The End Pt1

Like many people we knew very early that a life in the town or city was never going to fulfil what we wanted out of life. But like many people we never dreamed that we would be able to achieve anything like what we have now.
I can still remember sitting in rush hour traffic, wondering how I could get to spend more time with my wife and children, and not constantly dreading the phone going as it was more often a problem at work which needed my attention no matter what.
I can still remember a few years earlier getting ready to go to work one night and my son accidentally pulled a hot cup of tea over himself. Having dealt with the situation I decided to phone work (at that time) to explain why I could not come to work, only to be told that it would be hard for them to find someone else to cover me. The stupid thing is I did go, as I felt guilty about letting them down.
Here I was a few years later and nothing had changed, except the job, which involved more responsibility, and more time away from my family.
Looking back I can't remember when a conscious decision was made to start looking for a different lifestyle. We used to spend our weekends and school holidays on a very basic caravan site in the small village of Stanhope in Weardale. It was perfect the kids were able to play in relative safety and seemed to love the outdoors as much as we did. So the country lifestyle seemed ideal, just were could we be find a place in the country without needing to work excessively to pay for a mortgage.
I have relatives in Canada but was advised that unemployment is dreadful and looking at employment agencies I got the impression that although as a trained nurse there were vacancies about that these were given to Canadian citizens first. Australia well I think most people look at it but it just was not for us. England no hope at all, prices were/are astronomical just for buildings never mind land as well.
One of the big plus points of the job I did was that I had to travel up to Scotland once a month for meetings, on several occasions I took Debbie and the kids and stayed in hotels. When I wasn't in meetings we travelled around the area and became regular visitors whether I was there on business or not. We all love the area so spectacular and breathtaking.
At some point in March 2003 I came across property details for an estate, which was being sold off in Aberdeenshire and downloaded the details to show Debbie. We genuinely thought the prices must be a misprint and one property took our attention 3 bed 7acres it looked to have everything we wanted. We could afford the mortgage payments and spend much more time together, if I could find a job near by. Everything just seemed so right.
We travelled up to Aberdeenshire that weekend about 6hours drive but we never noticed we were just so excited. Stayed in a hotel on Friday then set off to see the property on Saturday morning. It was mid March but it was so warm and sunny and when we finally arrived the weather just seemed to intensify the beauty of the place.
The kids immediately seemed at home playing in the trees and gardens. The house was a little run down but very much habitable and with summer approaching not a problem. We drove around the estate. It was absolutely beautiful with woodland and lakes. I noticed a hospital near by on the map and went in to enquire about job vacancies. They were desperate for trained nurses. We went to the nearest town far enough away but close enough. Everything just seemed perfect and with the work situation apparently sorted everything was fitting into place.
We travelled back absolutely convinced that we would soon be living our dream. I was so excited on the Monday morning phoning the agents to tell them about our interest, trying hard not to show that we were that desperate we would pay much more than the asking price to secure the property. When I came off the phone I was absolutely devastated

Introduction

Welcome to Smallholding adventures, our very own website set up to chart our new life as smallholder's in Aberdeenshire. We hope you find the pages in the site entertaining and to some of you inspirational enough to change your life forever!
Having lived here for nearly 2 years I have built the site to reflect upon our experiences so far, and to look at what we would like to achieve in the future.
In many ways it has been a rollercoaster ride, some lows but much more highs, and never boring. Every day is different, filled with challenges you would never think you could cope with, but in true pioneering spirits you muddle through to an acceptable outcome ............some of the time!
We don't consider ourselves 'experts' in self sufficiency far from it, but as anyone living the life of a smallholder will tell you, you learn a lot and very quickly. Whether you only keep a few hens for laying or a large flock of sheep and cattle we all have knowledge and experiences that will benefit each other.
Lastly I am a great believer in 'if it is meant to be it is meant to be' so for those of you dreaming of leaving the rat race get looking! It is less than 2 years ago that I was still sitting in rush hour traffic and always remember
If at first you don't succeed