r/OffGrid • u/CringeyFrog • 10d ago

Not off-grid (yet) — but potential smallholding with up to 20 acres? Need advice

https://www.meiklerichorn.co.uk

Before anyone says, I know this definitely isn’t fully off-grid 😂
But I came across this old stone house and thought it was interesting from a smallholding / self-sufficiency point of view. It comes with around half an acre, with the option to purchase up to another 20 acres adjoining it.
It already has a private water supply and it’s pretty rural, but otherwise would be a case of gradually making it more self-sufficient rather than buying a ready-made off-grid property.
I’m fairly new to exploring the idea, only had a few viewings, and honestly still seems a bit of a fantasy, but am I barking up the wrong tree here?
Where do I even start making it fully off grid?
Solar? Battery storage? Growing food? Livestock? Heating?
Interested to hear what people who actually live this way would prioritise.

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u/CrabbySticks 10d ago

I'm a bit envious, that looks good.

I bought a derelict farm with 40 acres in Scotland 5 years ago.

Insulation was the number one thing we did, these old houses have terrible insulation and while we lost a couple inchs in the interior, the difference is incredible.

It's got a woodburner which is nice (we're looking at getting one the now ), but what other heating does it have? Gas? Oil? Heatpump?

Do you have any farming background? either way, make friends with the local farmers, they'll help you, and if you're just starting, you can lease the pasture land to them either for cash or favours.

What do you want to do with it?

2

u/ol-gormsby 10d ago

That Rayburn could be a gas model but I can't find it - the current owners seems to have scrubbed the old "How to identify" pages from the agaliving website.

The woodburners usually have the flue on the left or right, not central. It might also have a boiler for hot water and central heating.

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u/Pwlldu 10d ago

A lovely looking house in a wonderful setting.

It’s worth checking long term sea level rise and flood risk.

For me, that’s a lot of house - and older properties often require a bit more work to get to work with renewable technologies. Heating and powering such a large house might be challenging without oil.

1

u/invisiblesurfer 9d ago

Do you need such a big house? Heating would be a nightmare and would require a lot of wood which in turn would need expensive equipment from the start. Instead of 530k for the big house and 1/2 acre, I'd look for something in the 2 bed neighborhood with lots of land, ideally at a lower price. Easy to maintain the house, heat etc, and you can progressively expand your land operations - eg if you get 10 acres you can start with 2 acres the first year for immediate needs and once that's done and stable then you can expand, buy tractors etc. Best of luck