Tag: smallholding

The deed is done

So our current house is on the market with a local estate agent now even though the decorator is still finishing off some painting in the kitchen. As seems common in this situation we have high hopes of early interest but don’t know whether buyers are out there and we can  expect any serious offers.

It would be nice to have a couple of acceptable offers to choose from but in the current UK housing market I’d probably settle for just one that came somewhere close to a reasonable figure.

Luckily we are in a great position and it doesn’t look like we will be completely dependent on a specific sale figure to buy somewhere with land. Obviously that may change according to the offers we receive but the more money we can get on the sale the better!

Potential Shortlist

We have managed to build up a list of around 5 places which meet many of our original requirements but sadly (and unsurprisingly) none of them meet all the points! Now is the time for some serious property viewing, detailed note taking and extensive internet research so that we’re ready to make our move when a buyer is found for our house!

Without giving too much away, here is a brief summary of our current favourites but this list changes regularly according to our mood:

1. A “real” smallholding with all facilities in place but only 3 acres
2. A small farm (5-10 acres) with easier holiday let potential
3. Another small farm (under 5 acres) with possible holiday let to develop
4. A rural bungalow with land (under 5 acres) with some facilities in place
5. An “ordinary” house with 2-3 acres on the edge of a village

We’ve already seen and rejected quite a few cheaper fixer-uppers on the internet as we’re not quite brave enough for that. However this quote that I came across in many places on the web still seems very apt:

It is an exciting time where the only limits you have are the size of your ideas and the degree of your dedication

However perhaps the more obvious quote I should use is this (see http://www.epicurus.net/en/carpediem.html):

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero
(Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future)

A Farmer’s Life for Me: How to live sustainably, Jimmy’s way (from Amazon)

This book caught my eye in the local library while I was looking for something about chickens or pigs. Needless to say there wasn’t much in a small suburban library that suited my original needs but I decided to give this book a try anyway.

My first reaction was that this would be just another one of “those” books that just skim the surface of the subject without giving enough detail. Despite this it seemed a good idea to give it a go because the recent TV programs showed that his approach and opinions are not so far from my own.

In some ways this does skim the surface exactly as expected because it just isn’t possible to cover the range of topics in detail without producing a multi-volume epic.

However this book also manages to give better information (or perhaps the same information in a better way) so that I felt I was getting more out of it. As a result this has turned out to be one of the few books that I am able to reread and get more out each time.

There is a wealth of useful information on both growing produce and rearing livestock but the inclusion of the recipes add a little something extra which I think helps to tie the whole book together.

This will certainly be purchased in the near future so that I have it available for future reference at all times. It will be placed up on the book shelf next to the other smallholding books I’ve gathered so far – the obvious book by John Seymour plus one by Dick / James Strawbridge (as discussed elsewhere) and the Haynes Smallholding Manual which is the most recent addition.

Each of these books contribute something to my overall knowledge and together they will hopefully ease my passage while preventing any costly or painful mistakes!