[shetlandpaul]

there is a 250+ acre croft on yell in shetland going for offers over £80,000. there must be at least 10 acres of arable land in the holdings and a very nice beach to. the house needs a lot of work and there is a ruined house being used for hay storage. nowt to do with me but its very rare for a croft of this size to come on the market. pm and i will send the details. i wish i had a spare 80k.

[Wizard]

hello Paul A very interesting post but I do appreciate its not on the Lincolnshire Fens  Its a large plot for so small a cash outlay Theres a 2.75 acre piece of land at Old Leak asking price £385000 Phew!

[shetlandpaul]

ouch. must be aimed at housing.

[mab]

This might be a daft question, but what's it like to live in the Shetlands (for someone who's been living a long way south)?

If I could make a living there (I wonder if I could?), I could afford that, but Shetland always looks very bleak and cold and treeless to me. The closest I've ever been is the north coast of mainland Scotland in September (Dunnet head? or john o'groats).

I've got 3 Shetland ewe's, though - I could take them home! 

mab

[shetlandpaul]

winters are winters the worst is the wind and rain. we are normally warmer than the south during winter. our rain levels are lower than devons. the summers make up for the winters up to 23 hours of sunlight. ive only ever had bad sun burn 4 times in my life and two of those have been in the last two years going bald can hurt. it does take getting used to but there are a few odd trees. it really is not a bleak as you seem to think. have a look atsimon kings shetland diaries. 

[Wizard]

Is it in the thing that I understand as the Gulf Stream like where Palm Trees and the like grow on the west coast of Britian.No to the other Question I would think it very unlikely you would get planning there

[shetlandpaul]

it is the gulf stream but not much. for planning you would get permission without any problems. you can build in the rural parts very easily And can even get 30k in grants if on a croft. we pay 17 quid a year for 17 acres. you can even buy the land for something like 9 times the rental value.

[shetlandpaul]

http://www.neilrisk.com/assets/files/North%20Leadie.pdf

[sandy]

A lot of potential, it reminds me of an uncle who lived somewhere like that in North Wales.....near Hells Mouth ..I love my trees so a bit too treeless for me but what a great oppertunity for someone, looks like somewhere where there could be a reality TV series set,,,

[Jackie]

It sounds absolutely wonderful!!!!!

[sandy]

We have a guest staying at the moment from shetland, he said that to get to Yell you have to take an expensive ferry.....a step too far and too remote for some but ideal for others,they will sell that, you never know, maybe to someone on here or maybe they will join the forum....I wonder?

[shetlandpaul]

the main ferry up here is ok you travelling 300 miles so its reasonably cheap. 30% islander discount. the ferry to yell is a 20 minute sailing and costs a few quid for a car and passangers. it only paid leaving the main island free return all ferry travel in the northern isles is free at the moment. pensioners are free. it is isolated there is no arguing that.
i bet your guest comes from lerwick. its very odd but the folks who live in town seem scared off the countryside.

again its nowt to do with me just a very cheap chance for someonr to get into sheep or whatever very cheaply.

[sandy]

He is a lovely man, been here before but...I need t have been reborn...Love m life in civilisation...hard to give that up at my age!!

[mab]

I have to confess I'm seriously tempted; but it's one of those 'no going back' things and don't think I could make a sensible decision very quickly.

I still know virtually nothing about making a living off the land and I wonder if they've got enough work for a sparky up there. 

still..... 

mab

[shetlandpaul]

yes there would be. lots of building work. total are just about to build a 500m gas plant and theres lots of intrest in renewables. yes you would have to treat it like moving abroad you just can't nip back home up here. but if you have a few hundred sheep you won't be anyway.