[Rosemary]

Have a look at the Caravan Club / Camping and Caravan Club - you can have 5 touring caravan pitches without needing planning permission and if you meet the standards, you can become a certificated site for these organisation. You need half an acre but not a lot of capital investment - drinking water and soewhere to empty chemical loos. Generally charges are between 8 and 12 per night, so if you open 200 nights x 5 pitches at 8 quid, that's 8 grand a year. Assumes full occupancy of course and it's gross income not profit.

Country Smallholding has a series of articles about business planning, started last month, I think. Maybe most of us don't do it, but probably should, so it might be worthwhile to set down what you plan to do, inputs, outputs, and so on - it will give you a realistic picture of what's achievable.

My key advice woudl be buy as big a holding as you can afford - you'll grow into it. If you buy too small, you'll be frustrated in no time.

[starcana]

Hi, we're in Cornwall - made the move 18 months ago but had waited till we could take early retirement (with public sector pensions!) to do it. It's great, we love it here and wouldn't change a thing. We're only playing at smallholding, basically a lovely farmhouse with 13 acres, but about 1o acres just cut for hay. We've brought the rest of the land (about 2 acres cos the lane to our house is veyr long, and makes up the rest) into use from being overgrown and neglected and it's going well. We loved our careers which always had to be city based. BUT we do wish we'd been able to bring our kids up somewhere like this (they're all grown with children of their own now). The children here have sailing lessons as a matter of routine after school each week, go to the beach for breakfast at weekends, and generally live a lovely outdoor life. So, is there a compromise if you can't give up work completely - different, perhaps seasonal work alongside living the dream. We have a holiday barn attached to our house and were booked for 47 weeks in our first year (through a brilliant agency who charge a fortune but do deliever on bookings). Even then, it only grossed about £12k. Great for a hobby business, but could you live on that?). Ours is only one bedroom which is why we get bookings from couples only right through the year. Larger properties make more in the high holiday season (and take more work on changeover etc) but are empty for a lot more weeks of the year as families tend only to use school holidays. So, lots to think about but good luck with the decision. You sound like you are more than ready for the change.

[JulieS]

That's a very good point about the size of holiday cottage starcana.  Our holiday cottage originally had 3 bedrooms, which we thought would be great.  We got the holiday cottage company around to take a look before we did the refurbishment and she recommended making the 3rd bedroom into an ensuite......A two bedroom (1 double and 1 twin room that can be made into a double), 2 bathroom cottage would let all through the year she said, not just the school holidays.

We went with her recommendations and she was right.   We get couples, single friends, parents and children, Grandparents and Grandchildren, lots of combinations.

So worth keeping that in mind when looking at cottages/annexes in properties you look at.  Bigger isn't always best.

[WinslowPorker]

Guys you really are all a wealth of knowledge and it is appreciated!!

We have toyed with the idea of just getting this placed sold and going into rented, and benefit from being able to move quickly when the right property i found. I also do not really want to have to keep my job up here and only have weekends, but if that is what i need to do for yr1 then so be it. Mind you I would like any job where i can turn up, do a days work for a days money and go home and switch off!

I think the more land the better, especially generating income from caravans etc and an annexe too, i think these are going to be important so that we can generate income and try and be as self sufficient as possible. dont get me wrong i do not have my head in the clouds and fully expect to have to get work of some description, but hey 10 miles from beach, all teh activities available for the kids and a dalmation & collie who go totally bonkers as soon as there paws touch the sand!!

need to put some figures together i think and then add 20%

[bazzais]

Good luck with it I hope it all goes to plan. 

Ta

Baz

[sandy]

One common thread on this forum is people jumping into the deep end and getting out of the rat race. We both had good jobs, low mortgage, nice home in a beauty spot and great lifestyle but you end up with just a few hours to enjoy your life, the only time you get is your 4 weeks holiday. We moved to enjoy things a bit more and it's worked.....Go for it is my advice...only here a short time so you should not think too long about things!!!

[doganjo]

It's still a buyers market out there too, so I would certainly think seriously about selling first, or at least have some interest before committing to buy.  We did that way back in the 80's, spent 4 months in a rented house with 2 teenagers and three dogs, but it was good for us as a family - we all pulled together.  Then  we saw the right house on a Monday, bought and paid for it on the Tuesday, moved in on the Friday! My daughter has been trying to sell her city flats for 4 months.

[sandy]

If only we had some extra ££££'s

[Wizard]

Mornin W.P.Take in all this good advice but still as Sir Terry said "Back to the day job" its vital.Best of Good Luck with the project and take your time.A ? Marry in haste relent at your leisure.Same rule applies

[WinslowPorker]

Well after a sunburnt weekend and too many BBQ's and glasses of wine, my wife and I finally had some together time and have decided at the  moment we are going to have to stay in the rat race. Maybe that we re-visit this in a few years or perhaps try and acquire a piece of land locally that we can have some animals on.

At the end of the day we do want to travel a little bit and see some far away places before we move the forever lifestyle of a smallholding, and having spoken with my local estate agent they are re-opening the railway station in our little town in the next couple of years which will give us all and overnight windfall on house prices.

The dream is very much still alive, but as opposed to sppeing along in 5th we have just slowed down a couple of gears and will take some time to get all of our house in order so we can come and play with you all, knowing that we are sorted.

Also we have a way to go with a few more animals to keep so we can build up all of our experience, for when we do it ourselves.

Looking forward to speaking with you all more on advice/experiences etc and George you a right, there is no need to be hasty, i know the clock is ticking but we still have bags of time.

Graeme

[Wizard]

Very sensible Graeme.The only trouble is that little plot you could just about manage now will be thousands more in 5 years more is the pity. As city dwellers sell their desirable city residences and move out into the country.Some pay fantastic prices and do nothing with the 31/2 acre but it stops you doing anything with it.

[JulieS]

There is lots of time to follow the dream Graeme.  You are still very young and lots to do, especially the travelling.  It has to be the right time in life for everyone in the family to make the change.  

Enjoy life, see lots of places, learn lots and when the time is right everything will fall into place.
 

[WinslowPorker]

Thanks guys,

You know we were watching the gogglebox over the weekend and there was something about China come on and i said to Di, ' i would love to go and see the Great Wall' and from there we ended up with a pros & cons session and realised we still had some dreams that need forfilling prior to this lifestyle move, mind you Julie my July road trip may open up the can of worms again.

Your right george the land thing around teh homecounties is absolutley mad, i have seen 2-3 acre plots of scrubland go for nearly £40k then they put a couple of stables on and a menage and suddenley its nearly doubled and trust me they are not on the market long! i showed my estate agent the property in Looe, Cornwall with the Ag Occupancy on and he said you can get them lifted but even so, up here in the home counties you would be £600k++ for soemthing like that!! born and bread in Buckinghamshire as is my whole bloodline in rural village/farming communities and i will have to move 4+ hours away to live my dream of having a little bit of land for 'farming', as i will never afford to do that in my own community. 

[Wizard]

Phew WP thats even worse than I had been told about

[WinslowPorker]

There is a 5 bed house with some 14 acres, some equestrian facilities and ok it has a swimming pool & gym but has just hit the market for 1.575million!! not for me in this lifetime unless i win the Euros!
seriously though anything whihc says equestrian down here is like a license to print money! I am sure JulieS will have exeprienced that having lived not too far from me.