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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Property Unicorn

83 replies

SavingForaSnowyDay · 05/09/2025 15:40

DH has it in his head that we can sell up our convenient-to-everything home and find a detached with at least 1 acre that has a footpath to the nearest village costing less than £1.2 mill and no farther North than Sheffield.

I have NO intention of moving to the country to spend my days in a car. I can't find a way to interrogate property websites to find ones that have footpaths.

I'm right and there's no such thing, yes?

OP posts:
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Original poster
SavingForaSnowyDay · 05/09/2025 19:20

SwirlingAroundSleep · 05/09/2025 18:54

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I don't think either of us have ever even been to Shropshire so very interesting to see that it seems to be the place to get what we want. Thank you.

OP posts:
SwirlingAroundSleep · 05/09/2025 20:24

SavingForaSnowyDay · 05/09/2025 19:20

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I don't think either of us have ever even been to Shropshire so very interesting to see that it seems to be the place to get what we want. Thank you.

Show quote history

It’s a stunning county, well worth exploring.

Lonelycrab · 05/09/2025 20:38

1.2 mil?!? lol

With a fairly easy to meet criteria

I think you need to get a little better at scouring Rightmove.

And no, I’m not going to do your homework.

Aquickturn · 06/09/2025 06:34

Lonelycrab · 05/09/2025 20:38

1.2 mil?!? lol

With a fairly easy to meet criteria

I think you need to get a little better at scouring Rightmove.

And no, I’m not going to do your homework.

Odd isn’t it.

The husband has an idea but can’t be arsed to research and provide his wife with any examples the fit the bill.

The Op struggles to utilise right move.

Mumsnetters spend a few minutes searching and come up with multiple examples

SwirlingAroundSleep · 06/09/2025 09:02

Aquickturn · 06/09/2025 06:34

Odd isn’t it.

The husband has an idea but can’t be arsed to research and provide his wife with any examples the fit the bill.

The Op struggles to utilise right move.

Mumsnetters spend a few minutes searching and come up with multiple examples

Show quote history

But mumsnetters live around the country and know if that is possible in their area. I don’t mind, it’s fun to look at 1.2mil houses and help someone out to boot.

sittingonabeach · 06/09/2025 09:09

Why the need for the footpath? What happens when your mobility becomes an issue?

Tedwardy · 06/09/2025 09:24

SavingForaSnowyDay · 05/09/2025 15:49

Getting towards retirement.

I totally get the isolation worry - feel that would be mitigated by having a footpath - we both love walking.

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An isolated house doesn’t sound like a good idea to me if it’s dependent on a footpath and you’re planning on it being your retirement house. You may both love walking now, but things might look very different for one or both of you in ten or fifteen years' time. Unexpected things can happen healthwise as people get older.

Ilovemyshed · 06/09/2025 09:47

of course its possible.
Look at market towns as your centre, focus on small hamlets or villages around.
I live 10 mins drive from 2 decent towns and a main rail link to London. Walkable to a well served village.
Plenty around here have that land and more under your price.

Nomorethan3 · 06/09/2025 11:55

I can’t imagine getting close to retirement and neither myself nor my husband caring where I live across England as long as not further north than Sheffield.

To have no connections to either adult children, grandchildren, sibling or very dear friends that you literally don’t care whether you’re one hour from them or 6 hours from them

MindytheWonderHorse · 06/09/2025 12:07

This would be incredibly easy. Suffolk coast springs to mind- you could get much more than an acre if you wanted.

The o/s app will show you exactly where the footpaths are.

MindytheWonderHorse · 06/09/2025 12:10

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163710707

Property Unicorn
andfinallyhereweare · 06/09/2025 12:12

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165798884I’m

SunnyD4ys · 06/09/2025 12:17

You could certainly buy a house like that easily in my area, there's one for sale at the moment

You would use the normal pavement to walk to the pubs or shops though, what's the deal with a footpath?

