[Hevxxx99]

It's in my soul. I couldn't live any other way.

I've had animals since I was very young and have always been part of the countryside.  I have no idea how I "got into it": it's just part of who I am.

[bloomer]

i started with 3 chickens in the garden of a tiny semi in warwickshire...


my wife and i relocated to scotland for her to continue her education we were without chickens for a year or so but i did get to meet a lot of the tas members and its obviously there fault that i wanted more :-)


after mrs b graduated and got a job we relocated to fife, we now have enough room in the garden for up to 20 chickens a nice veg patch and bee's that arrive this summer...


i was also lucky to meet a friend who kindly allows me to graze my small flock of sheep on her land in return for work on her holding :-) we are due to lamb for the first time at the end of april :-)


i love my life now and if finances ever allow fully intend to buy my own land so i can go on like this for the rest of forever!!!

[Cavendish]

I grew up in central London, and never had a garden except for the postage stamp at the front of the maisonette, which was used to keep the rubbish bins in. I never had any inclination for growing veggies as a kid, as no one in my family did it, and neither did any of my friends or their parents.

My interest in growing veggies started when I left London and moved to Reading for uni, I met a girl who lived in Henley on Thames, she opened my eyes to a different way of life, and one that I liked the look of. Ever since then I have been trying to get my little bit of the good life. On top of that, the yearning for not doing an office job and spending my days in the countryside also add to passion for all things self sufficient.

At present, I live on the very edge of Reading and have managed to buy a house with my long term OH, the house has a reasonable sized garden, in which I grow as much as I can each year for my ever expanding family, additionally I brew my own beer and cider. 

I would like to get chickens in the near ish future, I just need to convince the Mrs that our garden is big enough. I think it is, she does not. not sure what the dog and cat would make of them!

[Fleecewife]

I'm from a long line of Fenland famers and smallholders on one side, not sure about the other side.  I grew up on a farm, a bit wild.  I always  wanted a goat but wasn't allowed one.  For years I wanted a pony but wasn't allowed one either.  I did have a tiny flower patch of my own though.  My brother and I spent one summer working out exactly how to make the farm totally self sufficient - we had everything sorted except coal - funny we didn't think of the woods behind the fields 
At Uni I had to go out and buy some pots, compost and plants as I was suffering withdrawal from having nothing to grow.  We moved around a lot in the RAF, but I always planted veggies in every garden we lived in, even if we didn't get to crop them.  Our first owned house had the front garden all planted up with veg, much to the horror of the rest of suburbia.  At our next house there was no room for veggies so I took on two allotments.  Then twenty years ago, once our children had moved away, we moved here to our smallholding.  Oddly, I never have had my goat or pony, or even a donkey which I so wanted and still do, but we do keep sheep and poultry, and for a while we had Tamworths.  I had dreamed of a nice big polytunnel and we've had that for about 18 years, plus a soft fruit garden, an orchard, and an outdoor veg garden, as well as a flower garden.  We both love wildlife and have dedicated areas not to be disturbed or managed for birds, bees, small mammals and insects.  After a huge health scare each we have cut back on our livestock numbers and the amount of garden ground we cultivate, and we fully intend to end our days here 

[Kimbo]

Fleecewife, its not too late for that pony. I suggest a nice  quiet Highland. You go for it girl. I have a friend who bought her 1st horse at age 60.....and she didn't even have her own land.

[Fleecewife]

Fleecewife, its not too late for that pony. I suggest a nice  quiet Highland. You go for it girl. I have a friend who bought her 1st horse at age 60.....and she didn't even have her own land.

Thanks Kimbo but the other half would never let me have a horse or pony now, as I couldn't do the work to keep it.  BUT a lovely new neighbour has moved in with, amongst other equines, a big Clydesdale type beauty, which she is happy for me to ride from time to time.  I'll love that 

[Ghdp]

Cavendish

We had three hens in our small back garden. Within a short time there was no garden. We then built a proper run, restricted but allowed their out of run time and lived together happily after that. Our boisterous terriers and feisty cats were soon put in their place by the hens. There is nothing like a 'home grown' egg.

[Caroline1]

I think it is fascinating how everyone came to live the lifestyle that we are all enjoying. It also feels somewhat addictive. I started out with chickens then ducks, then bees. Now I have more space am loving the pigs and keep thinking right what else can add and how much more can I grow 

[adrian007]

Old life - IFA, married to a solicitor, normal, comfortable etc

Recession and divorce led to a few things... 1 was shopping and noticing prices of things apples, 50p each, tomatoes 50p each - madness, i was shocked.

I was also 40, no money and starting from scratch in life. As an IFA I realised in order to be able to retire I needed to save about £1m to have a £35000 a year pension and also buy a house,.. in just 20 - 25 years. Fat chance.

So, with my new wife, we thought hard about how to make a plan for living. I can cook, she yearned for a more old time lifestyle... we figured out a plan.

We have bought 13 acres of Cornwall, she is building a farm while I 'work' (ahem!) * and the plan is that over the next 5 - 8 years the farm business will develop to the extent thatwe can be largely self sustaining, with enough income to make the shortfall and then a bit more - a kind of retirement plan in itself.

Early stages yet, with plenty of things we are learning the hard way but our enthusiasm is undampened.

Adrian

I mean she works and I earn money to pay for the farm to be created

[cloddopper]

We decided that our employers could not pay us what we felt we were worth so the  obvious route out for a farm workers son with several different city & guilded trades mainly in electrical & mechanical trade under his belt & Alison as a top grade licentiate IPD PA was some land way out from the towns & cities where I could smal hold ,& Alison could try her hand at bees and both of us design &  develop a decent paying business whilst still  doing paid employment .
 It was decided that after it was up & running well , giving about five times my paid employment net wage I'd be the first to take early redundancy as it was starting to be offered on some excellent terms .

 With the farm up & running I was about to apply for the redundancy when at work an office chair collapsed under me a & gave me a major life changing injury .
 
We had to sell up in the end and move to a small bungalow in a city near hospitals etc , eventually getting fed up with city life we decided to come & live here in South Wales.
We are living  in a modern bungalow that had options for landscaping the gardens in to 900 mm high brick built raised beds , so I /we could carry on growing our own food & for erecting an outside quality finished log cabin office for our new business ventures .