That they did. I've seen a few. I think there is someone on here who used to maintain them.
There was a farm for sale, not far from here, so in the lowlands not the highlands by a good 40 miles. A friend was wondering about buying it with a view to small scale farming and somewhere for her horses. It was only after looking into the third or fourth room in the large house that we noticed what wasn't there.... lightswitches! No power from the grid. They stuck a generator on PTO shft when they needed electricity.
In some places there are sheds with antennae and they're TV relays for places in steep valleys. Some are just passive, A yagi connected to a yagi. Others had amplifiers but before solar cells power was a problem. With the place in the borders, there is also a spring water system, water storage and pumps to handle, plus a septic tank.
These city folk don't know they're born.
David
David