Land to live off grid

nayjay

Member
Have you considered moving to a rural location in a small terraced house in a village Somewhere that’s cheap to buy. ??
I bet a £20k house in Coundon orFerryhill is cheaper than where you live in BerkshiRe ???
That would be the ideal but unfortunately we don't have the savings to do so right now and we haven't got any family to help us. But I will look into it many thanks
 

bovrill

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
East Essexshire
You're probably looking in the wrong country to do this. There are too many people fed up with the rat race, and yearn for the Good Life.
What you want is the reverse, a country of rural depopulation, where places are getting abandoned as the people move to cities or abroad for a better life.
I've heard Bulgaria spoken of in that light, but I suspect there's a lot of those ex-communist countries in the same boat.
There will be downsides though!
 

caveman

Member
Location
East Sussex.
You're probably looking in the wrong country to do this. There are too many people fed up with the rat race, and yearn for the Good Life.
What you want is the reverse, a country of rural depopulation, where places are getting abandoned as the people move to cities or abroad for a better life.
I've heard Bulgaria spoken of in that light, but I suspect there's a lot of those ex-communist countries in the same boat.
There will be downsides though!
I thought Wales was the land of milk and honey for the hippie commune?
Of course. That was before dropping out became fashionable for the luvvies with money.
Guess you would need a special skill or professional expertise to bring to a commune if you had no dosh to buy in with.
 
Location
Suffolk
@nayjay I bought a derelict smallholding at auction. I make my living in a number of ways. My wife and I both have valuable skill-sets and after nearly twelve years of hard graft our efforts are starting to pay off.
Don't be put off by the naysayers. look hard and something will turn up. From what I've seen you need to chase the auctioneers for details of pending plot sales, all that sort of thing and then go to auction.

SS
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Should be places in Scotland available as they become vacant when the current occupiers from the south get fed up with the weather, midges, lack of money, distance, etc. and migrate back down. Crofts in the Highlands are a bit like pedigree sheep -- boom and bust!
 

nayjay

Member
@nayjay I bought a derelict smallholding at auction. I make my living in a number of ways. My wife and I both have valuable skill-sets and after nearly twelve years of hard graft our efforts are starting to pay off.
Don't be put off by the naysayers. look hard and something will turn up. From what I've seen you need to chase the auctioneers for details of pending plot sales, all that sort of thing and then go to auction.

SS


Thanks so much for ur kind words and tips and well done on you guys :)
 

nayjay

Member
Should be places in Scotland available as they become vacant when the current occupiers from the south get fed up with the weather, midges, lack of money, distance, etc. and migrate back down. Crofts in the Highlands are a bit like pedigree sheep -- boom and bust!


Have been looking but looking like it would be difficult to get that far up north from me now. But thanks for the tip if it calms down a bit that location may become more of a focus :)
 

toquark

Member
Re Scotland - extremely difficult to establish a new holding with the planning system currently in place. I can think of at least four commercial farming neighbours who are born and bred here being refused PP on new houses on their farms. It is just very very difficult to do. A few have managed but they've generally spent about 5 years living in a static and chipping away at the planning system, its not for the feint hearted.

We're both local and looked at it seriously (I'd love to build a house) but conceded it was just too big a risk and decided it best to just bite the bullet, swallow the big mortgage and buy an established holding.
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Re Scotland - extremely difficult to establish a new holding with the planning system currently in place. I can think of at least four commercial farming neighbours who are born and bred here being refused PP on new houses on their farms. It is just very very difficult to do. A few have managed but they've generally spent about 5 years living in a static and chipping away at the planning system, its not for the feint hearted.

We're both local and looked at it seriously (I'd love to build a house) but conceded it was just too big a risk and decided it best to just bite the bullet, swallow the big mortgage and buy an established holding.

It is a tribal system. My neighbour is a builder yet he got planning for a 12m x 24m shed for his four sheep on his 3 acre "farm" which he now used for processing firewood. I got my guns seized for protesting. Go figure.

Your best bet is to get a planning consultant from outside your immediate area and win the lottery to pay his fees. Did you not watch the TV documentary the other night? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07yjk0j
 

fenhayman

Member
Have you considered fruit/vegetable picking. Many growers offer accomodation. Try it for a few months. If you put your back into it could lead to permanent job with accomodation. A decent base for exploring your dream.
 

toquark

Member
It is a tribal system. My neighbour is a builder yet he got planning for a 12m x 24m shed for his four sheep on his 3 acre "farm" which he now used for processing firewood. I got my guns seized for protesting. Go figure.

Your best bet is to get a planning consultant from outside your immediate area and win the lottery to pay his fees. Did you not watch the TV documentary the other night? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07yjk0j

Sheds are different though, usually just a prior notification required. They’re sometimes used as a work around - by establishing a “farm” it can sometimes make it easier to gain PP for a house later on. The successful ones I know did this, or had existing steadings already in place. I also know of one or two who have been unsuccessful and are left with shed in the middle of nowhere!
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sheds are different though, usually just a prior notification required. They’re sometimes used as a work around - by establishing a “farm” it can sometimes make it easier to gain PP for a house later on. The successful ones I know did this, or had existing steadings already in place. I also know of one or two who have been unsuccessful and are left with shed in the middle of nowhere!

"The measure of civilisation is the people's laws and how they are administered".
 

nayjay

Member
Have you considered fruit/vegetable picking. Many growers offer accomodation. Try it for a few months. If you put your back into it could lead to permanent job with accomodation. A decent base for exploring your dream.


this would be perfect and something me and my husband was actually discussing not too long ago, i just don't know where i would begin to look for that type of set up? but its definitely something i would be happy to explore.
 

delilah

Member
I always say the following to these posts:

Self-sufficiency - on an individual household level - is a naive hippy ideal. Even the guru John Seymour admitted that the biggest mistake he made was trying to do too much on his own.
Self-sufficiency - on a community level - will save mankind and the planet.

As @caveman said, have a look at Diggers and Dreamers.
Also, these guys are currently rushed off their feet through massive increase in demand. Offer your services.

https://www.facebook.com/CSANetworkUK/

https://www.facebook.com/LandWorkersAlliance?_rdc=1&_rdr
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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