[SophieYorkshire]

I've just accepted a job in Cumbria, just south of Carlisle 

Anyone from around the area? I'm born and bred Yorkshire, and whilst I've been to Cumbria on many occasions I'm a little apprehensive about moving somewhere where we don't know a soul!

Hopefully someone on here can advise on the best markets/agri suppliers/vets etc?

Just need to find a house with some land, sell our place, work out the logistics of moving all the livestock and hope my OH can re-establish himself as a builder in the area now.... don't know if I'm hopping with excitement or terrified - maybe I've just gone completely crazy.... 

[harmony]

You will soon make friends. We are generally a friendly lot in Cumbria. Good luck with the move and the new job! 

[Rosemary]

How exciting  I'd say it's taken me five years to settle here. Hopefully you'll be finding your way around your new home very soon.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Crikey Sophs!


                   I'm guessing you must be an expert in logistics? As a person who upped sticks, moved to a new area, bought a smallholding and made a lifestyle change a few years ago I have to confess that I found that tough enough. But I bought the animals after I had moved to the small holding.I only had to drag a few chickens with me not a small farm.


         After watching an old episode of Escape to the country recently ( we like to laugh at people who want to buy a period property with half an acre of garden because they plan to keep themselves sustained with vegetables and keep a pig ) OH hit upon the idea of selling our holding and moving to one in Wales in order to be mortgage free. After a brief browse on right move and a lengthy discussion about the logistics of relocating, tractors, farm machinery, livestock, vehicles we struggled to see how it could be done.


I would love to hear how you get on 

[Rosemary]

We moved two ponies, three sheep, 30 hens, two dogs and three cats and it was OK. To be fair, it wasn't that far (an hour and a half). We moved after the pigs had gone and when hen numbers were low. And Dan's folks were here, so we could do it in stages.

I've sometimes thought about moving back home but can't get my head round the move. The livestock isn't too bad - I'd just employ a haulier - it's things like the tractor and all the equipment we have now.

[SallyintNorth]

Hey SophieSoonToBeCumbria !     Congratulations on the new job 

You'll know me! 

If your hubby's a builder, please please PLEASE come to Gilsland.  We're always desperate for someone to do jobs - small and larger - at the Village Hall!  (Gilsland's on the Cumbria / Northumberland border, the Hall's actually in Northumberland.)

We have a wealth of good marts and suppliers in Cumbria, so once you know where exactly you'll be living we can tell you which ones might suit.  And can point you at suitable vets, too.

What livestock will you be moving?  You'll need way more land around here than you do in Yorks... what do you have now?

Our neighbour moved here 30-plus years ago from Yorkshire, bringing her dairy herd with her.  And there are at least two other ex-Yorks smallholders nearby.  One moved back to Yorks and then returned here, because here is now home.

I'm sure you'll find us very welcoming 

[SophieYorkshire]

We moved two ponies, three sheep, 30 hens, two dogs and three cats and it was OK. To be fair, it wasn't that far (an hour and a half). We moved after the pigs had gone and when hen numbers were low. And Dan's folks were here, so we could do it in stages.

I've sometimes thought about moving back home but can't get my head round the move. The livestock isn't too bad - I'd just employ a haulier - it's things like the tractor and all the equipment we have now.

5 years?! Gulp! 

Im finding the difficult bit to be not finding a house, or some land - but somewhere that has the facilities to suit the equipment we have and use or can be adapted quickly!

[SophieYorkshire]

Crikey Sophs!


                   I'm guessing you must be an expert in logistics? As a person who upped sticks, moved to a new area, bought a smallholding and made a lifestyle change a few years ago I have to confess that I found that tough enough. But I bought the animals after I had moved to the small holding.I only had to drag a few chickens with me not a small farm.


         After watching an old episode of Escape to the country recently ( we like to laugh at people who want to buy a period property with half an acre of garden because they plan to keep themselves sustained with vegetables and keep a pig ) OH hit upon the idea of selling our holding and moving to one in Wales in order to be mortgage free. After a brief browse on right move and a lengthy discussion about the logistics of relocating, tractors, farm machinery, livestock, vehicles we struggled to see how it could be done.


I would love to hear how you get on 

No expert here - but about to become a bumbling clown with logistics I think! 

I'm crossing my fingers we can do it in stages to make it more manageable... but no doubt there'll be plenty of naughty words flying around when I realise I've moved the pigs but forgotten the wheelbarrow or something similar 

[SophieYorkshire]

Hey SophieSoonToBeCumbria !     Congratulations on the new job 

You'll know me! 

If your hubby's a builder, please please PLEASE come to Gilsland.  We're always desperate for someone to do jobs - small and larger - at the Village Hall!  (Gilsland's on the Cumbria / Northumberland border, the Hall's actually in Northumberland.)

We have a wealth of good marts and suppliers in Cumbria, so once you know where exactly you'll be living we can tell you which ones might suit.  And can point you at suitable vets, too.

