1 year living off grid in the highlands of Scotland

One Year Off-Grid in the Scottish Highlands: An Update
Join us for a walk around our off-grid property in the Scottish Highlands as we celebrate our first year of living here. We'll cover:
• Our thriving wild meadows and emerging orchard
• Updates on our hydro and solar power systems
• How our composting toilet is working out
• Our water system improvements
• Plans for livestock including bees, pigs, and chickens
• Upcoming projects like mushroom cultivation, a greenhouse, and new renewable energy experiments
Get an honest look at the challenges and joys of off-grid living in a beautiful but harsh environment. We'll discuss what's worked well, what we've learned, and our exciting plans for the future as we continue developing our highland homestead.
Whether you're interested in off-grid living, renewable energy, or just enjoy seeing the Scottish wilderness, come along as we reflect on our first year and look ahead to what's next!
Website-www.offgridscotland.co.uk/
Facebook- / offgridscotland
Instagram- / offgridscotland123
00:00 Intro
00:42 Wild flowers
04:49 Orchard
08:05 Micro hydro
13:52 Solar
15:54 Composting toilet
18:33 Berry bushes and Defender
21:27 Water collection
24:22 Leather treatment and diesel heater
27:07 Inverter
27:40 Office and workshop
29:59 Electricity generated
30:54 Rhubarb
32:19 Upcoming projects
37:34 Electricity usage
38:49 Outro

[@MARYMCGUIRE-tv8je]

Thank you for a really honest, down to earth explanation of everything. Wishing you the best in your off grid life.

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you very very much

[@donsfromnz6515]

Kris Harbour has some good insights on Hydro water wheels, on YT, and is not a million miles away from you.

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks I will check him out I hear his videos are really good

[@user-tt3rr8up1d]

Hi mate, i know your trying to keep costs down which I totally understand. In regards to the trees I’ve just ordered a load from the woodland trust website and there so cheap. You can get saplings which have around 30-60cm growth so I’m guessing a few years head start rather than growing them from seeds. There really cheap. Especially if your buying in bulk. There basically giving them away. If you haven’t already have a look. Good luck with the rest of the season. Your videos have really inspired me to get off grid and move away. We’re planning on moving to north Devon in a few years and buying 6-7 acres of land to do something similar to you but in a smaller scale

[@offgridscotland]

Excellent thanks for the suggestion, we will be buying saplings when we start the main replanting so I will have a look at the woodland trust website as you reccomended as I am sure they will be cheaper than some of the places I have checked already. I hope you find something in Devon you will have so much fun!

[@user-tt3rr8up1d]

@@offgridscotland thanks mate. Look forward to your future videos 👊🏼

[@Nellyontheland]

Just popped over from your interview with the UK Urban Prepper recently. Subbed. We are in a similar situation here in Wales. Bought a plot of land, built on it, and are making our systems work. Differently though, we didn't get planning, used the 4 Yr rule, and are now just happily living here. I'll watch when I can. Cheers 🇬🇧 (The flag is for our American cousins to know where I'm from. This community is huge 😊)

[@offgridscotland]

Nice! Good work on the planning.

[@happyglampers9053]

Great update Rob. Very interesting to hear that your drying cupboard is working well. And the Aquatron is working as it should 👍

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks 😁

[@petershores]

Fabulous positive update Rob - love the progress you’ve made in the past year

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks Peter

[@NeonGenesisPlatinum]

Another great video mate. Loved all the updates very informative. You're definitely living my dream & good luck to you. I can never wait for your next video.

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you very much!

[@normanstephens5391]

Thanks for the update. Many. Creditable Ideas. For the future. Always look forward to your post's for a catchup on whats happening. Interesting and Informative as usual. Cheers.👍👍

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks Norman

[@seanismay]

Loving your journey and all of your projects, you've filled about the next ten years of your life I reckon! 👌

[@offgridscotland]

Yea it feels that way and I am sure we will find more to do on top of that

[@remog38]

Wow what a list , thank you for the update and keep your wife happy of course 😁

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks I will try

[@markoneil8286]

@Off Grid Scotland sounds like you have a workable plan. Really love watching the improvements you are making. Anyway I am hungry so take care and keep on keeping on

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you very much!

