The holidaymakers next door

[mindutopia]

Just a rant really, I know I’m not being at all unreasonable. We live in a very rural area that is somewhere people like to visit. It’s pretty and remote and lovely. The only house within about a mile or more is a holiday let. Owners are lovely and actually bought the property back that their grandparents used to own 60 years ago. We have no issues with them. We also have no issues with 95% of their guests. They are usually very quiet and respectful and all that.

We had a family arrive yesterday for the week, with a 5 & 10 year old (we have a 4 & 9 year old, so great we thought!). They came over to play yesterday afternoon, fine.

I woke up this morning to their 5 year old in our lounge (we have like 5 doors, it’s a big old farmhouse, we don’t lock them usually at night as literally no one bothers us down here). I returned him to his family.

They attempted to come over several times today but I sent them back as we were having an Easter egg hunt in the garden and also having lunch. They finally came over again in the afternoon (I was in the house tidying up after lunch). We live on a farm so I can’t really see much from the kitchen, or else if I’d seen them, I would have intervened.

The 5 year old got into our chicken pen, let all the chickens out, threw about £5 worth of food and grit everywhere, and then appeared in my lounge (I was tidying up toys) and chucked 4 eggs on the floor (thankfully didn’t break!). I’m over it.

I only discovered the chickens let out (for foxes to eat) and food thrown everywhere just now as I went to tidy up outside for the evening. I went to knock on holiday let’s door but was dark inside downstairs and I could hear kids in bathroom upstairs so they are obviously doing bath and bedtime now.

I’ll speak with them tomorrow, but I just needed to rant. We’ve had so many people traveling to our lovely part of the country the past couple years and it does provide income for many local people (not Dh and I, we work in careers totally unrelated to tourism). But these are the first CF we’ve had in a long time and it just irritates me. Every time I’ve returned their children to them, they’ve just been in the kitchen, drinking, and oblivious. We had a bonfire burning today. We have a river with deep fast flowing water. We also had our puppy out this afternoon, who is lovely but very big and jumpy, which is why we are careful to only have her off lead on our own farm. She definitely could have injured one on these kids in excitement if we hadn’t known they were wondering around our land. And also just the damage and expense to our livestock. I’ve had to clean out the duck and chicken houses because they filled them with pellets and they can choke without access to water. They’re here 5 more days! I will go have a word in the morning, but in the meantime, just arghhhh!

You are not an isolated country farm any more. You are now next door to a business used by the general public.

If your property and its associated activities are potentially dangerous to life and limb, then it is your responsibility to ensure these are not accessible to randoms who have no idea of the dangers.

You need signage that lets visitors to the holiday let know that your property is a working farm with associated dangers and not accessible to the general public.

If a child who is ignorant of country ways and cannot read the sign climbs over a low gate and gets mauled by your dogs or squashed by a tractor, you may be held to account, so you should also increase the gate height and fences to ensure that children cannot climb over.

Discuss this with the property owner and sort out the finances to do this, but it needs to be done.

@CinnamonJellyBeans

You are not an isolated country farm any more. You are now next door to a business used by the general public.

If your property and its associated activities are potentially dangerous to life and limb, then it is your responsibility to ensure these are not accessible to randoms who have no idea of the dangers.

You need signage that lets visitors to the holiday let know that your property is a working farm with associated dangers and not accessible to the general public.

If a child who is ignorant of country ways and cannot read the sign climbs over a low gate and gets mauled by your dogs or squashed by a tractor, you may be held to account, so you should also increase the gate height and fences to ensure that children cannot climb over.

Discuss this with the property owner and sort out the finances to do this, but it needs to be done.

I understand what you're saying and agree with signs etc. Bugbear happened to parents actually parenting? We have used holiday let's loads of times, I would never let my children wonder around without myself or my husband being with them. And certainly not onto other people's property. I find this thread mind blowing that others are more focussed on whether the op should lock her doors! Baffling

Katepilar
Ha ha! Your right. 4am is night unless you are foaling a mare likewise lambs, calves. 5am is often morning but definitely 6 am.

I have lived and worked on a large stud farm, also had farm attached and beef cattle, sheep, hens.

Wow! OP I can’t believe how many people are telling you to lock your doors. I was at a friends in the city and discovered she locks hers while she is inside the house in the day. It is a suburb in a small city, only because it has a Cathedral.
We live rurally, small village, never lock it during the day if we are nearby. Sometimes when we go to the pub if lots of people in pub like Sundays( yesterday 120 Sunday dinners) and may wander about the village. Front door is always locked as we use side kitchen door.
Usually lock it at night but occasionally forget to check front door if we used it during the day, rarely do.

