(Mo Gàidhealach Aisling)
I have a dream, it's the focal point of everything I am doing in my life right now. It's also something that I've been wanting to do for many years. I live in a semi-detached house amongst many other semi-detached houses and although there's nothing wrong with that, it's never felt quite right to me. As a kid, I would spend as much time as I could in the countryside. I didn't care if it was cold, windy, raining or even snowing, what mattered was that my senses were filled with the real world, not the sights and sounds of an overly humanised environment.
A large proportion of my family history is tied to farming, mining and the sea and I feel it in my bones. Since leaving school, I've spent most of my working life in windowless factories on minimum wage and it was only the thought of escaping at the weekend that kept me sane. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful to have a job at all but one day I just noticed that modern life seems so numb and meaningless to me and I've always felt like I'm just passing time until my actual life starts. Well, that time is now.
As I am sure you have already gathered, I'm a country boy at heart and always will be. I've never felt at home where I've lived all my life, I've always hoped that some twist of fate would give me what I wished for if I waited long enough but I know that I'm the one who has to make it happen. Here's what I'm aiming to do. I'm looking at a handful of options, I don't mind which is the one that gets me to where I want to be in life but one part is completely non-negotiable and it is this:
I am going to move to the Scottish Highlands.
I would like any of the following options to be part of the plan;
1. A rough plot of land. Anywhere from 1/4 of an acre up to 5 acres.
2. A croft tenancy of any size with or without a house but with the option to buy or build a house.
3. A derelict or semi-derelict cottage/barn/bothy that I can rebuild with some land (something like the one at the top of this page).
4. A cottage in fair condition with some land.
I am more than happy to;
1. Build a traditional croft house from scratch myself.
2. Have a self build house erected by professionals (as long as I can help!)
3. Build a log cabin myself.
4. Rebuild and/or renovate and existing buildings.
Once there, I want to;
1. Work the land and be as self-sufficient as possible.
2. Make a modest living doing what I love (see the rest of my site).
3. Use the abilities I have to be an asset to the local community.
4. Play an active part in preserving nature, traditional crafts and local heritage.
5. Enjoy life and feel free.
I'd also like to grow trees from locally harvested seeds and once they are big enough to survive being nibbled by deer and sheep, plant them back into the wild (with the appropriate permission of course). As a nature lover, being able to help in this manner to reforest and increase biodiversity is enough for me to want to do it but as I'm also a woodworker, it just feels right that I should give more back to nature than I take from it. This is what I'd love the chance to do if I was fortunate enough to get a croft but I'd still want to do it on a somewhat smaller scale even if I only had a corner of a garden in which to grow the saplings. I only have a small garden now but it's full of a variety of trees both broadleaved and coniferous and of all ages so I'd say I've got the experience to make it work either way.
I'm not asking to be rich, famous or for any of the above to be handed to me on a silver platter, I'm just acutely aware that we've all got just one short life to live and when you know what you want to do with it, you should chase your dreams with everything you've got, never give up and never let go.
A large proportion of my family history is tied to farming, mining and the sea and I feel it in my bones. Since leaving school, I've spent most of my working life in windowless factories on minimum wage and it was only the thought of escaping at the weekend that kept me sane. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful to have a job at all but one day I just noticed that modern life seems so numb and meaningless to me and I've always felt like I'm just passing time until my actual life starts. Well, that time is now.
As I am sure you have already gathered, I'm a country boy at heart and always will be. I've never felt at home where I've lived all my life, I've always hoped that some twist of fate would give me what I wished for if I waited long enough but I know that I'm the one who has to make it happen. Here's what I'm aiming to do. I'm looking at a handful of options, I don't mind which is the one that gets me to where I want to be in life but one part is completely non-negotiable and it is this:
I am going to move to the Scottish Highlands.
I would like any of the following options to be part of the plan;
1. A rough plot of land. Anywhere from 1/4 of an acre up to 5 acres.
2. A croft tenancy of any size with or without a house but with the option to buy or build a house.
3. A derelict or semi-derelict cottage/barn/bothy that I can rebuild with some land (something like the one at the top of this page).