[@1956vern]

On your diesel heater, if you come across a old cast heater use it on the exhaust to gain efficiency! Just a suggestion! Be interesting as time passes what you come up with! On the hydro you may try a servo you could install and use WiFi to turn on and off!

[@offgridscotland]

Excellent suggestions thank you.

[@erinthecat4206]

I do appreciate the effort and forethought you put into your planning. It is the only way to go on these things in my opinion. Having extra energy is certainly a blessing. The ability to save and or export it and earn money is a real plus, too. If you can use it for now, even if through a dump load, it has to be better than being cold. The best salad in the UK, so far as we are concerned, is grown under LED lights in a commercial premises. Look forwards to you upcoming videos, no matter the subject.

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you so much that is very kind.

[@ste4bz]

For solar, I have an East/South and West Array, which means you don't get as much concentrated power (good if you are getting more than you need) but you get a longer duration which means you don't need to rely on your batteries as much... might be worth considering as you clearly don't need all that intense midday power...

[@offgridscotland]

I diddnt know that thanks for letting me know. I am thinking about how to arrange them better so I will definitely be factoring your suggestion into the design

[@constructioneerful]

Did the no mow May and June - looks amazing. Paths threaded through it. Butterflies, bees, moths. Great soul enriching stuff. Our Bats probably happier too.

[@offgridscotland]

Excellent! Ill bet the bats and all sorts of other creatures loved it

[@paulleeson1218]

Cracking update filled with positivity and forward looking, the perfect remedy for sodding election fatigue, loved every minute of that, If you're getting pigs I can heartily recommend a channel on here, the Scott Rea Project, not only great recipes but a proper old school butcher who teaches brilliantly, very much worth a look and does amazing things with pigs, game,poultry etc. Cheers for sharing your update & looking forward to seeing what comes next :) Take Care Mister.

[@offgridscotland]

Sorry if I have replied already youtube isnt showing me the reply correctly. Thank you so much I am glad you enjoyed it.

[@carletonblackwell]

Great update. You picked the right part of Scotland to do the off grid thing. I’m in the Scottish Borders and the council are so anti off grid and unhelpful.

[@offgridscotland]

Thats a bummer I hope they lighten up to off grid living

[@yellowgorse3878]

Aspen are notoriously difficult to raise from seed and are often propagated from root cuttings, enjoying your content thanks for sharing.

[@offgridscotland]

Ah that makes me feel a bit better.

[@HenryOwens-py3ur]

Thank you, meantioned some of my ideas. vortex turbine and raising your solar pannels in autumn. Rubarb-pear cider, salt on your rubarb, afraid everything gets eaten by somthing, spiders love sweet plants, Gotta be coldest on record, Septembers always nice, last year was hot dry then humid, not hot humid then dry ! what its supossed to be. i am working on drawngs on a sound deadening concrete wall, consists of vvvvvvvvv faceing the sound which absorbe vibration and send sound back the the road, im 7m from 3 gear acclorating upto 50mph, someone comes around i dont hear it but thier going deaf because of it, but hear it when things doint go well

[@offgridscotland]

Wow good luck with the project sounds like you have it sorted!

[@HenryOwens-py3ur]

@offgridscotland Umm not quiet yet, in order to concrete out the ground threaded bar is used to stop it bursting, threw plastic pipe, the holes at the start need to line up with the holes end in oreder for the shuttering to be used again. jut abit more technical drawing to do. I think you should consintrate on your hydro power, wind power is a very fickle thing, if not 5 to 10 mph between gusts chargeing can be very unpredictable, but water will run 24/7 365days, i have 1 month where its perfect wind and the rest is gusty, thier is a way to use the gusty wind, which involves 3 or more wind turbine place in a triangle 30+ meters apart to staighten out the charge curve. water wheel are fun to make, solar up on the hill would be more sentence, in series can produce 1000v, but hay videos can be hard to see depths, thank again

[@insAneTunA]

