I got mine last year. I waited 4 years (and that was a lot quicker than expected..I got lucky)
I LOVE it. It's about 5 mins drive away or a 30 min walk. I was lucky and it came with a small greenhouse and shed (that I gave the last owner money for)
Costs £25 a year
Over the winter nothing much happens... tidy up, cover the ground with tarp or mulch the soil and put garlic in as it needs the cold to germinate. Put broadbeans in too. Slugs got most so I restarted them in feb.
March to april.. started sowing seeds indoors... tomatoes, spinach, courgettes, butternut squash, peas. Chitted potatoes (ie leave them on a window ledge to sprout) they went in the ground 2 weeks ago. Onion sets went straight in the ground,
Broccoli, kate and cauliflowers, sowed in march, put out last week.
Dwarf and runner beans and sweetcorn being sown now for next month out.
I have cucumbers and peppers and one melon seedling for in the greenhouse.
I spend every spare minute up there right now as everything is germinating or growing, so I'm potting up, watering, digging. It is SO satisfying. Some of it will fail... my carrots did and my beetroot so I'm starting another batch, but seeing stuff I put as seeds in little pots in my conservatory GROW... well that's magic!
Weekends are allotment and I pop in after work to water the greenhouse if it's been warm. I take my dog, and my grandchild toddler as I look after him 2-3 days a week.
People are friendly and will offer advice... ages range from young couples in their 20s to ancient old guys :) and we have all moaned about the awful weather!
Some areas have privately owned allotments so it is worth asking around, It definitely uses up a lot of time in spring and summer but the benefits...both food wise and mental space wise, are immense!