4. A cottage in fair condition with some land.
I am more than happy to;
1. Build a traditional croft house from scratch myself.
2. Have a self build house erected by professionals (as long as I can help!)
3. Build a log cabin myself.
4. Rebuild and/or renovate and existing buildings.
Once there, I want to;
1. Work the land and be as self-sufficient as possible.
2. Make a modest living doing what I love (see the rest of my site).
3. Use the abilities I have to be an asset to the local community.
4. Play an active part in preserving nature, traditional crafts and local heritage.
5. Enjoy life and feel free.
I'd also like to grow trees from locally harvested seeds and once they are big enough to survive being nibbled by deer and sheep, plant them back into the wild (with the appropriate permission of course). As a nature lover, being able to help in this manner to reforest and increase biodiversity is enough for me to want to do it but as I'm also a woodworker, it just feels right that I should give more back to nature than I take from it. This is what I'd love the chance to do if I was fortunate enough to get a croft but I'd still want to do it on a somewhat smaller scale even if I only had a corner of a garden in which to grow the saplings. I only have a small garden now but it's full of a variety of trees both broadleaved and coniferous and of all ages so I'd say I've got the experience to make it work either way.
I'm not asking to be rich, famous or for any of the above to be handed to me on a silver platter, I'm just acutely aware that we've all got just one short life to live and when you know what you want to do with it, you should chase your dreams with everything you've got, never give up and never let go.
So much of Scotland is breathtakingly beautiful and I would be thrilled to live anywhere in the Highlands but one specific area has always been the main focus of my affection, The Outer Hebrides. West Harris to be specific. I can't express in words alone just how much I am hypnotised by this area so I hope my amateurish attempt to capture how special this place is in pastel makes up for my lacking prose.
Clear blue water, deserted white sand beaches, rugged mountains as a backdrop, the machair studded with wildflowers, an incredible array of wildlife on land, sea and air and warm, friendly locals that have a real sense of community and appreciate how special this place is and how lucky they are to be able to call it home. I hope to be counted among them one day. This is my heaven on earth. |
If you look below, you'll see that I've taken part in the Discovery Channels 'My World Bigger' Pledge. See, I told you I was serious about this!
To be continued....... (just below the pledge actually!)
To be continued....... (just below the pledge actually!)
I have been in contact with Norscot, a self build company based in Bower, Caithness. I have bounced some ideas back and forth with them via phone and email and it definitely looks like a good route to go down. We discussed some of their house designs and I settled on one called 'Kincraig'. Originally a two bedroom, single storey crofters cottage style build but with a little modification, it is now a three bedroom design which is just under 75m2 which is good as this will keep the build costs down. As it looks like other houses in the areas I'm interested in, it should make getting planning permission a little easier and it won't look out of place which is important to me. Norscot will build the house to wind and watertight then I will finish the build myself and try to call in professionals only when needed (like for connecting up to mains electricity).
Click HERE to go to the Norscot homepage or click HERE to see the original Kincraig cottage design.
(links open in a new window)
I found out that I am legally allowed to do the groundwork and services up to the boundary which should be fun playing with diggers and stuff! Seriously though, I actually want to learn how to do it, I'm not just trying to save money. I just need to find a nice, little plot of land within budget and this could be possible. I'm not quite able to move just yet but if you have a piece of land to spare in the Hebrides, Caithness or Sutherland or know someone who does, please contact me through the form at the bottom of this page.
It's a long shot I know but sometimes amazing things can happen just by asking.
If you keep your dreams to yourself, that's usually all they end up being.
Want To Help?
If you like the idea of what I am trying to do and would like to help me achieve my dream, you actually can and it won't cost you a penny (or a dime!). If you click the link below that is correct for your home country, it will take you to the homepage of your local Amazon site.
Once there, you can shop as normal and buy anything you want and I will get a small commission.
If you decide to do this then all I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Once there, you can shop as normal and buy anything you want and I will get a small commission.
If you decide to do this then all I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart!
If you don't need to buy anything from Amazon at the moment but still would like to help me achieve my goal or you've found value in something I've shown you on this site or my YouTube channel, please consider clicking the PayPal button below and you're free to enter whatever amount you feel comfortable with.
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