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The holidaymakers next door

532 replies

mindutopia · 17/04/2022 19:55

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. Hmm

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. Hmm

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!

OP posts:
wordler · 18/04/2022 13:20

@PuppyMonkey

You don’t lock your doors, but you’ve installed CCTV?Grin
As the OP explained the worry for farms is equipment and livestock security.
Beverley71 · 18/04/2022 13:25

Get yourselves some padlocks for any access gates and the chicken house and lock your doors. They will soon get the message

Sortilege · 18/04/2022 13:29

TBF, OP isn’t posting at all clearly.

She said she woke up in the morning to find a five year old in her lounge, but every time someone commented on that, and the doors being unlocked overnight, she changed it to say she’d been walking the dog or napping on the afternoon when the doors were unlocked.

She also said she had returned the kid to his parents several times, and they were drinking in the kitchen of the holiday let each time, but then said she hadn’t spoke to the parents since the first day, which is summoning up strange images of what happened each time she dropped this five year old back.

I don’t think posters are focussing on the locks issue for the sake of it, or just because they’re surprised at the lifestyle, but also to try to get the story straight.

It is confusing.

SoupDragon · 18/04/2022 13:30

I'm uk too, I always presumed its natural to always lock locks, ect regardless of type, as you never know, plus it's odd the times when you don't lock that x happens,

You can't lock a Yale lock.

Ikeptgoing · 18/04/2022 13:32

OP ignoring -all the silliness from PPs wanting to argue with you about whether you lock your doors and when- , I'm waiting for the update from the holiday let owners speaking to these CF lazy parenting holiday makers staying next door and hope you've been updated.

Their 5 year old had trespassed in your farm land 4 times in one day unsupervised by their parents and at risk. It's a working farm. Also you discovered child had wasted £5 of feed and let out your ducks and chickens. Again unsupervised wandering freely over a working farm.
Goodness knows what else he or she did. As well as arrived in your house and there eggs around! Shock

That is so neglectful of the adults with him / her. I hope the owners of holiday let cut short their stay or read them the riot act and that you can invoice for wasted feed and eggs

Stifledlife · 18/04/2022 13:33

Why is everyone obsessing about door locks, and ignoring the fact that a 5 year old is walking a quarter of a mile at the crack of dawn, causing damage to to OP's livestock, wandering into a complete stranger's house (causing much concern) and no one that is supposed to be in charge of this child is bothered!

Surely a 5 year old wandering around the countryside is the issue, not how the OP chooses to secure her property.

Why have people gone off on such a tangent!

Lolalovesmarmite · 18/04/2022 13:34

OP. This thread has gone bananas. I live on farm in exceptionally rural Devon and I don’t lock my doors either. We also have a few holiday lets very close and any stray children would be very quickly returned. The threat of crime may be very low but the risks to children in a farmyard that they don’t know are very high. My own children don’t go in the yard unsupervised.

Hawkins001 · 18/04/2022 13:36

@SoupDragon

I'm uk too, I always presumed its natural to always lock locks, ect regardless of type, as you never know, plus it's odd the times when you don't lock that x happens,

You can't lock a Yale lock.

I'm getting my locks mixed up, but basically if it's got a lock I've always presumed it's better to, lock, bolt ect rather than leave them unlocked
Aikatarina · 18/04/2022 13:36

The replies on this thread are hilarious. Why do people go on threads to pick apart every little thing the OP has said? Do they not have better things to do than Google crime in Devon to prove a point? Confused

2bazookas · 18/04/2022 13:37

That's absolutely awful. I'd give the parents a written bill for lost feed and eggs.

I'd also contact the owners of the holiday let and ask them to leave a note in their Visitors Handbook that unsupervised dogs and children must NOT cause problems on the working farm next door.

Hawkins001 · 18/04/2022 13:38

@Lolalovesmarmite

OP. This thread has gone bananas. I live on farm in exceptionally rural Devon and I don’t lock my doors either. We also have a few holiday lets very close and any stray children would be very quickly returned. The threat of crime may be very low but the risks to children in a farmyard that they don’t know are very high. My own children don’t go in the yard unsupervised.
But from a legal and insurance perspectives, if an accident happened without your knowledge and the people were their even without permission ect would that make you part liable ect ?
Hawkins001 · 18/04/2022 13:39

@Aikatarina

The replies on this thread are hilarious. Why do people go on threads to pick apart every little thing the OP has said? Do they not have better things to do than Google crime in Devon to prove a point? Confused
Because that's one method of formula a debate point, at Oxford it's taught rather than using assumption and guesses, it's better to use facts when possible to make your point.
Hawkins001 · 18/04/2022 13:41

@Stifledlife

Why is everyone obsessing about door locks, and ignoring the fact that a 5 year old is walking a quarter of a mile at the crack of dawn, causing damage to to OP's livestock, wandering into a complete stranger's house (causing much concern) and no one that is supposed to be in charge of this child is bothered!