Lovely update. I would recommend you to skip the hydroponics, and instead to invest your money in a really good greenhouse system with grow lights and heat storage features. I have experience with an outdoor aquaponics system in the Netherlands. Your climate is not suitable enough to get any decent result. I mean, you will get a result, but it is not comparable to growing food inside a greenhouse. You have too much rain, too cold, too much lack of sunshine. Hydroponics or aquaponics is not easy. You need to know a couple of things about chemistry, and you need to keep constant track of important water quality values. Especially with an outdoor system and the amount of rain and/or snow and ice that you get will make it nearly impossible to get any decent result. Because water from the rain and snow is not good for an aquatic grow system. It lacks essential minerals to keep the system healthy. Those minerals can be added, but that is costly and tricky. I am pretty sure that you are capable enough to learn all about it and such, and if the climate in your region would be warmer with more sun I would encourage you to do it. I just think that it is not worth the investment because of your climate conditions. You will get a much better return of investment from a very good greenhouse. A greenhouse is just that more efficient in your climate zone. And if the greenhouse is large enough, you could think about an indoor aquaponics or hydroponics system. An indoor aquatic grow system eliminates a whole lot of issues. With a good greenhouse you can grow food almost all year long, and there are plenty examples of people who have build a greenhouse with all those heat storage features and such who can grow citrus fruits in the middle of the winter without any additional heating. Watch Chad Midgley, he grows citrus fruits in Utah during a blizzard without extra heating.

[@dantheman6698]

i believe he said he was going to try hydroponics in the greenhouse using supplemental lighting, not outdoor hydroponics. and i agree its a lot of hassle and have to mess with nutrient values all the time. using pots with a good light soil mix containing a lot of peat and just feeding it tomatorite is way easier, almost as good results as hydro and more forgiving of minor nutrient issues.

[@insAneTunA]

@@dantheman6698 Exactly. For me it is just a hobby. Decades ago I started with a small pond and I was looking for a way to create a natural filter, and that is how I ended up with aquaponics growbeds. I take my hobby very seriously. And I keep improving my knowledge and my system as much as possible, but I do not have to eat from it. It is not such a disaster when the growth from the plants in my system is not always as optimal as it can be. It took me a couple of years to get things right with the climate and the type of system that I have. I had nobody to teach me. I used to think that I just had to make sure that there was always enough water. And when I started I did not know anything at all about minerals and nutrients and water hardness values and PH values, and so on. And even when you understand that you need to keep track of all those things and add minerals when needed, you can still screw things up if you do not have the proper knowledge about when you can add certain minerals, and when you can't add certain minerals. It all needs to happen in the correct order with the best possible accuracy. It is not very complicated, you just need to know your stuff and you need to have the proper tools and knowledge to make it work reliably and efficiently and cost effective. Otherwise it is just playing with water. And there are not many folks out there who can teach you and tell you exactly what to do, because there are too many variables that make each system have its own specific needs. What works well in Australia doesn't nesseceraly work well in Scotland or the Netherlands. With soil you can have a very good result in the same year that you started, and with a relative small investment. And then it is actually possible to save money compared to buying food in the store.

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks for the information its very helpful. The building I was planning to construct was for a hydroponic system (lighting etc) as you mentioned the conditions here arent that good for growing but it is a little bit away as we have lots to do before we get to that so I have time to learn.

[@dantheman6698]

being creative and doing projects is fun, its like food for the mind. as for your tree starting, what id do is search the internet for the type you want grow and it should say what method they need to germinate. are you going to grow some hazel and willow for sustainable copice firewood ? lots of off gridders with log burners love those.

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks. We are planning most species here to add as much diversity as possible, I had considered willow for copicing as they seem to like the wet soil we mostly have here

[@elminster8149]

You can use excess power from your hydro to power an electric fan heater to dry your clothes.👍

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks great idea, we have something like that to suppliment the clothes dryer when we have excess power especially as we dump load to the electric heater anyway

[@HenryOwens-py3ur]

I was deciding between a tilting solar array or a fix array, i think a good aim is that you should be fully charged between March 20th and September 20th , and then the wind and rain would slowly take over the bulk chargeing with solar equilising the batterys during the winter days. realising that i was going to be fully charged dureing the summer months decided i was not going to go with the normal 40 degrees, i was going to raise the fixed array betwen 45 or 48 degrees, haveing wind turbine that i winch up and down i had spare wire rope and lots of pulleys so made the decision to go with a tilting array. not wanting to fix the array permanently i came up with a deck chair style solar arry stand that i could dismantle move or sell.

