29 Oct 2026
For those of us who live and run businesses in the countryside, life is different, and I think this has been brought home even more with the Government’s recent Preparedness advice. Have you read it? Or seen one of the many newspaper articles highlighting the “preppers”?
I suspect that for those of us in the more remote areas this is nothing more than normal life – we’ve been doing it since ever. A few years ago, I wrote a piece for the readers of Countryside Jobs Service (CJS) outlining what we do every year ahead of winter, explaining that much of our day-to-day life is not a “lifestyle” choice it’s simply the practicalities of rural life which for many of our urban based readers dreaming of a job in the countryside is a complete culture shock. That having a sensible 4×4 outside is often the only way you can get the kids to school or if you’re beyond the end of the road is necessary to meet the supermarket delivery van a mile or more away stuck on the main roads. Which brings me to another point, Goathland is nine miles from our nearest towns with a climb of a 1000ft over miles of open moorland; no matter what time of year there’s no nipping to the corner shop for a pint of milk or loaf of bread. All through the year you need to plan what to eat and ensure you’ve got a ready supply, everyone has a decent pantry and well stocked freezers. Being even more remote at Green End and with a very productive small holding my colleague Amy has several freezers in the farmhouse’s old pigsties, stuffed with everything you could need from the year’s harvested fruit and veg to meat and emergency stocks of bread and milk. With no mains gas in the village I have a gravity fed oil fired aga and a flat topped wood burning stove because when the power goes off they stay on, providing heat and sustenance not only for me but on more than one occasion for neighbours and fellow villagers without such “luxuries”. If we lived elsewhere I doubt I’d have a wood burning stove, they’re dirty and hard work, living beings that need attention; you can’t simply flick a switch and get instant heat.
What about the business? Surely that’s not affected by being on the moors, the working from home revolution means you can work from the beach on a laptop and a desktop publishing business is all computerised. Which, strictly speaking, is true, however you need electricity and a broadband connection which is not always reliable or even possible. As storms in recent years have shown the infrastructure in the more remote areas of the UK is particularly vulnerable to disruption. After experiencing too many power outs, culminating in a total communication breakdown when both broadband and mobile signals failed leaving the majority of the village and the office unable to contact even 999 many of us, CJS included, moved to solar power and satellite broadband. In addition to 20 solar panels and four batteries CJS also has two large stand alone batteries, the type many people take camping, simply to ensure the core office equipment stays live for as long as possible.
Maybe it is “prepping” but not for future catastrophe and apocalypse, simply for everyday rural work and life, our backup plans never need dusting off because they’re used multiple times every year.
The thing is, we’re not alone, there are many businesses and people across the countryside in similar situations making the same provisions as part of regular countryside life.
Having said that though Amy and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and agree that country living is wonderful but it’s not for everyone and it’s certainly something to bear in mind if you’re used to a more urban lifestyle when applying for jobs.
Read my original article: Preparing for Winter, https://www.countryside-jobs.com/notices/preparing-for-winter
Kerryn Humphreys, CJS Managing Editor