My sister used to live on a Scottish island and no one ever locked their doors, most people had dogs. They never locked their cars and left key in the ignition( so they wouldn’t lose it) and if the car was missing they assumed someone had borrowed it! This was about 20 years ago but I bet it is still the same. Tourists didn’t venture as far as their side of the island so might be different in the ferry port town.

Definitely CF.
No idea of dangers on farms. We live in farming village about ten farms. Field at back of ours with lambs. Love watching them though not as good as foals. Small primary 38 kids when we arrived 33 years ago and 60 when our youngest left. Mostly farming stock then so our kids were on several farms but as I brought them up properly they knew not to go wandering and tractors are constantly past our house so grew up knowing the dangers of those. As harvest comes can be ten twelve in convoy until past midnight as everyone helps everyone else moving from farm to farm. Bf is on large dairy on private So still go there. Don’t visit some now as Covid and elderly parents though men still working in their 70’s and 80’s.
Kids start about two. Feeding chickens and collecting eggs. Promoted at 3 to herding sheep through village. I remember Thomas had a crook much taller than him. He was so proud to be with mum and granddad. I occasionally help out if they get some difficult ewes as there are four roads meeting at the green where they cross. If I see and they are short handed I go and help sometimes to the farm gate down the hill about 3/4 mile. Young Thomas is now on a tractor and much to families annoyance working on another farm but he is still expected to do some hours on grandad 80 and mum’s farm.

Enjoy your farm and count down the days until they leave. I love Devon went there on holiday as a child and took DD and DH about 5 years ago then went on to Cornwall. Had a great time. Love the area. We stayed at a cottage on a farm on Bodmin Moor right on the top. Brilliant! Didn’t lock our doors either 🤫😂

In fairness to you @mindutopia, where you live sounds idyllic but as @CinnamonJellyBeans points out "You are not an isolated country farm any more. You are now next door to a business used by the general public" and you will have to discuss with your neighbours (the holiday let owners) what happens going forwards.

However, I don't think the onus should be on you to put signage up. The holiday let owners should make very clear and put a notice in their property that the adjoining properties (i.e. your home) are not accessible to them, they are out of bounds and unless the neighbours (i.e. you and your family) approach the guests inviting them over, your home/garden/farm/land is off limits. It's a working farm.
Any breach of this and you will report them to the holiday let owners who will apply a significant charge to their guests.

I'm guessing that they have let this place out through AirBnB so applying a significant charge shouldn't be too difficult, so long as guests are made aware of it before they book.

Well I live rurally too, and always lock my doors at night and when I go out.
Sorry, but whether you have always left them open or not, this is the sole reason there was strange child in your house.
And also, since you now live close to a holiday let, surely you need to secure your land/outbuildings/livestock etc.

I think possibly you may have set the scene yourself by having the children over the first day . We had neighbours down the street who used to let their children come to ours all the time . The children were feral , mum had no control or no desire to control them. These type of folk are very thick skinned , unless you say , STOP PUSHING YOURSELVES AND YOUR CHILDREN ON US I think you will have an extremely busy week of childcare !

@CinnamonJellyBeans

You are not an isolated country farm any more. You are now next door to a business used by the general public.

If your property and its associated activities are potentially dangerous to life and limb, then it is your responsibility to ensure these are not accessible to randoms who have no idea of the dangers.

You need signage that lets visitors to the holiday let know that your property is a working farm with associated dangers and not accessible to the general public.

If a child who is ignorant of country ways and cannot read the sign climbs over a low gate and gets mauled by your dogs or squashed by a tractor, you may be held to account, so you should also increase the gate height and fences to ensure that children cannot climb over.

Discuss this with the property owner and sort out the finances to do this, but it needs to be done.

Hang on.

So people have to fork out thousands to secure their own property because someone decides to open a business next door?

The lack of supervision really isn't good on their part. I would be annoyed too - sounds like they aren't being responsible in the slightest.

Yes. You have a responsibility to mitigate risks to the general public.

@Schhhteeevie

I have my suspicions that anyone trying to blame the OP here because she doesn’t lock her doors is a CF who offloads their kids on others on holidays.

CFs! The lorra ya!

Yeah this. Just a bunch of cf inadequate parents making excuses for why they are useless.

Wonder who they would blame if the kid drowned or got run over. Probably op.

Hope youve had no more visitors op-are the chickens ok

Poor OP - no wonder she's disappeared. Quite incredible that so many find her to be at fault for all this.
Hopefully OP the owners have now dealt with this and you're enjoying a peaceful Monday.

