This smallholding comprising pretty semi-detached red brick cottage with three bedrooms, 1.5 acres of land and outbuildings is currently for sale in Beccles, Suffolk.

The cottage comprises of three bedrooms and bathroom on the first floor and entrance porch, sitting room, dining/sun room, kitchen and utility room on the ground floor. The property also benefits from double glazing, oil fired central heating and woodburning stove.

The property comes with 1.5 acres of land with two polytunnels and two greenhouses complete with grapevine, apricot and peach trees established within them. There is a well established vegetable plot and soft fruit with a highly productive bramley apple tree. A very sweet potting shed with a little veranda and various pens for dogs, chickens and livestock are situated around the property.

There are two wooden, purpose built stables with lighting, water and rubber mats onto a post and rail fenced concrete yard. Field shelter/barn in the paddock measuring 24′ x 12′. An old wooden, pan-tiled outbuilding with concrete floor and electric connected, a wood shed next door. The double garage is block built with pan tiled roof and finished with wooden feather board.

The cottage is on a level site on a small country road and is accessed via a five bar wooden gate leading to a gravelled drive to the side and the garage. The property has beautiful views from the front and the rear, with plenty of pretty walks, horse riding and countryside to explore.

The property offers an ideal opportunity for someone seeking a greener and more rural lifestyle and is being promoted on Greenshifters.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This Organic Registered Smallholding is to be sold at auction on Wednesday the 28th July at The Pavilion, Banbury Cricket Club, Whitepost Road, Bodicote, Banbury Oxon, Guide Price £150,000-£200,000.

The property has 7.8 hectares/19.25 acres of woodland and pasture with a substantial timber lodge and is situated in a private and secluded location on the Bucks/Oxon border close to Oxford and M40.

For further info on this property please contact Duncan Lang or Andrew Ranson at Fisher German by telephone on 01844 212 880, or via e-mail at thame@fishergerman.co.uk

To visit the Fisher German website to learn more about this property please Click here.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This refurbished, fully furnished and ready to move into 4 bedroomed property is currently for sale in Galicia, Spain.  This beautiful property offers the perfect chance to start your own smallholding and live a self-sufficient lifestyle in Spain, in a private and secluded but not isolated location.

Galicia is situated in the Northwest corner of Spain, just above Portugal. It is considered to be the “Green Heart of Spain” with the sunshine and rain. Rural Galicia is very much like Wales and rural France.

With rich lush soil, mild climate and the most truly stunning countryside, it is a good area for growing, polytunnels are popular here. This area produces most of Spain’s milk, beef and cheese. It is famous for it’s bread cooked over wood ovens, and due to the mild climate, its exceptional red and white wines.

The property consists of a country farmhouse of approximately 120m2 with 4 bedrooms and a complete bathroom on the top floor, and on the lower, a large semi covered courtyard /patio, traditional kitchen with wood burning cooking range, lounge/ dining room, and an additional room to be restored which could be another lounge.

The property has it’s own parking, an older stone house with animal pens, large original bread oven and a small wine cellar, approximately 100m2, to be restored, good now for barn/stables.  There is an enclosed garden, chicken house with walled run and adjacent land of approx 1 Acre, with good drainage, Well with pump, beautiful views with apple, pear and sweet chestnut trees.

There are some lovely natural rivers nearby and it is a good area for fishing. The property and land are surrounded by wonderful countryside and forests, excellent for walking, horse riding and fishing. This is a rural area with a relaxed pace of life.

Services to the property include: mains electricity, village mains water, well with pump, telephone and ADSL and the property is  situated 88km from the nearest airport, Santiago de Compostela (approx 1 hour drive with regular flights into London).

The Nearest town is 10 minutes drive with a health centre, chemist, schools, supermarkets, banks, vets, hotel, library, hairdressers, restaurant, cafes and bars. The village has weekly deliveries of fresh bread, wine, frozen fish, mobile supermarket and the school buses collect the children from the villages Monday to Friday.

The current owners of the property are selling due to job relocation and the property is priced to sell at 98,000 Euros (approx £85000 at today’s exchange rate.) 

