Country living and an aga

Dr House

Dr House

Dr House

Soldato
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
13,381
Location
London
After living in central london with a small child we decided to move to the countryside (better paying job also)

I’m living in a old Converted barn Which is pretty cool but costs a fortune in oil to heat up and has very slow Internet.

It’s got this huge Aga which just seems a bit pointless. It has Half a dozen ovens which I don’t think you can actually set the temperature on and two oversize hot plates that also do not have a temperature control.

But on the upside I have enough parking to start a small car dealership.


01-C645-EB-4-A09-4-CE0-9-ECD-35-D9-BEEDC1-C0.jpg


The second positive point is that this place costs about the same as my one bedroom london flat.

What do people do in their free time out here? Not many coffee shops around
 
There are recipe books dedicated to Agas. You can then learn to adjust existing recipes for Aga cooking. They're great if there's no central heating, but otherwise I really don't understand the love for them.
 
Dr House said:
What do people do in their free time out here? Not many coffee shops around
Click to expand...

Walk, cycle, drive, pub, gardening, relax, enjoy cleaner air, appreciate wildlife.

As for the heating, put a thicker jumper on :p

I do find it amusing though, move to the country "The hell is this and what's an aga about?"
 
Last edited:
Oil is a nightmare, but fill up your tank in the summer and there is a substantial discount via buying it in Oct-Jan.

Look into installing a couple of wood burners if you don't already have them. They are very efficient at heating a large space, cheaper than oil and add some value to your property.

As for spending your time in the country? Relax and chill a bit and enjoy the lower anxiety us country types have. I've got the brewery and winery in my second garden building and currently working on a smoker.
 
If you're going to live in the countryside then you're going to need to enjoy the outdoors and/or have a hobby you can do at home.

If you've just moved in and you have a fair amount of garden/land then be prepared from Spring to Autumn to spend one day a weekend in the garden unless you pay someone to do it for you. And that's just keeping on top of it. Between that and a small child you won't have much spare time to worry about. And when you do then do what most of us do and enjoy the selection of lovely country pubs there must be around you if outdoor pursuits are not your thing.
 
Dr House said:
After living in central london
What do people do in their free time out here? Not many coffee shops around
Click to expand...

Racing cars at nearby track.
Clay pigeon shooting.
Depending the season hunting.
Computer games and generally have hobbies. :)

That from someone who lived 16 years in NE Lincolnshire (Blyton), and preferred to commute for my various contracts 2h per day (or more) than change the peace of my home.
 
Had one of those in a house I grew up in as a kid, then we moved and in the new house there was some cooker similar to an Aga but by a different company... in the end my mum got rid of the thing. They're not really very efficient and given everyone is trying to be green these days having a cooker you just leave on all the time does seem a bit mental even if using it for heating etc..too.
 
You can retrofit a timer system to the AGA so that it is only on at full power when you really need it without having to remember to turn it up and down all the time. Each of the ovens is set to a different temperature, you'll have to look your model up to work out which temperature each one is, the hot plates are different temps too, one for boiling and one for simmering.
 
We are thinking of doing the same and moving into the countryside - purely for the lifestyle changes and not having to live in a city
 
Our rayburn died about 6 months into living out in the sticks, can't honestly say i've missed having it on & the oil bills have seriously dropped. Will be getting a refurbed aga when we redo the kitchen though.

As for stuff to do

- wait for the internet to load (6.12Mbps on fiber here, damn copper cable :( )
- keeping livestock (chickens & bees)
- drinking at the local for peanuts vs london
- recovering from drinking at the local
- Random DIY projects

i'm in london a couple of days a week so get a decent dose of the big smoke, but do love coming back out to the quiet
 
Enjoy the fresh air for a start.

When I lived at Rannoch I was climbing most days in Glencoe, kayaking on the lochs and generally relaxing.

Install a wood burner for winter.

Depending on your location, watch for ticks
 
I moved from a town to the countryside 19 years ago. You will find the main pursuits are (possibly) rugby, certainly shooting, hunting, fishing, drinking heavily with scant regard to drink driving laws, extra marital liaisons, mocking "townies" who post asking about what's the point of an Aga and why do you kill everything, and vitriolic gossiping. As I breed dogs, birds (including emus which need a lot of 6 foot weld mesh fenced space), have cattle, like walking, very much like drinking and do some mild gossiping and moaning, I find life is great :) I have avoided extra marital dalliances, I've got enough trouble with one I've already got and am the living definition of a misogynist.

An Aga can heat the house (no pun intended), does yours? I find them a bit of an anachronism but some people love them, my pal has two for some unknown to God reason. He lives alone and constantly moans about the fuel bills... They are great in winter but the nearly uncontrolled heat output in summer can be a PITA as you still need to cook.

The thing with lots of space is you soon find ways to fill it up. You can never have too many cars, so that'll be the parking space sorted :) I have seventeen acres, 3 acres being formal lawn at first it was overwhelming, it needs fencing, mowing, the hundreds of trees need attention, they die, fall or become diseased. Gales can be a worry as the next day you KNOW you will be on the chain saw, but now it doesn't seem that much. The right tools help, as does watching an expert and learning how to do things yourself. I have gone to looking mystified at how to fell a 15 foot sapling to tacking 90 foot hundreds of year old oak trees downed across a neighbours fence, or needing felling. The bizarre thing is we don't have a wood burner... It would be free to fuel, but they are yet more work.

I went to a newly made friend's place after a year here and asked where his boundaries were. "As far as the eye can see, and beyond, about 450 acres". I felt inadequate ;) You'll know within 2 years if it's heaven or hell for you. If you don't like getting dirty it'll cost a bomb as local tradesmen can smell townie money through double glazing and charge accordingly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom