Distance to your allotment

[nodig]

Well another survey    I now travel 6 miles to my allotment (having parted ways with two closer allotments) but now in a very happy place.  I'm guessing I travel the furthest on the forum, but who knows? So get your pens out folks and let us all know how far you travel to enjoy your allotment and how often. I'm going to guess at 1 mile average and 4 visits per week during the growing season.  Also let us all know if it is the nearest allotment to where you live.  Thanks.

[nodig]

[ed dibbles]

I go a little further than you - eight miles. The nearest allotment site to me is about a mile away but has only been open three years and as I have been on my current site over twenty years I won't be changing now after all the work I've put in.

Attendance is as often as the weather allows so that is five to six days in the season when the weather is nice fewer in the winter when more days are wet but I go all times of the year. Since I have four plots to look after I need to spend the time tending them - mornings only though. (those mornings can begin at 6.30 in summer )

It is such an idyllic spot - nice and quiet. It really helps me think! - and plan.

[ACE]

About two and a half miles. There is one nearer where I used to have a plot years ago, but being away nearly every spring and summer working at flower shows I gave it up. Ride to it every day for a couple of hours in the summer before breakfast and three time a week weather permitting this time of year.

[Beersmith]

Distance? I am not absolutely sure. But at a steady pace and without hurrying I can walk to it in about fifteen minutes. So my best estimate would be three quarters of a mile. I walk whenever possible, but use the car when there is anything heavy to take or bring away. I suppose I could have clocked it using the car odometer, but have never bothered.

Visits? In the growing season most often three, sometimes four. Usually one devoted to harvesting, with a couple of longer working days, perhaps 10am until 4pm when the weather allows.

[brownthumb2]

 I live about 6 miles from mine and visit every day weather permitting ( retired last year )   now this time of year just twice a week to check on things and  to get produce   eg leeks swede  celery and chard

[Flighty]

My plot is less than five minutes walk from home, and the site is the nearest one.  Being retired I'm there most days weather permitting.

[Plot 18]

My plot is less than five minutes walk from home, and the site is the nearest one.  Being retired I'm there most days weather permitting.

Snap!

[johhnyco15]

My plot is less than five minutes walk from home, and the site is the nearest one.  Being retired I'm there most days weather permitting.

Snap!

double snap

[hippydave]

Mine is less than a 5min walk and on the pushbike it takes around a minute to get there.

[cudsey]

2 min walk across the road

[Tee Gee]

Just out of the back door for me now!

[OldBob]

A mile away, 3-4 times a week in when preparing, sowing, harvesting and putting to bed for winter, odd times even then when it is once in a week. The rest of the time, once, maybe twice a week.

[George the Pigman]

It's about a mile. But since I don't drive its walkies all the way through outer suburban Birmingham.(unless I can persuade my wife to drive me there or pick me up).
Main problem is carrying things. If I need to take over things that are heavy or bulky. Then I have to book a space on the wife's chariot!

[pumkinlover]

Mines is just round the corner. So more than Cudsey's and less than Flighty's!
I usually use a bike and trailer or push a wheelbarrow as there are always bags of compost to go round from the rabbits and other compost enhancing liquids.

[nodig]

Distance travelled survey results - well folks an interesting result. 

Of the 14 responders -

half travel 1/4 mile or less to their plot (lucky fellas).

3 travels a mile or less

1 travels 2 miles

2 travels 6 miles

and eddibles travels the furthest at 8 miles

The lucky ones who live close to their plots have negligible travel costs but I have calculated that travelling just a mile to a plot everyday will cost about £100 per year in petrol.  So that makes a plot 10 miles away cost about £1000 year - that's a lot of veg! So for ed dibbles and to a slightly lesser extent brownthumb2 and myself, allotment costs are quite significant. I wonder if anyone would go over the £1000 a year travel cost to keep an allotment?


 

[Tee Gee]

The lucky ones who live close to their plots have negligible travel costs but I have calculated that travelling just a mile to a plot everyday will cost about £100 per year in petrol.  So that makes a plot 10 miles away cost about £1000 year - that's a lot of veg! So for ed dibbles and to a slightly lesser extent brownthumb2 and myself, allotment costs are quite significant. I wonder if anyone would go over the £1000 a year travel cost to keep an allotment?

Possibly I could come in to that bracket in so far as my allotment was around 3½ miles (7 miles round trip)

To get there I would have to get two buses and there would still be a walk of ¼mile walk to get the bus and when I got off.

I calculated at best it would take me at least one hour to get there and that is if I made good connections between buses.

Its any ones guess if I didn't get a good connection.

So I had a car primarily to get to and from my allotment which I could do in 10 minutes.

As a result of this I was doing under 1000 miles per year so if you added up the cost of Tax,Insurance,AA Depreciation, MOT  and Petrol and of course repairs if needed it worked out it was costing me me around £1.66 per mile or around £12 per trip.

This wasn't the reason I gave up my allotment but it was a factor in the back of my mind!

Petrol alone was around 90 pence per trip and to think I have a free bus pass it makes you wonder what is an acceptable price for convenience!

Having said all that!  it was an interesting exercise Nodig!and it certainly makes you wonder what is the true price of producing our veg!