{"id":26615,"date":"2020-07-14T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T09:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorkshire.com\/?p=26615"},"modified":"2023-01-31T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T14:45:13","slug":"amanda-owen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorkshire.com\/inspiration\/filmed-in-yorkshire\/amanda-owen\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Amanda Owen of Our Yorkshire Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Yorkshire’s This is Y<\/em> magazine interviewed Our Yorkshire Farm<\/em>‘s Amanda Owen in 2020. Below is the full interview with the Yorkshire Shepherdess<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We caught up with the super stylish shepherdess Amanda Owen, to find out more about her flock and family, filming the latest series of Our Yorkshire Farm and life in lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Out in the Fields with Amanda Owen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

2,000 acres, over 1,000 breeding ewes, 50 cattle, nine children (yes, nine), numerous dogs, hens \u2026 oh, and one husband. Carolyn Nicoll<\/strong> caught up with the super stylish shepherdess Amanda Owen<\/strong> (even in wellies, how does she do it?), to find out more about her flock and family, filming the latest series of Our Yorkshire Farm<\/em><\/strong> and life in lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Huddersfield<\/a>, I had a typical suburban childhood, but I was always interested in the countryside.<\/strong> When friends were heading into town I\u2019d go the other way and get on my bike for a cycle out to the open landscape above Holmfirth<\/a>, then on to Saddleworth Moor and Castle Hill with its ancient monument. That\u2019s the beauty of so many towns and cities in Yorkshire, they\u2019re surrounded by stunning fields, moorland and woods, with amazing views to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I left school I knew I wanted to become a shepherdess but it wasn\u2019t the sort of thing offered for study at college.<\/strong> So off I went to work on local farms to get some hands-on experience, milking cows, driving tractors picking up as much practical knowledge as I could. I knew I didn\u2019t want to be a general farm worker but it was all stuff to put on my CV, as well as picking up shifts in a newsagents, a fancy pottery shop in a Huddersfield arcade<\/a> and working in a factory at night, to earn some money. All done to get me heading in the right career direction to be a hill shepherd. I was a free spirit trying to get to where I wanted to be. There\u2019s certainly no hard and fast way to becoming a shepherdess. I had to learn on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily I got my big break when I replied to an ad for a shepherd vacancy<\/strong>. It was down in Wiltshire, so off I headed with a Border collie and a lot of enthusiasm for the opportunity ahead. A stint at a farm in Cumbria followed and is how I met Clive (Amanda\u2019s husband and father to their 9 children).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t the most romantic of starts, I went to borrow a tup (male sheep).<\/strong> I\u2019d travelled from the place I was working at over in the Lake District, to Ravenseat, Clive\u2019s Yorkshire farm (now my home), all very businesslike. That was back in 1995 when I was 21, we were just friends to start with, but things developed, as they do, and we got married in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ravenseat in Swaledale<\/a> became my home and it\u2019s a very different part of Yorkshire to where I started off in life<\/strong>. But in a way I think that\u2019s put me in good stead, because I wasn\u2019t born and bred in the countryside, I think I appreciate it even more. It\u2019s such a different way of life. And what\u2019s not to love about it! It sounds cheesy, I know, and I\u2019ve said this a million times but imagine the one thing I grew up absolutely loving and being obsessed with \u2026  James Herriot books. I adored them, I read every single one and watched All Creatures Great and Small<\/a>, the TV series based on the books about the life of a Yorkshire vet. And what great news that they\u2019re making a new series this year. For me it was all so magical, the fantastic tales that were all true stories about real experiences in the Yorkshire Dales<\/a> with the stunning dales as a backdrop. My now home of Swaledale was used as the setting for so many of those farms, in a time that has almost stood still and continues to, to some degree. I say that in a positive way, as the farming techniques have almost come back into fashion, with its hay meadows, heritage roots and a more traditional way of farming. Forget intensive farming, fertiliser and flattening everything, this is nature and farming at its best. So even though the original All Creatures Great and Small was filmed back in the \u201880s, you can watch it now and see it hasn\u2019t changed. It\u2019s got magnificent moorland, big skies, it\u2019s extreme and it\u2019s exhilarating and that\u2019s where I live. Amazing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I desperately wanted to go on a school trip with the fantastic Yorkshire artist Ashley Jackson when I was at school to paint the moors with him. <\/strong>I\u2019ve always been drawn to the hills and the open land and I distinctly remember the kids in my class who excelled at art would regularly get chosen to accompany this amazing artist with his swishy hair, as a treat, to create fantastic countryside scenes. I was never top of the class, so didn\u2019t get picked once, but boy did I want to go. The good thing is I now get to live in a place that could be an Ashley Jackson painting, amid rolling dales farms, drystone walls, beautiful recognisable Yorkshire countryside. I\u2019ve never told him that story. I\u2019d hate for him to think I was some sort of mad stalker. (laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brand new series of Our Yorkshire Farm is just more of the same (laughs)<\/em> \u2026 what\u2019s going to change?!