Scrap Metal

Over the 18 months since buying our farm we've collected three large piles of scrap together as a number of rundown livestock sheds have been dismantled and the land cleared. Each pile has usually had at least one intriguing centre piece: the first was a very old seed drilling machine (we kept the cart wheels), the second was the number of tin roofing sheets and the third were the ovens removed from the house.

As a pile grew collection was arranged with the local scrap merchant, using a lorry complete with an integral crane, to make way for the next heap. I received the final tally today and all together we removed 10.6 tonnes of scrap, everything from wire fence, tools, guttering, wheel hubs, nails and screws we had found buried to old beds and building material.

To put that total in perspective 10.6 tonnes is the equivalent of:

• the kerb weight of eight VW Golf cars
• one of the capsules on the London Eye
• 1,052,631 £1 coins
• a third of a fully laden Tornado fighter
• around 163 women of average weight.

Here are a few pictures showing, pile one:

Pile two being driven away:

Pile three being collected last week: