Self-Sufficiency in Style
Buying your smallholding - Part Three
Make the map do the work!
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Self-Sufficiency in Style Buying your smallholding - Part Three Make the map do the work! |
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The world at your feet. |
One thing about the British
and their Empire that will be remembered, long after it has all been swept
away by time, will be their obsession with mapping. Drop the average Brit into unknown territory and he will immediately set about mapping it with one hand, whilst thrashing hostile natives with the other. They will also rename all landmarks to make them pronounceable in English and patronising to someone important. |
| The British
ordnance survey maps, or their equivalents, are a treasure. Produced to move
armies they are one that smallholding seekers can put to good use. Copies of the 1 inch to 1 mile (now 1:50 000) are normally at every public library, but can also be ordered by internet, as can the 1:25000 "Pathfinder" series. Anyone familiar with reading these maps will know that you can put together a highly detailed picture of the countryside represented. They bear no similarity to the road maps we all use to cruise the motorways. |
Maps, made to move armies, may render you immobile. |
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You can see the ghost lines of long closed railways. |
It is an easy
matter to detect "nasties" such as pylons, factories. You will, with a
little skill, be able to spot the likely routes of any future bypasses and
the likely volume of traffic on existing roads. The height of any property and the probability of flooding can be assessed, the density of population, the distance from local towns and major cities. Public footpaths and bridleways will be marked too. There is little of relevance that the map cannot tell you. Even the history of the land, from Roman roads to closed railways is there. |
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Things may have changed since the map was printed, but it still gives you a head start in eliminating places that will not be of any interest |
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The internet, with its aerial photographs, can bring you closer up to date with local developments. The many photographs from every part of the world will bring a landscape to life. The local newspapers can tell you of local planning controversies and the issues that trouble the local population. |
Is there anywhere that does not have a photograph on the internet and a newspaper to tell you what is going on? |
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To make the best use of the
map from your armchair, you simply need the grid reference or postcode. Most good agents will have an extract of the "Ordnance Survey" on the details marking the exact location of the property. If they don't: ask them, making sure you refuse their offer of a viewing "at the moment." |
| Our experience is that there
will be at least a 90 percent rejection rate, following a careful
examination of the maps coupled with a little research. Ring the estate agents and tell them why you are not interested. |
If you think you are likely to be talked into something, email instead! |
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The moral of this story is that your armchair is the place to stay. |
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...mapping out your future - from an efficient Hangman's Cottage, just to the south of Misery Corner. |