<\/strong> We\u2019re still battling with the elements and all sorts of weather. It\u2019s very simple really in its format and I think the normality of it all is what viewers like. It isn\u2019t rushed or polished, the fact that we don\u2019t always win and things don\u2019t always go right seems to really appeal to people, because that\u2019s real life isn\u2019t it. You watch some popular programmes about life in the country and it\u2019s all very nice, but ours is more gritty. You get the mud, you get the floods, you get to see everything. If you\u2019re invited into our home you\u2019re not going to get perfection, you\u2019re not going to get a page out of Country Living magazine, you\u2019re going to get odd wellies and felt-tip on the walls. For a lot of people it\u2019s a trip down memory lane, a bit of nostalgia. Homeliness, it\u2019s basically normal TV that may teach people something, and I don\u2019t mean that in a highfalutin kind of way, more of a what you see out of the window makes us all understand what\u2019s going on \u2026 with the sheep at tupping time and fields that are ready for that push to make the hay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockdown started towards the end of filming the six episodes of the new series of  Our Yorkshire Farm and filming at that point proved to be quite difficult. <\/strong>We couldn\u2019t have a crew so had to self-shoot everything. There were all sorts of different cameras and sound equipment to learn how to use. It was a great opportunity though, positioning cameras high up to get shots of birds in their nests. The production company have since put it all together in the edit and I\u2019m really proud of what we all managed to achieve, giving viewers a real insight into what was going on at Ravenseat and the upside of lockdown. I feel quite humbled by how much the past TV series have touched viewers. People saying I feel like I know you. They don\u2019t but they feel like they do, which is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve got nine children, all that open space, a huge amount to do throughout the year \u2026 and so there\u2019s always going to be some chaos and nothing can ever be choreographed.<\/strong> The crew just film whatever happens, believe me, we never know what that might be, best-laid plans and all that (laughs). Things live, things die, so it\u2019s not all dreamy, skipping through flower-filled meadows and everything comes out alright. I don\u2019t want to sound depressing but it\u2019s all about actual reality on the farm and real experiences, good and bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coronavirus crisis has impacted so many in different ways.<\/strong> When it all started it was almost like a \u2018novelty experience\u2019 kicking off & no one was sure how it would affect them personally. It was the beginning of lambing for us and what we have to fully concentrate on, being at the back end of a sheep for over a month. We\u2019re really busy and not always fully aware of what\u2019s going on elsewhere. But after lambing time the enormity of it hit home and the news was just horrible. For us, the end of lambing is when the weather starts to pick up and we see tourists and welcome visitors, but not this year. I mean we are remote, cut off and isolated at the best of times, but there was such a strange feeling in the air, you just knew that things weren\u2019t right. The kids were at home because it was Easter, but now they\u2019ve all been at home for such a long period of time. Thankfully they\u2019re all happy to muck in and help out on the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockdown logistics of trying to feed 11 mouths has been a tricky one. <\/strong>Supermarkets were limiting the amount of food<\/a> that could be bought which was a real problem. People would think I was bulk buying and hoarding things. You could only buy two milks and I was going shopping once a week, for not only my family, but also for neighbours who were shielding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily we\u2019re in a farm situation so can rely on self-sufficiency to a certain extent but it\u2019s been a giant learning curve.<\/strong> We\u2019ve had eggs from the chickens, we\u2019ve made bread, used the dairy, picked rhubarb, looked at what we\u2019ve got on the farm and tried to make the most of the situation. There are jobs that the children have that I don\u2019t even think about. Morning and night, Eden sorts out the pet lambs, Violet is on with the calves and she knows what she has to do, Miles is sorting out the chickens, Sidney\u2019s on with the dogs. It wouldn\u2019t work if everybody didn\u2019t chip in and pull their weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits have been taking the time to slow down and to really take note of nature and what\u2019s going on under our noses.<\/strong> Usually there\u2019s not enough time with so much rushing about, trying get to here, got to do this and get back for that! We\u2019ve watched curlew eggs hatch and I\u2019ve been able to ride my horse anywhere I want to because there\u2019s been no traffic. Wonderful! Of course, we know we\u2019re fortunate to have a big space and yes, I\u2019ve got nine children which probably sounds like a nightmare in lockdown, but we\u2019re not stuck  inside without a garden, the weather has been great most of the time, so I\u2019ve opened the door and off they\u2019d go. I\u2019d often only see them when they were injured or hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical day? There isn\u2019t one.