[@offgridscotland]

Thats an amazing idea! Sounds very easy to tilt I was getting a little complicated with my plan

[@HenryOwens-py3ur]

@offgridscotland Thank you, it does take three times as much wood and twice as long to make, but that freedom of moving or selling it and durability, knowing its not concreted into the ground, which if you dont get good drainage from the posts could snap. Even brought a single axis controller with wind safe sensor, so it could winch down the array in heigh winds

[@darwinsfish]

You’re going to need to protect those fruit trees. Rabbits, squirrels and deer will all cause a lot of damage. Could make out ragged robin and agrimony growing in your meadow. Great to have orchids.

[@iainnorquay5371]

I was about to say this. Sheep will eat bark of young fruit trees, I know this to my cast. If they eat the bark all the way around it's curtains for the trees. Also that land looks too boggy for fruit trees. The land in front of the caravan is better drained and would suit them better. Kind regards.

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you I was waiting for one of them to be KO'd by the wildlife. Also the ground is definitely wet so after seeing how these do (or dont do) I may well be changing the orchard location

[@wayne7521]

Nice to see the land , that hydro sounds like bearings are gritty ... ???

[@patricklyons7683]

Yes variability in the whine tone for sure.

[@offgridscotland]

When it is on low flow it pulses with the inverter but smooths out with speed which is what I thought it was but I will check it now that you suggested its gritty

[@wayne7521]

@@offgridscotland if it is and you have a bearing puller. Pull em and replace. If they were accessible kind. You could have tried flushing with solvent and re greased. But they probably are the sealed kind.

[@wayne7521]

​​@@offgridscotland AWESOME WATER POWER 500w hydro have a look at this video , around 8 mins 35 sec mark. Youll hear why I asked about grit Ignoring he has a screen at top end. The noise difference between two similar systems. Is what caught my attention. Hopefully sorted soon. Look at a bucket drop type set up if silt is an issue , where it cascades to hold back silt. With release at bottom to release silt build up. Bit like a catchment trap. ,think thats correct name. Personally itd be nice to have a water wheel set up. Who wouldnt want to hear that noise. !

[@egidijuskilinskas4583]

Every time i see the river i am wondering will there ever be a plans for building a mall stone bridge over it? And have you considered building tiny brick house for water turbine that would much better sound deadening ability? I am no expert on that , just wondering. Any plans for growing quince?

[@offgridscotland]

Yea I even have the timber waiting for the bridge (so timber not stone) also have plans for rope bridges or swings for the locations where I just need to nip over on my own without the quad. Quince is a great Idea, I think we will plant one and see if it copes

[@kennygilmour3657]

Just wondering my friend looking to try off grid myself ,1 with nature as they say ,can I come spend some time with yous to get a wee heads up ,I've got my own accommodation ,just looking to test it ,cheers

[@offgridscotland]

👍

[@paulwhite918]

Very informative videos I’m enjoying them.. can I ask what sort of land would be available in England where one could enjoy the lifestyle you and family are. Is your land classified as agricultural land and does that give you the rights to live on the land ?

[@offgridscotland]

We decided to move to Scotland from the midlands because of the cost. We found you couldnt get anything in England for even close to what this was (300k) so I am not sure its even possible in England without deep pockets

[@jamiestewart5802]

What type of work trousers are you wearing

[@offgridscotland]

They are Engelbert strauss motion 10X www.engelbert-strauss.co.uk/workwear-trousers/trousers-e-s-motion-ten-3311140-66101-1200.html

[@tinkersdug1969]

Has it been a year already

[@offgridscotland]

I know it has flown by

[@truth_farmer]

Why no wood stove ????

[@offgridscotland]

We wanted one but other jobs took priority and I never got around to fitting it.

[@truth_farmer]

@offgridscotland great heat source, can also cook.food and boil water all at the same time.

[@kennygilmour3657]

Can I be honest just watched the rest of ur vid ur speak as if ur in the back county of the castle ,(back garden) for the rest of us uv got WiFi and the rest m8 ,what a laugh

[@offgridscotland]

Thank you for your thoughts

[@Scottishprepper73]

Just subbed after watching you on @ukurbanprepper. Great video,will need to work my way through then.

[@offgridscotland]

Thanks! There are a few to get through but we have only been going for a year so hopefully you will find something you like

[@Scottishprepper73]

@@offgridscotland absolutely, the hydro and renewable side is of interest not withstanding I'd love the land lol