Well said Ewock

Cinnamonjellybeans and do you expect people to obey them. There is a very large sign on a stile ( ROW) and people still let their dogs off lead and let them worry sheep, cows and geese, hens and ducks. One lot with five dogs have also been told loads of times. They come out here and let their dogs worry( play) with livestock. Last year several sheep aborted lambs and two cows too. Another occasion they killed ducks and hens, didn’t get the geese😂 while small holder was up in village dropping off the order eggs. He was so upset, man in his 70’s on his own and rents the mill house and land so needs to make a certain amount. These people have been told by farmers, local people and myself. They put the dogs on the lead then took them off 5 minutes later. The next time the two farmers or labourers see them worrying livestock they are going to be shot. There are signs all around. They ignore signs and locals.
Farm gates are not low (5 bar)and they need to be light weight in order to swing. Old wooden ones are a pain to shift as they get old and drop. If you’re on a horse you have to get off, not easy when on a stallion. Why should farmers have inconvenient gates because people won’t look after they kids and ignore signs. They leave them open too. Not funny when you end up with a hundred dairy cows ( worth a lot of money) on the road. Don’t start me on bulls. Are you supposed to keep them inside in a pen all their life because people ignore signs and chain locked gates? They need space to do what comes naturally. Ditto stallions and any horses. Local found someone putting their child on the back of an unbroken colt! Lucky owner arrived as that child might have been killed. I used to back colts and we took six to eight weeks before I got on it. Some don’t take kindly to something on their back.

I have locked all the doors on that side of the house tonight

Back to find out if kiddo gave up that easily, or if he walked around to the other side of the house...

I hope this thread didn't pick up too many views. A lot of people would be happy to take a weekend trip out to deepest Devon to give all the door handles a try.

I hope the let owners sort this out. I wouldn’t invite random holiday makers’ kids round to play though.

Forgetting the risk of being burgled in an unlocked house, young children and a river/livestock would be enough to guarantee I locked my doors every night.

You are not an isolated country farm any more. You are now next door to a business used by the general public.

Unfortunately, this is true. I think you made a mistake (albeit a very kind one!) in inviting the children to play as the CF parents now see you as fair game. A good opportunity for a detailed chat about rules going forward with the owners.

Aren’t people in the sticks allowed to shoot trespasser's? Or was I always fed lies 😆
Only joking don’t shoot the children!

Wtf is everyone on in this comment section?

So if you invite someone over for a bit they can come and go as they please?

Like leave their 5 year old to go into a strangers house? Do what they want and to fuck up their chicken pen?

Just cos she said kids can pop over?

What the hell? I can’t imagine anyone being ok with this AND if I was OP I would have flipped at this kid and his parents.

I would call the police and say there’s a kid wondering around please take it away and find it’s parents.

How is this OP’s fault for being nice and offering to have a play date then cos she doesn’t lock her doors 😂

So if you don’t lock your doors then what ever happens is you’re own fault? Sounds like if you wear revealing clothes then it’s a risk to what a pervy man might do to you, no actually it’s the person’s responsibility to look after their own kids.

God forbid this kid falls in the river would that be OP’s fault too? Cos she and her family slept while roaming child’s parents didn’t notice him leave the house?
You lot are wild 😂 this child is in infant school, they need to watch him instead of having a piss up.

And why is everyone fixated on her locking her doors? If the whole house was locked up the kid still would have let the chickens out, presuming they don’t live inside the house.

People don’t understand what living in rural areas are like, clearly.

She's not giving mixed messages!!! You wouldn't invite friends for dinner one night and then expect to find them seated at the dining table every night thereafter.

I'm with you OP. We Live in an area where it doesn't really matter if you forget to lock your door.

It smacks to me of people who have absolutely no idea what to do with their kids: "ooh the countryside, everyone likes the countryside don't they? It will be nice". Get there "there's nothing to do ..where is the park/funfair/amusement arcade?" It wouldn't occur to them to plan and go for a walk, plodge in the river, etc. I bet anything they have dumped the responsibility for the 5 year old on the 10 yo but she had other ideas. And why shouldn't she? She is not his parent.

I would be apoplectic about the chickens.

The other point is, if they had researched, chosen and paid the full cost for place they might be a bit more into it; and that's the reason you haven't had trouble so far. The holiday makers have known what they were buying into and are up for it. This lot sound, shall we say, unappreciative.

Hopefully if your neighbour has given them a telling-off they might piss off home.

Also come back and tell us what the family set-up is? Surely not a trio of exes, current parents?

Wow those parents! They have let their kids understand how to be respectful... Did the owners deal with it?

The way this thread has gone is so batshit it makes me feel like I'm drunk

@Ishacoco

She's not giving mixed messages!!! You wouldn't invite friends for dinner one night and then expect to find them seated at the dining table every night thereafter.

This!!