<\/strong> It\u2019s always very much about the weather, from sheep shearing to making hay to clipping hogs (young sheep), at the moment I\u2019ve got another 800 to do, which will keep me out of mischief for a bit. It\u2019s like a keep-fit regime and it can actually be quite back-breaking. There\u2019s always something happening on a farm and if you\u2019re not working, then you\u2019re ignoring something. There are gaps in the walls to rebuild, cattle need moving, it\u2019s a constant ongoing thing. There\u2019s never a quiet time and the washing machine is ALWAYS going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lots of projects away from the farm have had to be put on hold and are all stacking up.<\/strong> Usually throughout the summer months I\u2019m out and about talking at events about what happens on the farm, what it\u2019s like to be a shepherdess, the sheep, the countryside, nature and the environment. There\u2019s a real appetite for it. I spend months travelling here there and everywhere, including going to literary festivals, not somewhere I\u2019d usually hang out. Can you imagine? Me, a lass from Huddersfield who got an E in my GCSE English. I wouldn\u2019t be going to a literary festival. However, the point is, it\u2019s about what inspires you, what inspires me \u2026 which was always to be a shepherdess and in a roundabout way I\u2019ve managed to do what I set out to achieve. Hopefully inspiring other people to follow their dreams too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a year of two halves at Ravenseat.<\/strong> Usually throughout the cooler, wintry months I\u2019m out with the sheep and it\u2019s quite an isolating experience. Then there are six months, when the weather picks up and I\u2019m meeting and chatting with people who visit the farm and those I see at events. That\u2019s what I\u2019m really looking forward to when things start to get back to normal, the contact with lots of different people again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeschooling has been interesting \u2026 in more ways than one.<\/strong> I can\u2019t say the children have logged on to their homework as often as they perhaps should have done, but do you know what, they\u2019ve learnt so much in many other ways. I spoke to the school staff last week about what the kids have done and what they haven\u2019t done. They are good teachers who appreciate just what the children have learnt and experienced over the last few weeks, from finding out all sorts of things about the world outside, where food comes from, and lots of PE has been happening, including running, horse riding and swimming. We\u2019ve been fascinated by the night skies with no aeroplanes flying over and have witnessed shooting stars and spotted constellations. The children have really benefitted in so many ways. Although I\u2019m not saying they\u2019ve got any better at their German or reached grade 6 in piano, but they have learnt a lot. It\u2019s such a hard time for so many parents with home tutoring, that I think if you come out of lockdown sane, then you\u2019ve done your job well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to filming Our Yorkshire Farm, I let the kids go with the flow.<\/strong> If they want to be part of it on the day, they film, if they don\u2019t, then that\u2019s fine too. You can\u2019t force a child to perform, they\u2019ve got to want to do it. The children often go off with the crew and it\u2019s not until I watch the series on TV that I see what they\u2019ve been up to. Some people say \u2018I can\u2019t believe your child picked up a wild rabbit\u2019 and I think, I didn\u2019t know they\u2019d picked up a wild rabbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a great opportunity for some of them to be part of other exciting projects too. Raven (eldest) has modelled for the designer fashion brand Burberry and Eden has been involved with Newsround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole TV experience has been completely accidental and something I\u2019ve never chased.<\/strong> It\u2019s certainly made me busier. I can\u2019t sing, I can\u2019t dance and I guess I\u2019ve always been a bit of a slacker, but the whole experience is so enjoyable, if not a little hectic. I\u2019m a bit of an opportunist, if something comes along I\u2019ll give it a go. It started with regional TV and a report from broadcaster Luke Casey, then Adrian Edmondson visited Ravenseat Farm as part of ITV\u2019s The Dales programme. I was then asked to write a book, that led to writing three bestselling books and I\u2019m currently on with the fourth, although I\u2019ve only written one chapter so far. The publisher thought lockdown would be a great time for me to crack on with it, but it\u2019s not that easy to concentrate with nine kids at home and a zillion sheep!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m the worst person to ask about a perfect Yorkshire day out, as I don\u2019t really do days out. <\/strong>But I do love eating fish and chips by the beach, looking out to sea in Whitby<\/a>. York<\/a> is a beautiful city too with its magnificent minster. Raven is at university there, we lowered the tone last week when I dropped her off, we had a moped on the back of the truck with a giant stuffed toy strapped to it. There is one place on my wish list I\u2019d like to visit though, which I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve not been to yet \u2026 and that\u2019s The World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk<\/a> \u2026 back to James Herriot again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Yorkshire Farm \u2013 Tuesdays 9pm on Channel 5.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally written for This Is Y magazine digital edition \u2013 July 2020. To view the full magazine, click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Yorkshire’s This is Y magazine interviewed Our Yorkshire Farm‘s Amanda Owen in 2020. Below is the full interview with … <\/p>\n

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