Field

Has anyone bought a field?

As in, you know, a plot of land with a hedge around the edge, mostly grass and mud, on a hill somewhere.

Am thinking of buying a field.

Am thinking of said field being located within 1-2 hours of London, ideally on a hill, ideally with other fields as neighbours, and having nothing in it.

Has anyone bought a field?

Thought this was about the app..

Either way, subbed

Thought this was about the app..

Does the app help you find fields that are available to buy? If not, I'm not interested.

No but my extended family co-own my late grandfather’s 3/4 of an acre that he had as a small market garden.
Don’t underestimate it’s upkeep as left it’s going to get scrubby/unruly very quickly and if you put a shed/summer house on it stuff will get nicked or a local teen will try and grow weed on the roof!
We put type 2 down and rolled it to keep drivable access when it’s wet and a new gate and post up at significant cost in time/money despite being able to borrow stuff and get a gate from a farmer.
You will need a strimmer and somewhere to store it.
Half of it is grass the rest is just left as place to season wood and brambles as it’s too much work, the family have BBQ’s and parties/gathering in the summer but they live in the village or nearby.

There is a small slither of woodland that leads up to the field from the village that came up for sale which went for £15k which is nuts as it’s not workable if you wanted to coppice it and if you are going to sit in and enjoy it then it’s a steep slope with no vehicle access and very dark, you will also get eaten alive by mozzies.
A couple from London bought it and they visit a few times a year, we thought about buying it together as it’s worth about £3k but not £15!?
They let us use the path through the middle to avoid walking on the road anyway.
You can buy woodland but that’s even more work unless it’s fully mature broadleaf and established so you get little growth at ground level, anything that’s been worked/coppiced goes to shit very quickly and a mess of impenetrable bramble/scrub, you can get help advice from the woodland trust in management just don’t touch anything with a TPO.
You can of course let out your plot and let for sheep/horses or managed woodland which will make upkeep easier but not rich.

you might be able to licence or short term lease a field which might be a better way of dipping your toe into Field stuff

I think it's the proximity to London which will change the price dynamics.

My dad and his bros inherited a small field in the West Country and then my dad bought his bros half at auction because siblings. It's let out to a dairy farmer for grazing. Idk how much for but it's not a lot and is just as much for maintenance, and reducing the risk of theft (gates) and adverse possession. I wonder if something where you can rent part of it out and keep some for your use (e.g. my dad's has a stream at the bottom with ~100m wide strip on the other side. So I always thought you could take that back and have a nice little camp spot while maintaining the benefits listed for the remainder).

Pre-kids I'd occasionally drive my dad down but it's way too far to commit a whole day, and there's not enough there to commit a weekend (plus it's occupied), so I'd definitely not stray too far.

Personally as nice as the idea is, as Mr Smyth said it takes maintenance.

Start by finding some land agents and taking it from there.

1-2 hours by what form of transport?

save yourself some money/energy and rent this place.
https://www.kentdesignstudio.co.uk/the-lookers-hut

it’s a few fields away from our plot has running water and a roof.

What do you want to do with it?

1-2 hours by what form of transport?

The usual getaway car.

What do you want to do with it?

I'd like to be an expert in my field... so to stand in it.

But after that:

• Stargazing, and offering it as a stargazing spot for others too
  
• Wild camping, and offering it as a spot for others too
  
• Small orchard and allotment type plot in a corner
  
• Potential long-term for barn / shipping container for storage / off-grid (non-permanent) accommodation
  
• Meadow, moderate re-wilding
  
• Little festivals
  
  

If it's big enough then I could put a helipad in there too. Depends on the size of the field. Lots of options.

Hovercraft?

helipad!?! 🤣😂

https://www.onthemarket.com/details/15316167/
Buy this.
Turn into LFGSS refuel stop.

https://www.onthemarket.com/details/14979356/
Or this.
use it for the LFGSS HC champs.

Audacious attempt to be simultaneously quoted in both tofu and golf club from the boss.

This looks cool:https://www.btfpartnership.co.uk/property/gravelly-ways-laddingford-maidstone/

Although I wonder if they'll be access rights issues.

You do realise that is a small plot in a field for a caravan/Hilux/small pony/lurcher/bonfire and not the whole field? it is also surrounded by other similar plots.

Hovercraft?

I don't know anyone with one.

NOPE. I know nothing.
(john snow)

helipad!?! 🤣😂

I know two people with one each.

And that's lovely for you/them, but mentioning that here is pure c-level-dropping hyper-wealth flaunting and jarring from someone who has recently posted 'no war but class war'.

Yeah but he might plant an apple tree and throw some wild flower seeds around?

Sure, after dropping in a shipping container. Sounds like a lovely rural retreat.

And yet, above, you'll see my declared interest is this:

Stargazing, and offering it as a stargazing spot for others too
Wild camping, and offering it as a spot for others too

To build a community resource, to give land back to be used by others, so that there's a place to wild camp and have a fire pit on a bikepacking thing, and to say to people who want to sleep out under stars that so long as they leave the place as clean (or cleaner) than they found it... that anyone could do so.

This is far less a "build a hyper-wealth thing and hoard it for myself", and far more a "land is cheap and can be liberated for use by all".

That yes, I do know people with ridiculous modes of transports (hypercars as well as things that fly) is irrelevant. I want to buy a field, to see if it can be made open.

My idea goes beyond "a field", to fields dotted around, forming an open network. But given I know not what I am doing, starting with a field is reasonable.

And the usual caveats apply... some of my ideas come to pass (hundreds of forums, hundreds of fediverse sites, so many philanthropic things), but many come to nothing. The first part of all silly ideas is to validate whether or not there's even a viable path. This idea arose as a joke, and I'll continue it as a joke until such a time it hints that it might actually have a viable path.

And one might say "ah, but you're thinking National Trust", but that's just another landlord... nope, I have no means to invest anything here beyond buying patches of land at roughly £8-9K per acre, as and when I could afford to do so, and seeing whether it's possible to use the land for a social good rather than profit.

That yes, I do know people with ridiculous modes of transports (hypercars as well as things that fly) is irrelevant.

It is absolutely irrelevant, there was no need to mention the helipad and no need to mention hypercars now. It is this flaunting that is so weird considering much of your other posting on this site. I have no objection whatsoever to the concept (in fact, i think it's laudable and I actually sent a mate an advert for some woodland for sale recently as we've often discussed similar), but dropping mentions of helipads and hypercars is jarring and I wonder if you're actually trolling us a la Dammit in all of his threads.