This property offers an ideal opportunity for those seeking to start their own smallholding and live a more self sufficient lifestyle in a stunningly beautiful location and is currently being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk. 

(Click here to view full particulars and contact details.)

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This traditional croft smallholding with cottage, barn conversion, various outbuildings, sheds, 30ft hardwood greenhouse, orchard and 13 acres of land is currently for sale in Aberdeenshire.

Situated 30 miles from Aberdeen and located between the towns of Turriff and Aberchider, both providing excellent amenities and in the beautiful Forglen area, the property is in the middle of the Castle route and just 10 miles from the coast.

The Cottage is bordered on two sides by mixed hedging giving privacy and sheltering the garden for the more tender plants, the mature garden is well established with mixed beds, rockerys, herb garden, waterfall and ponds, trellises abound with mixed Clematis and Roses, creating a truly beautiful rural idyll.

The 2 bedroomed Barn Conversion is suitable for a wide variety of uses and offers the opportunity for a second income through holiday and rental let.

The land comprising approximately 13 acres is laid down to permanent pasture and cut most years for hay, and includes a small woodland and a burn bordering one side of the property.

The property offers an ideal opportunity for the smallholder seeking self sufficiency and is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk.
(View full particulars)

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

This week we’re looking at perfect gifts for our smallholding friends and families.  Whether they are still just dreaming of finding that perfect smallholding, or are actually ‘living the dream’ there are all kinds of gifts available, that will help and encourage them in their endeavours towards self sufficiency.

Smallholding courses are very popular at the moment, whether run by colleges or other educational institutions or by experienced smallholders themselves. There are a wealth of smallholding courses available on all sorts of subjects and for all levels of experience with topics as diverse as poultry keeping, pig keeping, introductions to smallholding, willow crafts, sausage making, and many other subjects.

If you can’t decide which course to buy many course providers allow you to purchase gift vouchers instead so your chosen recipient can choose the course for themselves, just remember to pick a provider who has a wide range of courses, so your friend has lots to choose from. All kinds of skills can be learnt and the courses are often taught by smallholders themselves on their own smallholdings so you can get a taste of the real thing rather than being ‘cooped’ up in a classroom environment.

Books are another great gift and there are a multitude of great examples to choose from.  For anyone planning their smallholding or just starting out the classic The New Complete Book of Self-sufficiency by John Seymour should take pride of place in any smallholders library.  It offers a complete guide to all aspects of smallholding and is widely regarded as the smallholder’s ‘bible’. 

Also available by John Seymour is The New Self-Sufficient Gardenerfor those attempting self sufficiency on a smaller scale on an allotment or garden.

If your intended recipient already has these books, why not buy them one on a more specialist self sufficiency subject, such as:

Bread making Making Jams and Preserves Getting Started in Permaculture Making Bent Willow Furniture Recognising ailments in your livestock

As well as a wide variety of books there are a few specialist monthly magazines devoted to all things smallholding, such as:

Home Farmer Magazine
Country Smallholding Magazine
Smallholder Magazine

An annual subscription makes an ideal gift, providing your smallholding friend with an interesting and informative read for a whole year.

Click on the links below for more info on perfect courses for smallholders:

Pig Keeping Courses

Introduction to Smallholding Courses

Learn Willow Crafts

Learn Butchery and Sausage Making skills

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Firstly, we would like to thank everyone at Rural Smallholdings Magazine for publishing the original article about our Eco Hamlet project in Croatia, the response has been fantastic!

Within three months of the article being published, we received over a hundred enquiries and they are still coming in each month, it certainly seems as though we have hit on an idea that appeals to many people.

By the end of October we have already welcomed some twenty people to Croatia interested in viewing the Eco Hamlet project and the first three properties have been sold, with one couple having already moved over, and several more planning to do so early in the New Year.

There are three more properties available for sale within the hamlet itself, as well as nine others very close by, so any interested readers are still welcome to get in touch.

At the moment anyone with general building skills would be of great benefit, as would those with marketing and business development experience in the rural tourism sector.

