The end of the (upgrade) road?

[Pigmy Pony]

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.

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

[CageyH]

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.

[Macca]

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 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.

[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.

[Macca]

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.

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.

[CageyH]

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.

[Pigmy Pony]

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?

[CageyH]

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.

[Barry]

Send us some pictures of it when it arrives.

[CageyH]

Send us some pictures of it when it arrives.

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

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