I've posted a couple of times, but it has been suggested I introduce myself...
Well, this all started when I became a pensions adviser. I saw people with a pot of saved pension getting really very little income from those pots. At the same time, I became divorced and had to do the supermarket shop on my own so I saw the extraordinary price of good food. My ex was a solicitor, so naturally, I gave her the house and everything...
I realised I needed to save a whacking amount of pension pot and buy a house in the 25 working years I had remaining and I knew I couldn't do it...and I knew retirement was going to be tricky.
The main thing is that when i am 65, I want to be able to afford (or have) nice food, water and electric. For me, I know the SHTF date, it's when I retire. That is handy for planning. I know there may be earlier ones...but I can plan for the one I know, and my plans will include the 'what if' scenarios.
I am now married again, and my lovely new wife and I started off by getting an allotment, but that wasn't big enough, so we looked at buying some woodland, but then thought it would be good to have some agricultural land attached...and we've just got some agricultural land with no woods.
We're not loaded, but being in my 40's over the years I've paid into a pension and instead of buying stocks and shares, we bought some of the land with it...and the rest with savings. We have to pay a rent to the pension, but it's paltry.
We managed to get just over 5 hectares, that gives us many 'permitted development' rights that save alot of hassles with planning.
We have a two pronged plan.
One is if the world doesn't go wrong - we want a sustainable lifestyle, eventually living on the land (we'll be "staying" on the land from later this year, but there is a subtle difference between staying and living in planning world), make an income from the land and live happily ever after.
The other prong is that we will be discretely creating a bug out/in place. It's not going to be 'hidden' like a bivi in the woods, but there will be more hidden than you'd expect and it'll be fine as long as the world doesn't get too violent. Frankly, i don't rate anyones chances if it gets violent, so I'm not going to dwell on it.
From the road, nothing much will be seen, mostly brambles, gorse and a few trees that we plant in judicious spots. It's not got woods, so there will be no strangers thinking it's their secret bug out spot. It is currently flattish, but it will have cunning berms and banks that will enable getting around without being seen to work, and sight lines that will make seeing but not being seen easier.
Yes, we're going to have some fun designing it, for functionality, defence etc - we're not doomsday preppers doing it out of fear of a huge disaster or economic meltdown, we're prepping for the SHTF date we know...our own economic meltdown - and if one comes earlier, we will be very prepared compared to most.
Hello from Cornwall
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preppingsu
Re: Hello from Cornwall
Heels and welcome.
Great intro post. If you feel able we would love to see how your land progresses, keeping OPSEC of course.
Great intro post. If you feel able we would love to see how your land progresses, keeping OPSEC of course.
Re: Hello from Cornwall
Hi chalk up another for area 1 
Welcome great intro and great plan
Would love to hear about your progress
Lee
Welcome great intro and great plan
Would love to hear about your progress
Lee
I'm in area 1
Re: Hello from Cornwall
Hi Adrian, nice interesting intro! We have a small holding up near,ish bude.
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damaralenoire
- Posts: 190
- Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:12 pm
- Location: Wales
Re: Hello from Cornwall
hello and welcome. Sounds like you are making a fantastic prepping effort.
AREA 12
“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.”
“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.”
Re: Hello from Cornwall
Well, last week saw the reciept of an e-mail from our lawyers...saying the Duchy of Cornwall has registered for mineral rights under the land, but by mistake they hadn't told us.
OK, what does that mean?
(E-mail recieved at 5 past 5 on Friday evening) : Oh, the borehole, any foundations etc will all be regarded as tresspass and subject to an injunction. Yikes. (Yikes wasn't what I actually said
)
So, I rustle up a bit of hoo haa with the solicitors who blame everyone but themselves for not telling us before we got the land and seem not to have a grip on things.
Given the lack of grip, I thought I'd cut to the chase and speak to the Duchy of Cornwall directly. They're perfectly hunky dory with everything we want to do, it all seems commensurate with surface work, even the borehole. Job done, e-mail recieved, and relax.
Now, off to play with the solicitors...who still don't have any idea...might angle for a bit of compo.
I'll keep you in the picture as we progress.
OK, what does that mean?
(E-mail recieved at 5 past 5 on Friday evening) : Oh, the borehole, any foundations etc will all be regarded as tresspass and subject to an injunction. Yikes. (Yikes wasn't what I actually said
)So, I rustle up a bit of hoo haa with the solicitors who blame everyone but themselves for not telling us before we got the land and seem not to have a grip on things.
Given the lack of grip, I thought I'd cut to the chase and speak to the Duchy of Cornwall directly. They're perfectly hunky dory with everything we want to do, it all seems commensurate with surface work, even the borehole. Job done, e-mail recieved, and relax.
Now, off to play with the solicitors...who still don't have any idea...might angle for a bit of compo.
I'll keep you in the picture as we progress.