A recent development has been the opening of a small hotel, restaurant, horse riding centre and fishing lake complex, just down the road from the eco hamlet, so people are really getting on board with the Eco tourism aspect of the project.

Thanks to the success of this first project, we have now found another village ideal for creating a similar community, which we hope to get under way by the summer of 2010, just as Croatia is likely to join the EU and a very special party is sure to be had!

Thanks once again to all at Rural Smallholding Magazine, your help is much appreciated.

Keith Pierce

Please click here to visit the Inland Croatia site.

This post was submitted by Keith Pierce.

An opportunity to buy a 3 Bedroom Traditional Cumbrian Farmhouse, with an attached 1 Bedroom Holiday Cottage and all set in approximately 2 acres of land.

Situated within the Lake District National Park, on the popular Coast-to-Coast route. With Stunning Views of Ennerdale Lake and the Western Fells, Swinside is a traditional Cumbrian farmhouse which has been recently redecorated throughout.

Swinside is situated inside the Lake District National Park about 7 miles from the historic Port of Whitehaven, which is famous for it’s Maritime Festival. Also, there is instant access to the Lake District fells surrounding the tranquil Ennerdale valley. The property is ideal for someone wishing to enjoy the beautiful countryside, with the added bonus of a regular income from the rental of the attached holiday cottage.

The property boasts many period features including exposed beams, original meat hooks in the kitchen and wood-burning stoves in the 2 downstairs public rooms .  In addition the property has a LPG Central Heating System.

The property comprises of a slate tiled Entrance Hall, a large Lounge (4.8 x 4.6m),  Sitting Room/Dining Room (4.5 x 3.7m), Farmhouse Kitchen (5 x 4m) including a fitted kitchen with a dual fuel, 8 ring double oven stove, Utility Room which could also be used as a study / office (3 x 2m), Downstairs toilet with washbasin (2 x 1m), and under stairs wine cellar.

Upstairs the property comprises  Bedroom 1 (5.2 x 4.5m), Bedroom 2 (5 x 4.1m), Bedroom 3 (5 x 3.3m), a Family Bathroom (3 x 3m) with Corner Bath.  There is also a large attic, (partially floored area 25m2) which is accessed from Bedroom 2. Upstairs rooms are all accessed from the stone staircase.

There is also an attached Holiday Cottage, which currently generates a substantial annual income. The cottage comprises of Lounge (4.5 x 4m) with multi fuel stove for Central Heating System and hot water, an open plan stairway leads to a gallery bedroom (5 x 3m) exposed beams and wooden floor, Hallway (3 x 1m) and fitted Galley Kitchen with electric hob (3 x 2.2m), and a shower room, with washbasin and toilet (2 x 2m).

The property also includes: Driveway with parking for several cars. · Animal Shed with 4 pens (5.3 x 2.8m), a Potting Shed (1.5 x 1.1m), · Large Workshop (3.8 x 3.8m), 2 Wood Stores.  Mature Gardens to the front, side and rear of property with trees, shrubs, flowerbeds, fruit trees and bushes, vegetable plots, hedges and a wildlife pond. The property has private water supplies from spring and borehole (no water rates) and a septic tank.

The property is set in approximately 2 acres of land with Chicken Coop, Animal Shelter and planning permission granted for an Animal Shed (8 x 4m) currently under construction.

A great opportunity for someone seeking a more rural, self sufficient lifestyle, with the added bonus of an income from the attached holiday cottage.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Opportunity to purchase a substantial and beautiful 4 double bedroomed family home situated on the outskirts of the village of Marshland St James.

Alder Lodge offers spacious accomodation set in 32 acres of grounds comprising approx 1 acre formal grounds and gardens and a further 31 acres of pasture, apple and plum orchards with wildlife walks and private riding. The numerous trees and orchards surrounding and within the land offer a lifetimes supply of free logs. Perfect for self sufficiency.

This is a registered small holding in receipt of the single payment and is suitable for a wide variety of uses.

