tom's drone

A friend of Heathers, Tom, enthused about his recent new toy, a drone equipped with a camera, one afternoon whilst we were indulging in tea and cake.  It sounded fascinating.  

It's a little, remote controlled, battery powered helicopter with a range of several hundred metres and a top speed of around 30kmph with a still and video camera mounted on the undercarriage.  He didn’t take much encouraging and the following day returned with it and we spent a fascinating hour or so looking down on my plot from above.  Hopefully the videos upload and work as well as they do on my computer.  Here goes.

signed, sealed and delivered

On the 26th February I signed my deal and am on the way to being a property owner in France.  

Sealed and delivered, this morning the postman delivered a sealed bundle of papers that I had to sign for in person.  It’s the dossier of paperwork that accompanies the proposed purchase.  All 113 pages of it.  

There are only two possible hurdles to cross that would negate the purchase.  

The first is that the Mayor has the right to cancel planning permission on land as it changes hands, I doubt she will as in such a small village an extra inhabitant increases the population by 2% and the village revenue similarly.  I shall be asking to renew the outline planning permission in due course.

The second is the work of SAFER, a government sponsored agency that is responsible for keeping as much land in agriculture as possible.  It has three months to check that none of the local farmers want to buy the property.  This is only happening because I am purchasing some adjoining land which is agricultural .  Thankfully, any interested party would have to buy the whole lot, not just the fields and with the planning permission it works out rather expensive for a farmer to acquire an additional couple of acres.

Fingers crossed until mid May.....................

I spoke to one of the owners after the signing and he is more than happy if I make a start on clearing the brambles, turning a bit of soil and starting a vegetable garden.  Just as well, as earlier in the week I bought a huge collection of seeds on offer in the local supermarket.  They’ll get to grow this year some way or another.

I can also get on and apply for connection to electricity, water and phone, arranged for after the completion date, and also make provisions to insure the land from when I take possession ( a legal necessity here in France).  I need to ask the mayor too, for permission to put up a temporary cabin until such time as my house is built, apparently is it normal practice and permission is often granted for four years, I don’t imagine using it for that long.  There’s plenty to be getting on with in the mean time.

We, me and my current hosts, celebrated with a lovely meal and a bottle of champagne amidst the chaos of their moving.  Five more days and everything will be moved, the house cleaned and the keys ready to hand over.  That’ll be the end of my time here, onto the next.

it's in ruins

So that’s a ‘no’ for all those plots that have brought me to the conclusions above, which is all but one of them I have visited so far. This last one, for the time being, is holding my imagination.  A third of a hectare, with three ruins of buildings, a huge oak and several fruit and nut trees.  Views to the south and west, over an inhabited valley with the mountains in the distance.  Space for a house and barns, a big garden, polytunnel, chickens and maybe even a goat.  There is a well, water, phone and electricity not that far away, along with neighbours and a little village.  

spot the distant mountains

a right proper ruin

and another one

beautiful oaks

plenty of space for veggies and chickens

boundary on the left with village beyond

I’d love to go and visit again, but for the time being, Percy is in the garage.  His exhaust pipe has rusted through and driving anywhere draws everyones attention. The noise is unbearable.  I spoke to the garage last Friday, but Ford don’t take parts orders on Friday afternoons here!! Monday was Armistice Day, so all was quiet and on Tuesday the part was ordered, promised for Wednesday, it is now Friday and has yet to arrive.  Patience required; I’m just happy to be staying with a good friend, Pierre, the baker who I met and skied with last season.  He’s happy of the company and chance to speak english, after 18 years in England he has a better accent than me, loves explaining the intricacies of the french language.  We’ve been out walking, cut wood for the stove, made soups, baked cakes, for after the village Armastice speech (attended by almost everyone in the village 25 inhabitants) made christmas puddings and mincemeat, collected chestnuts to make purées and desserts, watched french TV (a rarity for me).  I’ve spent hours and hours trawling through estate agent listings on the internet and made myself a good and proper list of visits.  It’s been good being here.