Surely a 5 year old wandering around the countryside is the issue, not how the OP chooses to secure her property.

Why have people gone off on such a tangent!

I'm guessing because if the areas were secured better, then minimal risk of injury and also prevents animals ect escaping.
LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 18/04/2022 13:41

@Cervinia

I live in a small town in West Yorkshire, I don't lock my doors during the day, I do at night but I might not if I lived in rural Devon. I think some people have no concept of living in a really safe area. Or even a semi safe area at that.

YANBU OP, the family across the way are CFs and presumably town or city dwellers where danger = roads and strangers, none of which are prevalent in your area. They clearly have no concept of countryside danger.

Rural Dorset here - and I thought the same. The visitors are CFs and ingnorant about the countryside.

They are CF in allowing their children into your house/garden without checking with you first.

+Either they don't like their 5yr old much or they don't understand the local dangers.

I guess that they can just see that there are none of the dangers they are used to (cars/strangers lurking) and think their 5 year old is safe to roam.

duskyspringfield · 18/04/2022 13:47

YANBU. They’re shit parents

Ducksurprise · 18/04/2022 13:47

Yale locks are worthy of a whole new thread IMHO.

How are you not locked out everytime you put the bins out or go to the car? They give me the heebees.

godmum56 · 18/04/2022 13:52

New Forest here ex Somerset. there absolutely is a tranche of townies who treat the countryside like a safari park or a theme park....screech to a halt in the middle of the road to photograph, or worse feed the livestock, park where they feel like it, picnic or camp in the forest parking areas, encourage the kids to cuddle the cows, donkeys and ponies then complain when they are kicked or bitten...paddle in the streams and ponds and scream when the leeches attach..I could go on....

2bazookas · 18/04/2022 13:55

@Bananarama21

billy1966 it wouldn't be op who would be responsible it would be on the parents.
Read your household insurance policy about your public liability exposure to anybody injured on your premises .
LaurenKelsey · 18/04/2022 13:58

Not locking your doors at night is taking a risk. It’s highly likely you’re perfectly safe not doing so, but why take the chance?

Scooby5kids · 18/04/2022 13:58

I really do sympathise with you, but I think the issue is that you may be giving mixed messages. On one hand you're saying you don't want them over unannounced and unsupervised, but then on the the other hand your saying it's fine if they come play with your children if you're there to supervise. I mean this with the absolute respect because I do get it, I have struggled myself with letting people walk all over my boundaries, but you need to make it crystal clear that you're not this family's unpaid child care for the week. In fact given that they have taken the absolute piss out of you, If anything happens again I would just calmly take the child back and say "if I catch them on my land again I will ring the police because this is child neglect. We are a busy working farm, I have not got time to supervise your children for you while you're on holiday! I would appreciate it from now on that your child doesn't come into the farm to play because I feel like you have taken advantage of my kindness and think it's acceptable to just send your child round to me whenever you want and it's completely unacceptable!"

I understand it might be a bit of a shame for your children not having anyone to play with, but like you said the majority of guests respect you and they get the arrangement when your children play together it's not an ongoing obligation for the rest of the holiday, it's when they get invited. I'm sure there will be plenty of other children in future, but I'd write these people off as just as arse holes

Sortilege · 18/04/2022 13:59

@Ducksurprise

Yale locks are worthy of a whole new thread IMHO.

How are you not locked out everytime you put the bins out or go to the car? They give me the heebees.

You use the “snib”.
Scianel · 18/04/2022 14:08

Half the posters on this thread are lunatics.

Scooby5kids · 18/04/2022 14:08

Why do people keep going on about the door. It's irrelevant. She clearly says the child got in her house in the morning. Most people unlock their doors in the morning? We do! Regardless, what difference does it make? I know next door probably has their house unlocked now, but I'm not going to send my kids round, uninvited, to let themselves in their house. That would be rude AF!

SoupDragon · 18/04/2022 14:14

@Ducksurprise

Yale locks are worthy of a whole new thread IMHO.

How are you not locked out everytime you put the bins out or go to the car? They give me the heebees.

it's really not difficult 😂
JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 18/04/2022 14:16

@Strictlyfanoftenyears

Personally I would never sleep in an unlocked house, bloody hell thats crazy.
Never lived in the country lthen?

Bloody hell when I lived in rural Lincolnshire I went out for the day once and accidentally left my keys dangling in the front door. Got back and they were still exactly where I left them. Some places are that safe to live!