[kevkev57]

Most of you have probably read that the three most important things to consider when it comes to buying or renting a shop are " location , location , location "

What about our smallholdings though ?

Traditionally, as in our case we live out in the sticks, where you would assume most smallholdings are. Is it any longer the ideal situation though ? We have seen what rising fuel costs did to our budgets last year, and we felt it as we have to pack in extra miles to get anywhere.  Living as local as you can to all services and sale of your garden produce is also more important these days....carbon foot prints and all that.

So lets see the ideal location would therefore be, very close to a larger community, lower fuel costs, easier access to services.  But  then who wants a smallholding on the edge of a housing estate ? 

My younger son always used to say and still does at the age of 19 , that he would love to live on  a beach, but with a forest at the back door. Best of both worlds as far as he is concerned. A rare location to find though.

We have learnt to really combine our trips to cut down on costs and time. We are becoming more like our forefathers who would make one weekly trip to market.


Perhaps the three words to describe a ideal smallholding are  " compromise, compromise, compromise "

What do you all think ?

Kevin

[sheila]

I couldn't agree more. I compromised. we live on the edge of a seaside town. There are no shops or services that other people take for granted so it's like  a  child being let loose in a sweetshop when I go to a big town. However there are advantages. no neighbours to worry about etc. Also although our lives are affected by the sea which is half a mile away, Wind and sea fret etc, We never go to the seaside except when we have big city visitors.

[Tullywood Farm]

Hello Kevin,

I would agree with compromise - but you can still have everything nearby and be away from neighbours.

We were very lucky.  We fell in love with the views in the lake district of the West of Ireland.  We have over 10 lakes within minutes, we overlook an unspoilt lake, and we are surrounded by forestry, high above water level increases, and still protected from the wind, south facing and it gets really hot when we do get the sun.

Like your Son, I always wanted to live near the beach and walk the dogs every morning.  The thing is living near the sea has its drawbacks.
Very stormy and windy in the winter, the salty air means you can only grow costal plants, and the crowds of people coming to the beach and tourists in the summer would be annoying.

Again we are lucky, we are only 25 minutes from Strand Hill, and within 40 minutes of Easky and Rosses Point.  In between those places there are lots of beachy coves and pebble beaches that are secluded, but accessible if you know your way around.  So we have a touring caravan, and can wake up at the beach and walk the dogs whenever we wish to have an overnight stay.  It's great and breakfast cooked in the caravan always tastes sooo much better!

Now we have so many animals, and have incorporated barbeque areas, decks and gazebo's on all the best spots of our land, we very rarely go away as we love being at home.  We have our own small broadleaf woodland, and can see one house from our land, yet we are within 20 minutes drive of 4 farmers markets, the furthest villages are 2km away and our road is off the main road up a mountain, with grass up the middle like a donkey track, so tourists don't go up there.  Our drive from the small road is also very long to the house, and we have grown trees so that even if people do come up, in the summer they cannot see into where we might be enjoying ourselves eating outside or sunbathing or entertaining friends.  Our double bonus was the two mountain streams, one down each side of the land - we are very lucky.

What we did, was make a wish list of what we all wanted from the smallholding, including the animals we wanted to keep, the surrounding that were important and so on.  
Our place is not far from Keadue, Irelands tidiest town winner on several occasions, and the Lough Meelagh setting, the fact that everyone works together in the village and surrounding areas to keep it beautiful and litter free, and that we are not near the village are all bonus points for us.  

I am not into Feng Shui, but a friend of mine is, and she says our land could not be more perfect in working with the natural flow of energy and nature working together - so that was nice too.

Now you have made your list, and put it out there- the place thats right for you will turn up - sometimes in disguise.

We were brought up this mountain by an auctioneer who was showing us a damp old cottage open to the winds at the top of the mountain, cold and bleak - as we were coming back down I was our place and said "Thats more like what we are after".

Oh perfect he said, that belongs to the same man, and I think he might sell it too.
It had 35 acres with it, we only wanted five, and after a lot of negotiation we finally partitioned off the best bit for us at an agreed price.

So be patient, it will find you Kev

Good luck in your search
Julie (in the UK)

[kevkev57]

Sheila,

Thats funny, we are the same here about our area. Trips ro nearby beauty spots only happen when people visit. I suppose it is kind of normal.

Kevin

[kevkev57]

Hi Julie

We already have our little ' paradise ' as well ! 15 acres of pasture land, and around 7 acres of woodland. My post was just a general comment on what smallholding is ideal doe us all.  Your location sounds superb. In' it great !!!

Your point about rarely going out for trips is a good one.  We feel the same. All we need is here.  At the weekend we still feel ' on holiday '  I guess you feel the urge to go out more if you are stuck inbetween several neighbours , with no privacy.

Kevin

[gavo]

Kevin   We feel pretty lucky about our home over looking a beautiful lake two miles from the nearest village and shop/pub .Largest town 14 miles away in which we work bills have to be paid[unfortunately] all our livestock around us including a turkey cock who thinks our utility room is his second home! We live off a main road up a long lane which means we only get customers who really want to by our produce the passing trade is great ,the customers love to see the poultry coming to greet them along with the occasional stray piglet,sheep or goat.

[kevkev57]

Gavo, that pretty much describes our location, but no main roads here. 
Kevin

[CarraghsBorderCollies]

i live on approx half-acre on a road that is only busy twice a day 8-10am and 5-6pm as lorrys use it as a short cut, i have neigbours but we are not too close and i have a beautiful uninterupted view, neighbours here tend to look out for each other and im only 2miles from a decent sized small village with a few pubs and a really good kebab+indian takeout, im also about 10-15mins from a large town that has most things you need including an lidl's and a cattle/horse mart

[lara]

I'm really pleased with the location of the bungalow which we are in the process of buying (hopeful to complete a week on Friday -24th)
its only 2 & 1/2 miles from our busy market town of Boston, but feels like being in the countryside - not isolated but neighbours far enough away which will be great.
 years ago when i did the smallholder bit i lived in a more isolated  position about 8 miles from town ( we built a lovely bungalow & had 1.5 acre grass field- perfect I thought)
but although it wasn't miles & miles away it still wasn't always convenient for nipping into town,taxi for daughter,taxi for us etc, and the roads into town were very bumpy - along an ungritted riverbank in the winter (a death trap)
After 3 years I felt i needed to be nearer to town and wanted to move.  so I guess it all boils down to what you really want and need from your home, weigh up the all pros and cons of travelling and choose your location carefully, because if you are not truly happy with the location for whatever reason you will probably end up wanting to move sooner or later no matter how perfect your property is.......... I did.

[Roxy]

Before we moved here, we had such trouble with neighbours that we both vowed we would never move near other people again.  To be honest, for me, I am not isolated enough here.  From the window I can see the back windows of three cottages which back on to our field.  I can also see the lights on the main road through the village, although to get there its a good drive.  Yes, we are down a farm track, and across another track, which is better than where we were, and we are surrounded by fields and woodland.  Very fortunate compared to some.

We have been looking further North - Cumbria and South west Scotland, which would be better for our horse shows which are all in that area.  Also we would get a lot more land and house for our money.  But the location is very important to me.  Well away from any roads, definitely no neighbours, and views of hills and fields are my main wants. I do not care how far it is to the shops etc. .....

[CarraghsBorderCollies]

i expect to live in this house for 5-8yrs depending on a lot of factors the main one being that i will soon require a substancial amount of land to house various animals/projects and if/when we have kids