On septic tanks...

Ours has to be emptied two or three time a year and the bill is split 3 ways, I think working out around £70 each. It’s a crazy set up and one I believe the surveyor was a bit nervous about when mum bought the house. These days, I think it's made worse by the fact one of the 3 users as well as his own house, converted what had been a "granny flat" for one aged parent into a holiday flat, usually occupied by couples, possibly with less concern about what goes into.

On the plus side, we wouldn’t be able to rent the bit of the field we do if it wasn’t for the pipe to the septic tank. That and if I remember correctly, the last time we tried to look at figures we are still better off than using mains drainage where it is available in the area.