Alan’s new book July 2015

Smallholding - a practical guide to self-sufficient living

Media release

16th June 2015

New book

Smallholding: a practical guide to self-sufficient living

ISBN:  9780954692315

A delightful and accessible guide that leads you through everything you need to know about running a successful smallholding. From the first steps of planning and choosing your smallholding, through growing and preserving your own food, to land management, livestock and finance; all lavishly illustrated with colour photographs.

This book distills three decades of personal experience by the author into a comprehensive guide for anyone thinking of embarking on “the good life”.

About the author:

Alan Beat has written a monthly feature in Country Smallholding magazine for 25 years. He lives with his wife Rosie on an organic smallholding of 16 acres on the Devon/Cornwall border. In 2008 they were highly commended finalists in the national Future of Farming awards "for exemplary management of wildlife, landscape and access". His first book “A Start in Smallholding” was published in 2004.

Extract:

The search for a better quality of life is driving many people away from areas of urban sprawl towards more rural parts of the UK. They are seeking to regain control over their lives, to grow their own wholesome food, to avoid congested roads, and to raise their families in a more natural environment. That’s why more and more of us want to start smallholding!

I made that change of lifestyle with my family in 1987, after four years of planning. We now grow fruit and vegetables, and keep sheep, pigs, poultry and waterfowl to produce most of our own organic food; make our own bread, beer and country wines; harvest our own firewood; and generally have become as self-reliant as makes sense to us. In the process, we have discovered new resources within ourselves. This is the essence of smallholding. Our quality of life is now so different, so vastly improved from before, that it’s difficult for us to imagine living in any other way.

I hope this book both inspires and empowers you to make your own smallholding dream come true.

Chapter headings:

First steps

Planning

Finding a smallholding

Growing

Poultry and waterfowl

Pigs

Sheep

Cattle

Other livestock

Land management

Tools and machinery

Finance

The self sufficient kitchen

The Flow

Resources

Pages: 162                 Format: 7” x 10”                  Price: £12

Availability:

Signed copies are available direct from the author. Send a cheque for £12 plus £1.50 p&p made out to Alan Beat at Bridge Mill, Bridgerule, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 7EL.

Alternatively order online through Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smallholding-practical-guide-self-sufficient-living/dp/0954692314/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434549637&sr=1-16&keywords=smallholding

                                               Alan’s first 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 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Start-Smallholding-Alan-Beat/dp/0954692306/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1278876801&sr=1-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR        

 

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; have restored a water mill to working order; and write a regular monthly feature for Country Smallholding magazine.