UK Members !? Who is off the grid??

Lets get an idea of who is actually off the grid in the UK.

I know lots of people over seas are but what about on home soil?

If you are off the grid, where abouts?
How did you make it happen?
Any looking back?
Hardest part to it all?
What advice would you give?

And so on.

Personally, I'm still on the grid but I plan to get off as soon as possible.
Currently one of the hardest parts seems to be finding the land - most prices are just far too much and make this dream more unrealistic....
This is a saddening prospect....

Anyways, how about you?

I've been off the grid once didn't like it couldn't get Internet connection was living in a caravan on a site about as off the grid you can get in the uk.

That's not really off the grid as such, that's just living in a caravan ?

Nz... My father is off the grid but still has to use a generator for an hour a day sometimes in winter if it rainy or overcast for to long. He wishes they had the grid for the purpose of making money off their excess power. He still has washing machine, and laptop,fridge etc. They get their power from solar and a microhydro system made from old washing machine bits and they had wind lowery til the wind blew a mighty storm and blew down the wind turbine. Solar hot water and a wood stove he Cooks on which also has a setback to heat the water as well. I liven the city and would love to get solar water heating and eventually power when I dream big and win the lotto . Good luck getting land.

Sorry I not in UK but had to put my two cents worth. If you in UK I would say you will need many forms of generating power as not much sun in winter. By land with a stream or river, my dads micro hydro machine is on a small stream coming down their mountain, but must rain to have constant power, and then big rain happens and a slip wipes out the catchment pool.

Don't think you guys understand the uk is full of council houses and city's the only people that live off the grid are travellers and they break into say a car park take it over for a week till the police can evict them, even
the woods are no camping? There is no where? Mabey Scotland?
And I live rural.

off the grid in the uk is below the poverty line. quite simple.

a reply to: fitnessguru

Tbf, if you are buying land then you are on the Land Registry and that is not even close to being off the grid. It's so easily traceable and audited.

You need wilderness and real privacy to be "off the grid" in it's true sense. Good luck finding that in the UK...
I knew folk who used to travel around Wales and England and stay in places like Teepee Valley and traveller sites, that's as close as you can get in the UK i reckon, unless you live as a vagrant or just tent-up/make a bender in forest and scrub-land, and then some gamekeeper or some-such will end up finding you and you will still be thrown off sooner or later.

a reply to: fitnessguru

Am trying...

Have enough land to do it, its just finding a way to generate power and store it without having to sell my soul to finance it. A lot of guys I know down here have the gear to do it, but they all feed into the grid as there's no way of guaranteeing the power you need when you need it. Heating also same problem. Am confident tho new technology will help us all out in the not too distant future.

Good luck in your endeavours

google "off the grid community UK" or something similar. You should be able to find an established community you could join.

If you have the ability to reply to this thread, or use the internet in general, you are very much on the grid.

France has better options for this ... I looked at it a while back

First off living off the grid is damn near impossible here in the UK,
For various reasons.
HM Tax & Revenue, The Anglian church, And HM Government.

All have got their claws into your monies every way imaginable,

The best bet is when your near retirement say55 or so then plan for a life on the road in a camper type van,
six wheel drive type pricey but affordable and be able to move around the country quite freely and milk the system till your hearts content,

I'm not advocating breaking the law of the land but bend the rules so to speak, Work for Red diesel and free amenities,
Like fixing fencing on small land holdings and stables and season type vegetable picking

Presenting yourself as a "Traveler" is a guaranteed way off bumping your way up any local council/ NHS lists.

Just a brief comment. Fox.

The type off Landy you should consider converting.

a reply to: fitnessguru

Planning statutes are the issue. 'Change Of Use Of The Land'. In spite of the evidence of hundreds or thousands of years of living on the land that you will find when you start digging you will be told it's designated as agricultural or whatever land and you cannot 'legally' live on it. Camping in the same place for more than the limit, I think 28 days, is 'illegal'. Sleeping and cooking in a structure that does not have planning permission is 'illegal'. So first learn the difference between 'legal' and Lawful. www.sovereignindependentuk.co.uk... Give them something to chew over, they love it. They get paid for this banter. But you don't.

Wages are paid to individuals who will fight you in every way. Paperwork, face to face talking, ultimately bulldozers with a police guard. The police will always say they're there to keep the peace but what that actually means is they'll stop you from obstructing the bulldozers as they destroy your home, because it hasn't got 'planning permission'. Stop here and ask yourself if you think I'm being negative. If you think that you're ignorant. This is how it goes.

No one will pay you to fight your own corner. You'll have to defend yourself in a legal battle while working all the daylight hours to maintain your lifestyle. You will be fighting against people who know what they're doing and they're getting paid to do it. They'll string out your suffering as long as they can because that means more easy money for them.

I went to visit an alternative village on common land and found it was almost completely destroyed. All the benders had been scooped up in JCB buckets and taken on council trucks to the tip where they were buried under several feet of clay. I went for a closer look and got a hard look from the guard on the back of the bulldozer. I'd scavenged Clyro Tip many times and never saw bulldozer security there before. Go to Clyro on Google maps. Go onto street view and look down the B4351. Look at those lovely green fields on the left as you head towards Hay. I don't remember which one after all these years but there's an entire alternative village complete with personal and valuable possessions buried under one of those fields. You can learn from this.

