Book
Many people harbour the dream of escaping from an urban rat race and moving away to a country smallholding, where a slower pace of life beckons. Alan Beat made that move with his wife Rosie and their two young children in 1987 after four years of planning. This book is their story.
Alan recorded their early experiences, as they happened, for Home Farm magazine (now re-named Country Smallholding) through a series of articles entitled "Tales from the riverbank". Each original article now forms the basis of a chapter in this book, with some additional new text for continuity. The temptation to modify and update this core material has been firmly resisted so that it retains the fresh perspective of the novice that becomes so elusive in hindsight.
“A Start in Smallholding” is an A5 paperback book with colour laminated cover, 112 pages and 45 black and white photographs throughout.
“Not only is this a fascinating and rewarding story of a family that succeeded in making the move to the country, but it also acts as an inspirational and practical aid to those who seek to find a measure of self-sufficiency in their own lives” – Katie Thear
“A Start in Smallholding” is available by post from:
The Bridge Mill,
Bridgerule,
Holsworthy,
Devon EX22 7EL
Cheques payable to Alan Beat for £6 plus £1 p & p per copy within the UK (overseas add £2.50 per copy)
It is also available on the Internet at www.smallholders.org
Alan Beat trained as a chartered mechanical engineer, running a successful family business until he moved into smallholding in 1987. His first article was published in a fishing magazine when he was 14 years old, and he’s enjoyed writing for magazines and newspapers ever since.
With his wife Rosie, he lives on an idyllic sixteen acre smallholding in the upper Tamar valley, on the Devon/Cornwall border. Here they keep a small flock of sheep, most with naturally coloured fleeces selectively bred for hand-spinning quality. They also keep pigs, poultry and waterfowl; offer educational visits to school and adult groups; run training courses; sell a range of unusual plants; are restoring a water mill to working order; run Smallholders Online at www.smallholders.org; and write a regular monthly feature for Country Smallholding magazine.