Octonaut4Life · 06/09/2025 17:41

This is only £795k, two acres, short walk into the village, major garden centre very close by, twenty minutes from Cambridge, 4 bedrooms and a bungalow so you're future proof. It's dated but given it's way under budget you could do major improvements and get it just how you like it.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/166541003#/?channel=RES_BUY

Bulbsbulbsbulbs · 06/09/2025 17:53

You can get that where I am. My neighbour's house is 3 bedroom , an acre of land, surrounded by fields but a 10 minute walk to the village. 3 bedrooms, £550k. There is a more impressive huge and rather grand house with 2 acres on the other side of the village for a million. Cornwall though.

GiveDogBone · 06/09/2025 19:23

Your husband is entirely correct. Many edge of village, even end of town, properties can have an acre of grounds.

If anything you’ll probably have too much choice, so it will be hard to narrow down.

InterestedReader1 · 06/09/2025 19:32

Cheepcheepcheep · 05/09/2025 17:26

YABU for phrasing it in this way entirely to clickbait the Rightmove detectives to do your dirty work for you Wink

Nah - some people really enjoy looking at RM. No-one is forcing them to do it if they do not want to. Good luck to OP.

minipie · 06/09/2025 20:34

I would be very wary of relying on a footpath

They can get overgrown in spring/summer
Very muddy and sometimes flooded or slippy in autumn/winter
Farmer can decide to plant across it or block it (yes, illegal, but hard to sort)

I’d much rather be “edge of village” and able to walk in on pavements.

littlemisspigg · 06/09/2025 22:32

SavingForaSnowyDay · 05/09/2025 15:40

DH has it in his head that we can sell up our convenient-to-everything home and find a detached with at least 1 acre that has a footpath to the nearest village costing less than £1.2 mill and no farther North than Sheffield.

I have NO intention of moving to the country to spend my days in a car. I can't find a way to interrogate property websites to find ones that have footpaths.

I'm right and there's no such thing, yes?

Let HIM search for it while you enjoy your current home. Why are you stressing out for something HE wants?

FlyMeSomewhere · 07/09/2025 06:45

Nomorethan3 · 06/09/2025 11:55

I can’t imagine getting close to retirement and neither myself nor my husband caring where I live across England as long as not further north than Sheffield.

To have no connections to either adult children, grandchildren, sibling or very dear friends that you literally don’t care whether you’re one hour from them or 6 hours from them

Not everybody has kids and both my partner and i are in a situation where we were both moved around by our parents and lost all the friends we grew up with. Our close friends live an hour away from us. For me though I want us to retire to a friendly community overseas somewhere and be able to make friends and get involved in things.

FlyMeSomewhere · 07/09/2025 07:01

You need to be careful about isolating yourselves too much especially if retirement is looming. My mum and dad moved to a village in their late 40's to early 50's when my dad got a similar urge to go rural and get property with a bit of land. I warned my mum it would be too isolated for her as she doesn't drive but neither of them listened. The nearest big town was 15 miles away I think and there was a bus from the village just once a week. Needless to.say she ended up having a nervous breakdown! The land ended up being a waste of time because both of them ended up with health problems that just made the land hard work to look after and they after just a couple of years there moved back to where they'd moved from!

You need to think about having no friends out there and no ability to make any and how isolated you'd be if say your eyesight was suddenly deemed in older age to be incompatible to drive. You need to think of whether you would make it impossible to join any clubs or activities in older age by living so remotely. You also need to think about what if a harsh winter happens and the roads are covered in snow, you can't get anywhere and nobody can get to you. What do you want to be doing with an acre of land in your retirement? If god forbid something happens to one of you, the other is left alone and remote!

Zanatdy · 07/09/2025 07:20

There will be hundreds of properties that fit that criteria. You need to choose some areas. I’d be wary personally of buying such a big property as you head towards retirement, given the cost and effort in maintaining the house and the land.