Advice for new petrol rotary powered lawn mower

Our cheap rotary lawnmower has given up the ghost - self-powered died on this cut, so glad it was hubby (2nd time in 3 years!) and not me...

So, we need to find a new lawnmower fairly soon, at least before next March/April.

What are we cutting?
1/2 acre of coarse grass / broom, on a slope of generally 1-20, in a few places 1-5! Probably too steep for a ride-on?

We generally aim for a wildflower meadow, so we mow around clover, and at this time of year, achillea. We tend to keep the grass long - in fact, I have not lowered the blades from the highest cut (70mm?) for over a year. I do cut the grass at least once a week - I find it a very good way of inspecting and assessing the garden generally. The soil level under the grass is fairly uneven - moles, rodents, rotten tree roots, and slight subsidence from the soak-away and storm rain...

What sort of mower would you recommend? (My gut feel is another self-powered rotary mower, as big as available!!) Is there a particular make that you find more reliable than another?

 

Etesia are available in your neck of woods. They are part of Outils Wolf and are about as good as a rotary gets.
Sabo should be found over there too and they do some big old mowers but are not quite as good as Etesia
You also have Viking which are part of Stihl and I'm guessing you can get Hondas there as well.

 

Thank you @Liz the pot!

The only name I recall seeing here out of that list is Honda, but we haven't been looking at lawn mowers for at least 7-8 years... There is a mower specialist in our town, so I will go and have a browse over the next few weeks.

When we chose the last mower, it was an "own brand" of the main DIY chain here. At the time, we had something that was nearer to a lawn than what we have here (and half the amount!). My main priority then was for a wide cut, self-propelled, and a good range of cutting heights. I have to say, it has proved to be very reliable, and has lasted well.

I would like to have a higher cut if possible, and something that is "beefy" enough to to cut rough grass that has been left long, for wild flowers.

 

A brush cutting style mower would be ok but they are not meant to leave a good finish but rather just cut long stuff. They don't collect the grass though. They are also much heavier than the run of the mill mowers.
It all depends on your budget, how quick you want the job done and finish.
Failing that you could use a brush cutter with a harness which is what I use on some jobs that are over 2 acres in size and are rough areas. There are also brush cutters like the DM that use wire but are wheeled machines.
Quite a few options, let us know how it goes.

 

My Flymo with Briggs and Stratton engine is around 30 years old. Still going well and starts first pull. I always stop it when emptying the grass box as there are blades spinning around underneath..so its dangerous in the wrong hands. Flymo made things to last. Oil change each year. New spark plug not very often. Flymo for me.