Friday evening and finally I have caught up with myself.  I am writing now, about today.  The garage called today and Pierre took me down to get Percy through the snow.  All fixed, managed to get back up to the village at 800m in the twilight, everything white and the snowflakes seemingly flying straight at the windscreen the whole time.  Great slabs of snow keep sliding and crashing down of the roofs there is the smell of woodsmoke in the air and even though the snow is blowing in the wind there is a certain stillness in the air.  Winter has arrived.

beauregard ruin

After a brief interlude back home I am again in France, this time more seriously searching for somewhere to settle down.

Before I left, back in October, I was staying at Nicholas’ in Ruffepeyre, and visited a ruin on the outskirts of a village some 60 km away.  

A small building with solid walls built out of the most beautiful stone, with a tumble down roof in need of complete replacement.  It stands adjacent to a communal track, a field away from the village overlooking its land.

There was no running water on site or electricity, but I was promised that both were available and that the ‘house’ had renovation permission that included a small extension.  Its terrain faces south, about an acre of pasture in total which I dream of turning into a productive vegetable garden with fruit trees in the boundary hedgerows and perhaps a tiny camping site somewhere shady for the walkers that pass by in the summer time.  

I have just been for a second visit with my current HelpX host.  Brigitte kindly drove me there, she was excited to see the project too.  We visited Limogne market en route, picking up bits and pieces for a lunchtime picnic and I had the opportunity to explore the local region a bit further.

The site is more amazing than when I saw it the first time.  I had braced myself for a disappointment as I thought that my imagination may have run wild and created some fantasy place in my head, but it hadn’t.  It was almost exactly as I remembered.  The land is slightly more sloping, which is excellent news, almost completely secluded from passers by at the lowest point.  The funny barn structure is bigger and more solidly constructed, 10 m by 12 m, with an additional 5 m of hardstanding at the front which will make an excellent workshop and storage shed, not to mention immediate chicken enclosure and sunbathing terrace (for my visitors of course).  There are still the most tasty of apples on some of the trees, and in the weak November sun, one can see that a good proportion of the land gets plenty of sunlight throughout the year.

The biggest excitement and discovery is on a small, oddly shaped patch of adjoining land.  I didn’t get chance to explore during my last visit with the agent, but this time, without any time constraints, my expectations have been verified.  After looking at the plans on line, something told me that there was a  source of water there.  My thoughts proved to be true.  A well with an almost complete hand pump, almost completely full to the brim.  I reckon the water level to be at about 2 m, so an excavation on ‘my’ side of the fence should reveal similar.  My beans and tomatoes will be happy after all.

We lunched in the corner of the land, enjoying the sunshine and the view, my head racing, not really knowing what to think or do.  Several hours later, back at the house, I am still a little stunned, in a good way, perhaps it is the excitement of taking this project one step further, or maybe the fear of taking such a large step into the unknown.  I am contented to know that my second visit has made the project one step closer and that with good news from the agent next week, I may well be in a position to proceed with the purchase.

what do you think?

in need of renovation, it could make a beautiful home

south facing, off the beaten track, although one of 

the GR walks passes along this route.

October sunshine illuminates this exciting proposition,

an acre of slightly sloping fertile land awaits cultivation and a new venture.

a lick of paint and some new carpet, it'll be fine.

anyone know how to rebuild ceilings, plaster and install a kitchen?

the old owners have even left the tiles to put back on the roof.

All I need to do now is learn the necessary skills.

Images of the second plot of land that I have viewed on my quest to settle down again after four years on the road.  My plan is to find somewhere small and affordable with a decent amount of land.  I want to produce enough fruit and veg to feed myself year round, hopefully provide courses, or at least an insight into productive gardening and for those in need of a bit of guidance. Host helpX helpers to share the bounty of knowledge that I have accumulated over the years and to live more simply with less demands on the excesses of modern consumerism.

Your comments please....