The end of the (upgrade) road?

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Originally Posted by Macca

Horses need a bigger area than your garden I think plus expensive to run, there's always something up with them.

What about tortoises? You'd need a fair few of them but they're pretty much plug and play.

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But tortoises are sneaky buggers, as good at escaping as goats. They move so slowly (when watched) that people underestimate them. As a kid I was always losing my tortoise.

The horse idea might just be sustainable, after all you've got about one and a half football pitches worth of garden there, and so might be your 'safest' option - it'll also provide alternative transport without the need for tax/MOT/insurance, no fuelling costs, and if it doesn't work out, all is not lost - just look up "local boucheries chevalines" in le yellow pages :)

I don't need to look one up. There is one at the local market.

Animals are out of the question, as they need looking after.

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Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony

But tortoises are sneaky buggers, as good at escaping as goats. They move so slowly (when watched) that people underestimate them. As a kid I was always losing my tortoise.

The horse idea might just be sustainable, after all you've got about one and a half football pitches worth of garden there, and so might be your 'safest' option - it'll also provide alternative transport without the need for tax/MOT/insurance, no fuelling costs, and if it doesn't work out, all is not lost - just look up "local boucheries chevalines" in le yellow pages :)

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I only found this out by watching 'Escape To The Country' where a horsey type rejected a house that had a garden stretching to the horizon as it wasn't big enough for her horses. You need at least two acres per horse.

I have two acres. ;)
The horse could go in the woods, but I don't want to be dealing with a horse and the associated waste products.

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Originally Posted by CageyH

I have two acres. ;)
The horse could go in the woods, but I don't want to be dealing with a horse and the associated waste products.

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For the vet bills alone you could pay someone to come and cut the field once a month and still come out ahead.

All animals are a bit of a ballache it's true but that robot won't be maintenance free either.

Cleaning it and changing blades won't be too bad.
The ride on is starting to get a bit heavier on maintenance required, although last year it had new oil in the engine and rear axle, new drive belts and pulleys throughout. Also a new clutch for the blade drive system.

Already done the oli change this year, and have sharpened the blades. I hope there is nothing else to do.

Can you not get a local farmer to cut it a couple of times a year in exchange for free grass to feed his cows/sheep in the winter?

Not many livestock farmers here. Mainly crops and veggies.

The other issue is that if I don't cut the grass, it makes the garden a good environment for snakes..
My wife suffers from ophidiophobia, so not cutting the grass is not an option.

I am "inches" away from ordering the robot mower.
It looks like an impressive bit of kit.

Send us some pictures of it when it arrives. :)

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Originally Posted by Barry

Send us some pictures of it when it arrives. :)

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Pictures here - https://uk.navimow.com/pages/navimow...bot-lawn-mower

85cm long, 61cm wide and 30kg. A bit of a mining ankle.