My own little Heaven

Hi Everyone,
I registered here hoping that someone can help me with a problem.
I am looking for a countryside plot of land in the North of England to call my garden, may be pitch a tent there to spend week ends, have barbecues, plant roses and raspberries...
I do not want to get one of those collective plots from the council, I really would like it to be a retreat in the countryside, the more remote the better.
I am not sure however where to find that. It seems that estate agents do not sell gardens without a home attached to them.
Does anyone have ideas about where/how I could find my piece of Heaven?
Also, I would need to know where to enquire about the legal aspect - when I get tired of the tent, I might want to build a shed/summerhouse on my little plot of land, not sure what is allowed...

 

Hello Alekto and welcome.
I think your best plan would be to post adverts in the areas you're interested in and see what comes forth. There will be someone somewhere willing to hand over some ground for gardening. And make sure you get everything in writing.

 

Thanks for your help, that sounds like good ideas, I'll try both and ... if you see me back for advice on how to grow raspberries, you'll know I have succeeded!! ;-) cheers! Laughing heart

 

I got a plot of land that was once a piece of the farm next door. The shape and topology doesn't lend itself to heavy machinery (a massey ferguson once got stuck on there and had to be yanked out by a bigger fergy). The farmer sold it to my dad for a good price, and I bought it off my dad.

The trick is, you kind of need to get in with the farmers. That's not quite as hard as it sounds, as they all know each other's business so once you get in with one, it won't take long.

A good starting point would be the farmer's auction (which anyone can go to). Which bit of north of England are you looking at? The two big auctions for me are at Thirsk and York, but there are smaller ones dotted around.

The trouble you'll have, is that the old school farmers aren't really big on advertising things other than by word of mouth, and the more commercially minded farmers will be keen to get the highest price they can for any land they can't use. So, the best option is to talk to people, as many as you can. Find a common interest and strike up conversations. This is why the farmer's auctions are a good place to start. You won't find your land their, but you'll find the people who, if you play your cards right, will put you in touch with the right people.

Are there any farms in your area that sell potatoes (for example) 'at the gate'? If you find some, then I'd become a regular customer there, so they get to know you, and then you start dropping hints about looking for a place to buy or rent.

In short, infiltrate the farming community, they'll put you right

 

That's great suggestion, Clueless1... I'm in Newcastle, so I'd be looking at anything up to 1 to 2 hours away by car (the aim is to go spend week ends away in my retreat ) something unacessible by a Fergy sounds just ideal, actually. There is a covered market here, I might just start there, see what I find! Thanks!

 

That sounds really cool!

You could always find an area you like, find out who owns the land and make them an offer. I think the land registry would help you there.

(I'm going to try that with a plot of land behind my house - when I get round to it!)

 

You could give the Landshare scheme a try.