Scythe - does anyone recommend one?

No, not a sythe.  Worzel uses a petrol brush cutter to cut down vacant plots.

OH uses a scythe to cut paths, edges, most anything really.  The strimmers (petrol and electric) stay in the shed.  He was taught as a teenager, and 35 yrs later and a couple of backaches from using it awkwardly, the movement came back (like riding a bike) when he was kindly given one that had seen many years of service and has many more in it.  I would suggest you will need someone to tutor you on how it is done - there is a knack, and a whetstone to keep it sharp as you work.

There are clips of using scythes on Youtube etc.  I think scything is big in Austria and they make the world's best ones, apparently.  Like anything, it's a skill to be acquired

http://www.thescytheshop.co.uk/   This place is in Bridport but seems to be the font of knowledge for all things scythe in the UK

I once saw an old lady scything a field when my husband and I were driving home through Staffs to Derbys.  She looked completely at ease and her movements were fluid. She'd obviously been practising.  I was in awe. A whole field    No noise, no fumes, no petrol, no electric, just a lady at one with her scythe. Ah bliss 

Most unkempt plots are knobbly and I know that using a strimmer is hard work especially if you're a lady gardener as your arms need a week to recover between bouts   

I suppose it depends on how much time you've got.  If you want to scythe it down you've just got to factor that in. Mind you what better project to learn the art of scything. Good luck with it