The ignorant townies and hard-core travellers who had been living in that alternative village had little or no comprehension of the back-breaking work put in by many, many generations of locals maintaining that common land and negotiating their grazing rights.

Positive point number one. Get farming experience. It's usually easier for our type to get involved in organic farming. www.wwoof.org.uk... Do this. Don't argue, just do it. After that you'll have the farmers viewpoint and things will be so much easier for you.

Now for the success stories. Errrrrr........ there's here.... and there... Where they successfully negotiated for the legal right to stay after a hard battle. It can be done. "A Non Profit Making Educational Establishment" often has some degree of success. Teaching kids how to be green. You need people skills to get anywhere with that. If you are with a group choose your most diplomatic member for all negotiations.

The other success stories are very quiet. They get away with it because nobody knows they're there. Don't hang washing where it can be seen. Solar panels are visible from the air. Well trodden footpaths must lead somewhere. I know of a small community in the garden of a large townhouse that was unmolested for years, until noisy newcomers attracted attention.

You can do it. And you must do it for your own sanity and the good of future generations. Just realise this is what the private bankers hate most because you will in no way be supporting their disgusting lifestyle.

a reply to: fitnessguru


Here ya go... interesting read.


www.theguardian.com...

Living on a boat is about the closest you can get in the UK I would say

a reply to: blupblup

Very interesting read.

Boats are a way forward. Living on inland waterways used to be much easier here then regulations were tightened up. There is a strong element of snobbish boat dwellers who see anyone without access to large quantities of private bankers fiat currency as a threat. A boat full of them once motored up the creek where we lived and one of them said loudly, "It looks like the end of the world up here." To me it looked like a host of honest off-grid types living in cheap boats.

Our boat cost £500. You can sometimes get large old boats free, because they are such a liability. If you're living on tidal water you don't have to follow all the rules that apply on the inland waterways. The boat can be taken as far up the beach as it will go on the highest tide then it will only float once a month. A small dinghy or kayak serves as a runabout.

Many of these boats are homes. mybeautfulthings.files.wordpress.com... You have to be dedicated to succeed. There is a saying, 'A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into.'

"What do you do with your excreta?" It's a question you have to get used to when living off-grid. On tidal waters you may find you're expected to throw it overboard when the tide is going out. On inland waterways it must never enter the water. You'll need a holding tank and regular visits to a pump-out facility. www.thegreenblue.org.uk... On land you have to bury it or compost it effectively. Rats, puppies and even crows in extremely cold weather are all eager to get at it. Dealing with it hygienically is often the make or break factor. Here are some videos.

The hole you dig can be big enough for one use or a deep narrow trench large enough for a couple of weeks. Soft vegetation can be used instead of toilet paper. Cover well with soil after every use. If livestock are present make sure they can't reach the trench and break their leg. It's a difficult one to explain when a horse or cow has that particular accident. You'll need a dedicated bottom bucket for washing. Another bucket and flannel will do for overall cleanliness.

Sawdust toilet buckets are very effective. After a few uses the contents are fully buried in some composting arrangement. Planting a tree over each full latrine is good. The designated agricultural land status comes into play again. I don't think you can legally bury it on agricultural land but woodland is O.K. Personally I would avoid the hippy-dippy woven stick and straw bale fantasy loos. The rats are persistent.


This is an option if you know your horses. These good people have solar panels on their roofs. Horses have more rights than humans in our animal loving culture. Try it on your own and you might get moved on. Try it with a horse and you're home and dry, as long as the horse is well looked after. Roundabout dwelling with horses is a growing trend.




Lastly the traditional bender tent. Romanies perfected the temporary bender. Longer lasting benders have been used here for thousands of years. Some medieval fairs/markets used well built benders as stalls. www.google.co.uk... Notice in this image search many of the modern benders are built with the sticks vertical which means they slope in and reduce useable space. Sloping the sticks outwards before bending them in gives a stronger and more useable space. You'll need to make deep holes with a pole for the sticks to go into.




Fire is a serious danger. Make sure your chimney exits the structure safely.



One other thing. Watching that guy struggling to get his tarps over the bender framework reminds me. Roll your tarps sides to middle, manoeuvre the sausage over the framework, then allow the sides to roll down.

a reply to: Kester
Thankyou Kester for that inspirational post it cheered me up no end

Not so sure about the popping drills though

I'm currently putting together my retirement dream off the landy camper,
Buying all the equipment month by month so i can pack up and live the dream in 5 years time when i retire @55.

Iv even got the surplus arctic socks from silvermans bought and stored
and in the process off buying an old AFV tank crew shelter from Ebay the one that fits to the side off your camper,

I was wondering if i could pick your brain and ask would old fire blankets (in the little red package) make good insulation for the camper.

Anyways thanks again mucker. Fox.

a reply to: foxhound1431

Pre 1979 fire blankets may contain asbestos. More recent ones probably have woven fibre glass which could be almost as bad when it breaks down. Wool is best, it's naturally fire resistant. thenaturalsleepstore.com... New carpet offcuts are good but not with foam backing, the foam breaks down.

In a living vehicle it's important to retain maximum space. Insulation is best carefully fitted in between any ribs or framework. Losing just an inch of interior width is noticeable.

I once slept in a small space lined with an old parachute. I was told the material was fireproofed. I tore off a loose bit and held a match to it. Woof. The whole place could have gone up in three seconds. Fire is a big issue.