Alder Lodge is a fine country residence in good order set in its own 32 acre estate with easy access by road to the A47. 8 Miles from Wisbech, 8 miles from Downham Market ( Direct train to Kings Cross London ). 12 miles from Kings Lynn also with trains direct to Kings Cross London. Short drive to Sandringham estate and the coast.

The village of Marshland St James is 1 mile from Alder Lodge and has a delightful primary school with a school bus to the high school. A Post Office, Public House, farm shop (selling locally grown produce), hardware store, van hire, village hall, Methodist Church, fishing lake, riding school and a number of small cottage industries.

The spacious accommodation includes front hall, kitchen, lounge, drawing room, dining room, rear hall, downstairs cloakroom, pantry/utility room, morning room, downstairs office, utility room, 4 double bedrooms, wc and seperate bathroom.

The property boasts many period and character features including open fires, an inglenook style brick built fire place with heavy bessemer beam over, stable doors to front and rear garden, brick arches and views of open countryside.

From inside the property a lobby with 3 doors leads to the downstairs office, utility room and the garage with loft hatch to 2nd loft area ideal for conversion to seperate living accommodation.  Next door to the garage and attached to the building there is also a boiler house which houses the oil fired central heating boiler.

There are two main gated entrances both with white five bar gates. The first as you turn into Rands Drove leads up a long gravelled carriage drive to the front of the property. There is ample parking along the drive for numerous vehicles. This first drive is through the front formal gardens laid to lawn with shrubs and mature trees and features several pieces of antique farm equipment as ornamentation set in gravel beds.

The second main entrance is further along Rands Drove and is also through a five bar gate to the rear aspect of the property opening into a very large gravelled parking area with room for a large number of vehicles with ample turning space.

Off this drive is an attractive penned area bordered with hedging that houses a large dog kennel providing sleeping area for a good number of dogs with the advantage of a big grassed exercise space all of which is fully secured with gates front and rear.

At the end of the gravel parking area a gate leads to another gravel area currently used for sitting in summer months with views across the adjacent field and surrounding land belonging to the property.

Next to the dog enclosure at the far end there is a wood shed with metal roof used to house a tractor and is joined by a small wood barn used for straw storage.

Next to this is a triple stable and tack room. Newly constructed by National Stables comprising three loose boxes and a tack room.

Adjacent is an old portacabin used for storage.

In the middle of the land accessed by a separate gated drive off of School Road are the middle buildings. These comprise of a large concrete outbuilding with metal roof and barn doors. A portacabin toilet block (plumbed in ), a small wash room and two other storage blocks made of concrete. There is also a lorry box container also used as storage.

These buildings are accessed as stated from School Road over a small private bridge and along approx 100 metres of gravel track. This double gated entrance also provides main road access to the two fields and orchards. The first field and part of the orchards also benefit from a licence from the Camping & Caravanning Club and is a certificated site for overnight camping if needed.

The two fields of good flat pasture land total about ten acres in all approx and the rest of the land comprises of walks and rides through the private orchards of apples and plumbs. There are some formal orchard areas of dessert fruits which could be used for commercial growing and also about 1 acre of Victoria Plums which are of commercial advantage.

What was formally Bramley apple orchards of about 15 acres approx has been transformed into wide pathways of country walks ideal for rambling or riding. Perfect for cross country riding and wildlife watching and country pursuits. The whole area is totally private and you are very much within your own world here.

The property easily lends itself to a variety of uses and functions and would ideally suit equestrian or smallholders or commercial. Numerous possibilities. There is a Victoria Plum orchard containing about 1 acre of mature trees producing between 3 and 5 tons per year plus apple orchards of Bramley, Jonagold, Russet, Gala, and Saturn plus a number of other types. It benefits from being licenced by the Caravan & Camping Club for touring caravans and tents. Although this has not been capitalised on by the current owners it could easily be expanded upon as could the equestrian side of things. Numerous possibilities and endless potential. Easy enough to manage and big enough to live within your own world.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine

Set on a hillside above Monmouth, The Yew Tree offers fantastic views, versatile accomodation and a glorious garden.  The property backs onto woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  It has previously been run as a nursery garden and since that time more of the garden has been levelled into terraces.

