Ok, Whats your own personal idea of a good homestead?

[Uilleachan]

As above

Mines a quiet croft up a quiet glen with a river nearby, a good productive garden, space for a fodder crop or two, tatties, a coupe of cows a few sheep a decent quad and a good shed.

 

[Shewie]

As above

Mines a quiet croft up a quiet glen with a river nearby, a good productive garden, space for a fodder crop or two, tatties, a coupe of cows a few sheep a decent quad and a good shed.

That's pretty much it for me too, maybe a few hens and ducks for eggs, a couple of porkers and a bit of woodland.

 

[treadlightly]

A simple structure, made of natural materials, easily repairable by a non-expert (me), heated by wood fires/stove. Little or no technology and a sense of being in nature rather than being too cut off from it.

 

[Toddy]

Edge of a village, huuuuuge gardens, big woods and with lanes running up into hill lands. Like minded folks around. I need the company of craftsfolks and skilled people
Water nearby; burns, rivers, a loch would be good.
Close enough for easy access to Schools, Dr., Dentist, Post Office, etc., without needing hours of driving.

M

 

[squishy]

Sounds perfect Mary

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Swallow]

Wherever I am. Or at least that's the direction I'm trying to point in.

 

[Hedgecrafter]

I think that my idea of a "good" homestead is simply being as or more comfortable than the rest of the homes in your area whilst relying less on the large energy and water companies and less on supermarkets.

Essentially, living comfortably on a lower wage because your saving money in other areas.


Now if we were talking about my "ideal" homestead I'd love a little cottage powered by LPG and wood from my own forrest. I would be far happier in a small community so we could trade consumables rather than have to shop.

 

[Clouston98]

Ooh I'd like a large log cabin, with a huge open fire, a large area of mixed woodland, some ducks, geese and chickens, 3 pigs and about 5 cows and a large garden full of edibles, berry trees and bushes, larger fruit trees, big veg patch and a big man cave. Absolute heaven!

 

[boatman]

Woodland edging an orchard in which pigs and chickens run in due season. Large vegetable and fruit garden. The house is offset to the slope and stream that lead down to a cove in which the buoys of my crab and lobster pots would be bobbing. Couple of boats drawn up on the beach. 1.5 million should do it.

But the price of part of this idyll could be c£80 a year for an allotment, £500 or so for a boat or fishing kayak and accommodation costs near the coast. Maybe volunteer with the Woodland Trust or similar.

To make a start http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Bo...ds=bob+avery+complete+book+of+seafood+fishing

 

[British Red]

I like what we have, but I would love more land - woodland, grazing land and to be able to raise our own cereals. I would like to add our own wind turbine / PV electricity set up, a wind pump for the well and a shaft and belt driven workshop

 

[sandbender]

"...Like minded folks around. I need the company of craftsfolks and skilled people ..."

ditto to this, very important.

My own water supply.
Either an old house that will outlast me or a modern one that costs next to nothing to run.
Geese.
Ducks.
Pigs.
Goats.
A cat or two.

 

[British Red]

Proximity of others is interesting. Its nice to have good neighbours - but I would prefer none within sight or sound - say a mile or two? Still easy to stroll over for a beer on a Summers evening - but none of that nosey parker thing that happens in some villages with people "into your business"

 

[Toddy]

I live cheek by jowl with my neighbours; trust me on this, good fences and hedges kept in good order help keep everyone happy
A mile's too far. Huge gardens with lanes and small woodlands between them would do fine It'd take up too much 'countryside' though :/

M

 

[spiritwalker]

few acres of wood near the coast with a fertile field with a yurt and a river running by with full fishing rights would suit me.

 

[British Red]

A miles a compromise

What is so urgent and important that its not worth a 15 minute stroll? The trouble with being much closer than that is its tends to morph into a "village". Then in the modern world you are a short stone throw from curtain twitchers, gossip and clique brigade.

I've known guys walk a lot more than a mile for their evening pint - and a bit of separation makes sure that a visit is important - not just idle intrusion

 

[Toddy]

To quote my next door neighbour when I apologised for the racket my sons were making when they hit their teenage years, "Now, now, it's good to hear that folks are alive next door ".
He's gotten very old and now we put his bins out for him, etc., and it's good to hear that he's alive next door too

Community's not a bad thing

Mary

 

[British Red]

Just been looking at the size of original homesteads. Prime land was 160 acres - becoming up to 600 acres on marginal land. So 1/4 square mile minimum up to 1 square mile at the largest....interesting!

 

[British Red]

Community's not a bad thing

Mary

Agreed - but that doesn't mean that people should be packed in together - a little separation makes occasional interaction more enjoyable. I suspect our ideal homesteads are different - you can't have enough land to raise your own firewood, wheat, livestock etc. and live in that sort of suburban / village proximity. Thats okay though - we can all have our own dreams - they don't have to match. I'm afraid I certainly don't want to hear other peoples kids!

 

[janso]

Just been looking at the size of original homesteads. Prime land was 160 acres - becoming up to 600 acres on marginal land. So 1/4 square mile minimum up to 1 square mile at the largest....interesting!

That must have been BEFORE parliamentary enclosures; the modern day field systems. You could easily live free with that kind of land!


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[Toddy]

If you're too far away then your kids can't play with their kids.
I quite like hearing the local children playing It's healthy.

600 acres is too much for one man/ or couple to work, and kind of greedy in our islands. How about smallholdings of 3 to 5 acres and shared responsibility for 10 acre woodlands ?

M