What livestock will you be moving?  You'll need way more land around here than you do in Yorks... what do you have now?

Our neighbour moved here 30-plus years ago from Yorkshire, bringing her dairy herd with her.  And there are at least two other ex-Yorks smallholders nearby.  One moved back to Yorks and then returned here, because here is now home.

I'm sure you'll find us very welcoming 

Feel a bit better after reading that Sally! We'll be moving to somewhere around Carlisle- don't know the area at all!

At least it's still farm country so I won't be reduced to buying feed in 25kg bags 

Will be moving *drumroll* ....
80 large white sows and boars (the last one of which farrowed Tuesday). All have had litters of minimum 10 so hopefully I can shift the weaners before the move, or we're in the thousands!
10 heifers
30 herdwick ewes and tup (although thinking I may possibly leave these in Yorkshire until they've lambed)
5 hives of bees
4 dogs
1 cat
1 rabbit
1 tortoise

Why will we need more land? Land looks to be cheaper than Yorkshire at first glance, might go to a few auctions and see if anything good is going through them.

I'm wondering if we're best buying somewhere with a few acres initially, and renting grazing until we get a feel for the area.

Think I need to start making some serious lists!

[Rosemary]

Will be moving *drumroll* ....
80 large white sows and boars (the last one of which farrowed Tuesday). All have had litters of minimum 10 so hopefully I can shift the weaners before the move, or we're in the thousands!
10 heifers
30 herdwick ewes and tup (although thinking I may possibly leave these in Yorkshire until they've lambed)
5 hives of bees
4 dogs
1 cat
1 rabbit
1 tortoise

Bloody hell.

[chrismahon]

Problem we found is that moving takes months and certainly can't be done in one go. We can't buy until we have sold, so the only alternative is to rent, which breaks any buying chain, gives you time to explore the area and gives you better bargaining power on a purchase. We moved 28 chickens in a double domestic export process. We started packing two years before we moved and built and shipped new coops with runs to take the chickens on arrival. Moving us and the furniture was a doddle!

[SophieYorkshire]

Will be moving *drumroll* ....
80 large white sows and boars (the last one of which farrowed Tuesday). All have had litters of minimum 10 so hopefully I can shift the weaners before the move, or we're in the thousands!
10 heifers
30 herdwick ewes and tup (although thinking I may possibly leave these in Yorkshire until they've lambed)
5 hives of bees
4 dogs
1 cat
1 rabbit
1 tortoise

Bloody hell.

Bloody hell indeed - smallholding growing out of control! 

[SophieYorkshire]

Problem we found is that moving takes months and certainly can't be done in one go. We can't buy until we have sold, so the only alternative is to rent, which breaks any buying chain, gives you time to explore the area and gives you better bargaining power on a purchase. We moved 28 chickens in a double domestic export process. We started packing two years before we moved and built and shipped new coops with runs to take the chickens on arrival. Moving us and the furniture was a doddle!

Agree completely! Luckily mother in law has been living with us for a few months and is happy to buy straight from us - phew!

Packing for 2 years?! 

We do keep joking that all we'll need to take is a knapsack with a few undies and socks.. moving ourselves should definitely be easier than the animals! 

[SallyintNorth]

Why will we need more land? Land looks to be cheaper than Yorkshire at first glance, might go to a few auctions and see if anything good is going through them.

I'm wondering if we're best buying somewhere with a few acres initially, and renting grazing until we get a feel for the area.

Land probably is cheaper, yes - because it's a lot less productive. 

Hereabouts we're all SDA, wet, reshy, etc, and you can double, treble or even quadruple acreages for the same stocking levels over better ground.  (We have 240ish ewes and 35 cows, and farm 440 acres.  Most lambs away by about now, usually carry 80-100 over winter; calves sold by 14-15 months, never finish any.  A handful of cattle outwintered but the majority housed.)

You'll definitely need to take care with the land.  We've had a very dry (for us) summer and back end this year, so land will look better than it might with normal rainfall . Get the agricultural gradings / classifications of each field so you don't get misled into thinking it's better (better drained with better grass) than it is.

I have to say, there really aren't many large scale free range pig operations in Cumbria...  Paging [member=120041]Pigsmightfry[/member], they keep pigs and are near Carlisle.

I've PMd some more specific info

[Roxy]

5 years ago, due to family wanting to dissolve a partnership, we reluctantly sold the farm we had - which went for far less than the rest of the family expected.  We bought a tiny cottage, with land 10 minutes away, with the intention that when we retired, we would live in the cottage and sell the land separately.  I have always had a yearning to live either on the Lancs/Yorks border area, or Northumberland or Cumbria.  I said I would never move again, but .....why is it I am looking at places for sale in these areas every night!!

We moved 20 goats, a few sheep I had at the time, pigs, 8 ponies, and rather a lot of free range hens, but thankfully the seller of the land let us move on before he should have, which did help things greatly.