I have always been very aware of house aspect, garden privacy, road noise, street lamps, proximity of industrial units or other potentially noisy areas etc etc but one thing I'd never really thought about was how much car lights regularly shining into my house would really irritate me - but it would - a lot. Thank you for highlighting that issue.
OH and I are considering downsizing in the next 5 years or so, and it's going to be a challenge. We have been very spoilt over the last 13 years living in a village with no street lighting, no business premises, no shop, no pub and 3 miles from the nearest major road. It's dark, it's amazingly quiet and we have become very used to it. I now struggle to sleep anywhere with street lighting or night noise.
Hope you find your dream home soon.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Indeed! Im glad this topic and the vibe is very constructive! Im going to have a talk with the Sales this Saturday and will defo to update in here as well
P.S. What about north facing garden? I mean straight point to the north. Any idea? Is that really that bad?
I find that it depends on how long the north facing garden (NFG) is and how high the house is that would block the sun's movement across the sky. A lower house casts less shadow. I have a long north facing garden (about 30 metres) and the end furthest north more or less is in fun sun from March to June. The end closest to the house is bathed in western sun in the summer in the evening. It works pretty well for me. The road has houses with only two floors (ground and 1st) so the shadow is not great.
The friends I have with full south facing gardens have really struggled in recent years with the high temperatures. All day full sun is pretty unforgiving. Creating shade there is pretty important.
I wouldn't want a south facing garden so much for the garden itself as much the higher level of light in my house. The back of my house and its windows have no sun at all coming in directly. The house made darker by a 1980s council kitchen extension (it's an ex-council house). Extensions do tend, ironincally, make a house darker unless sky lights are put in etc. The front, on the street (south facing) aspect, is fully treed, so that's pretty shady too. I really do miss a light flooded room, being able to see the sun from house and (just as much) seeing the moon move across the sky.
Another thought (not to create anxiety - but it's worth checking) is to check the predominant wind directions. I find soundscapes are very often determined by wind direction. Even things very close one can't hear at all if the wind is blowing towards it. Alternatively a motorway miles away can feel like it's running through the garden if the wind is blowing the noise my way.
I have been very struck by that where I now live. I can lie in the bath and hear that the wind is in the east as I hear the booming from warehouses far away. It has amazed me.
Re north facing gardens, actually this is my preferred aspect as it means my living room is cool. There are lots of plants that prefer shade and, as SalixGold says, you still get east and west sun for a good deal of the day.
Using graph paper plot your garden length to scale.
Consult the local planning portal for an elevation of the neighbouring property and add to your sketch.
Google Solar Elevation UK (generally) or for your specific location.
Add angle of sun using a protractor.
Perhaps an hour of your time but it would be a worthwhile exercise if your about to drop half a million on a new house and the garden is important to you.
Have to agre with everything Salix Gold said about N facing gardens - it does all depend long your garden and how tall your house is.
Our back garden faces due north and our house is fairly large, 2 storey with a pitched roof. The back garden is about 30 / 35 m long and Nov to Feb the 15m nearest the house is in permanent shade. Consequently the large patio along the back of the house is shingle. There was grass and paving there but the grass became a wet and muddy patch and the paving became slick with algae every winter.
April to September the patio receives a decent amount of sun but there is a 2m strip which is in permanent shade - but that offers some relief on hot, sunny days. Unfortunately the position of next door's house prevents the afternoon / late evening sun reaching the patio which is a shame.
Apart from the patio area the rest of the garden is bathed in sun for most of the day.
I would not want a short north facing garden - but a long one offers some more forgiving shady options for both humans and plants. A south facing garden can be difficult,
One thing I don't like is that our sitting room faces north and gets no sun at all. That's nice when it's hot and sunny but in the winter it feels like quite a dark, cold room. We tend not to use it during the day in winter and to draw the curtains and light the log burner late afternoon to turn it into a cosy space.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
It was only yesterday that my daughter and I were discussing how there is nowhere shady to sit in my South facing garden in high summer. Another thing to consider with a south facing garden is that plants will turn towards the sun - so you won't see their faces from the house.
Posts
I have always been very aware of house aspect, garden privacy, road noise, street lamps, proximity of industrial units or other potentially noisy areas etc etc but one thing I'd never really thought about was how much car lights regularly shining into my house would really irritate me - but it would - a lot. Thank you for highlighting that issue.
OH and I are considering downsizing in the next 5 years or so, and it's going to be a challenge. We have been very spoilt over the last 13 years living in a village with no street lighting, no business premises, no shop, no pub and 3 miles from the nearest major road. It's dark, it's amazingly quiet and we have become very used to it. I now struggle to sleep anywhere with street lighting or night noise.
Hope you find your dream home soon.
Im glad this topic and the vibe is very constructive!
Im going to have a talk with the Sales this Saturday and will defo to update in here as well
P.S. What about north facing garden? I mean straight point to the north. Any idea? Is that really that bad?
@Topbird I dated a guy who's bedroom window faced the Copelands lighthouse. 🤣
Using graph paper plot your garden length to scale.
Consult the local planning portal for an elevation of the neighbouring property and add to your sketch.
Google Solar Elevation UK (generally) or for your specific location.
Add angle of sun using a protractor.
Perhaps an hour of your time but it would be a worthwhile exercise if your about to drop half a million on a new house and the garden is important to you.
Have to agre with everything Salix Gold said about N facing gardens - it does all depend long your garden and how tall your house is.
Our back garden faces due north and our house is fairly large, 2 storey with a pitched roof. The back garden is about 30 / 35 m long and Nov to Feb the 15m nearest the house is in permanent shade. Consequently the large patio along the back of the house is shingle. There was grass and paving there but the grass became a wet and muddy patch and the paving became slick with algae every winter.
April to September the patio receives a decent amount of sun but there is a 2m strip which is in permanent shade - but that offers some relief on hot, sunny days. Unfortunately the position of next door's house prevents the afternoon / late evening sun reaching the patio which is a shame.
Apart from the patio area the rest of the garden is bathed in sun for most of the day.
I would not want a short north facing garden - but a long one offers some more forgiving shady options for both humans and plants. A south facing garden can be difficult,
One thing I don't like is that our sitting room faces north and gets no sun at all. That's nice when it's hot and sunny but in the winter it feels like quite a dark, cold room. We tend not to use it during the day in winter and to draw the curtains and light the log burner late afternoon to turn it into a cosy space.