to Uni with the plan of getting my degree (pure and applied biology) then heading off to learn to be a Land Agent with the country arms of Knight Frank/Savills/John D Wood etc - however I then found rowing and my career plan went up in smoke as it is not very easy to compete internationally while located up in the Highlands. So, as a stop gap I diversified and qualified as a general practice chartered surveyor which allowed me to stay in London while training and competing.

This messing about in boats continued for 15 years so by the time that finished my original idea of being a land agent was long gone - but luckily I managed to persuade my OH that he really really really wanted to leave London and 10 years later we stumbled across our 4 acres down here in Cornwall and we have had weaners and chickens - and are expanding our polytunnel produce, preparing for bees and hoping to have a good go at our first batch of haymaking this summer.

So now I am happy as a pig in the proverbial 

Tish

[RUSTYME]

I grew up in the leafy suburb of Ruislip , 300 yards from Northolt airport , now all swallowed up in London sprawl .
I used to bugger off and camp in Ruislip woods for days at a time , there was 7 kids in the house so it was easy to slip away !
I loved the tv program 'out of town ' , with the lovely old Jack Hargeaves . It is down to that program and him that i live as i do basically .
I had 2 allotments when i was 11, and they supplied all the veg for the family.
I too have a thing for books ,and had a few ww2 dig for victory allotment books . They got me going and i still follow them now !
The family moved to Wales in 1977 , when i was 20 , into an old farmhouse on 200 acres .
I reared chickens , ducks , pheasants , pigeons , guinea fowl , and sheep , cattle , pigs , goats , and spun wool , hemp , flax and cured cowhide leather made sheepskin coats and leather boots etc .
Then shtf one way or another and ended up living the 'normal' life till i had a near fatal car smash when i was 26 .
15 years of hell followed.
Crippling pain , head injury problems , i thought at times that i would be better off dead !
 But somehow a bit of the old me found a way out of the prison that my head had become , and slowly i gained control of myself and my life . Found ways to live with the pain and rebuild my life .
 I now knew i wanted a different way of life . A freer , simpler life , without all the crap that modern life is .
So by hook and crook i got my 6 acres and i am now stepping off the merry go round completely . The system is so corrupt i want no part of it .
I have a second chance at life and at 54 i am going back to a simple way of living , a way that doesn't interfere with others  , or entail being part of a corrupt system .
I grow and make what i need and life is good . I hope i have a few years to enjoy it all , but if i go tomorrow , i will go content with life and that i have done as little harm as i can.
I don't live the dream ! , i live the life , my life , one that i thought could never be !