There is easy access to the M50 and the M4. There are excellent schools in Monmouth, and a bus service between Chepstow and Monmouth runs past the grounds. 

The main property has very flexible accommodation. At present the rooms are used as two reception rooms, farmhouse kitchen/dining room, 4 bedrooms, and office, a library area, and two bathrooms and an entrance hall.

The heart of the house is the large farmhouse kitchen, with a Rayburn. Stone steps lead up from it into the rest of the original cottage and 2/3 bedrooms, sitting room and bathroom. Then a beautiful new oak staircase also leads from the kitchen into a single storey extension, with another two bedrooms, sitting room and (illustrated) bathroom, with a library area and a hall.

In addition, there is a new architect designed building with a lovely central room, with two rooms and a shower room leading off it. This could be used for holiday lets (stpp) or as an office, or as further accommodation.

The property also offers a spacious stone shed with electricity, an additional stone shed currently used as a wood store.  Both of these buildings have recently been reroofed and rewired.

There is also a detached garage and polytunnel, and there are two car parks as the garden was previously an RHS open garden and open to the public.

The garden has many specimen trees including a large handkerchief tree (Davidia), areas of lawn and wildlife meadow, and a long water garden in need of some TLC. It has about an acre of bluebell woods, mostly oak and sweet chestnut.

The property could be ideal for a variety of uses, subject to planning permission, such as a return to it’s previous use as a nursery garden, a B & B or holiday let, for those looking to run a business from home as the annex would make an excellent office or those looking for self sufficiency and looking to set up a smallholding.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine

A fabulous opportunity to purchase a beautiful smallholding in the picturesque village of Llithfaen. Bryn Dirwest (Temperance Hill) is a delightful roadside detached registered smallholding of character set within some three quarters of an acre of gardens with copse of native trees and which also benefits from six acres of accomodation land, poly tunnel, orchard and chicken coop.

The property boasts panoramic views of Cardigan Bay and the Snowdonia and Rivals mountain ranges and is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). The area is popular for walking with the Pilgrims Trail passing close by and the historic Tre Ceiri Hill fort within a short walk.

The village of Llithfaen offers a Post Office and corner shop and a Public house with restaurant and is set in an elevated position some 7 miles from the market town of Pwllheli. Pwllheli offers a wide range of shops, cafes, junior and secondary schools and leisure facilities including a golf course and yachting marina.

The property briefly comprises: Entrance porch, hall, lounge, dining room, farmhouse kitchen, rear hall, shower room, study, utility room, 2 bedrooms, one with attached nursery and family bathroom. The property also benefits from hardwood framed double glazing, gas fired central heating and oil fired Rayburn.

Externally the driveway extends to the side of the property and around to the rear to the yard, approx 100′ x 70′, providing hardstanding, turning area, affording parking for several vehicles, trailers etc and is suitable for the erection of agricultural buildings/ stables etc subject to the usual consents. There is access off the yard to the land which is in two enclosures with a ring fence and natural water supply.

To the rear of the house is a flagged patio area with rockery and steps up to the top lawn and gate to side to the lower garden and outbuildings. The patio can be secured making it ideal for pets and young children. A copse of native trees flanks the top of the garden area making it a private and sheltered area. There are many mature trees and shrubs, along with apple and pear trees and some soft fruit bushes. There is also a rough paddock of approx a quarter of an acre which has been planted with native trees to provide more shelter to the yard area.

The garden extends to approximately three quarters of an acre over split levels offering lawned and patio areas for seating and entertaining and a productive vegetable garden. The lower level of the garden benefits from a steam boundary. There are many water butts around the property to harvest rainwater and 2 fed by the stream. There is also a polytunnel, stone barn and open fronted stone building with concrete floor and an attached brick built Potting shed also with concrete floor.

The current owners also rent a small paddock over the road which makes an excellent starvation paddock and a 3 acre field 2 mins walk away. The area provides fantastic walking and outriding and there are many off road riding opportunities within a short distance of the house.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine