Sometimes it seems that a life is divided into two parts — before and after a life-changing event. For ‘townie’ turned contract shepherdess Hannah Jackson that lightning bolt struck on a walk in the Cumbrian countryside during a family holiday.
Flame-haired Hannah, known on her popular social media feeds as the Red Shepherdess, grew up on the Wirral near Liverpool. She lived a suburban life, but her deep love of animals meant that she was fondly known within her family as Dr. Doolittle, and this interest led her to complete a BSc in animal behaviour at Liverpool University. Following six weeks spent camping in the Canadian wilderness and tracking killer whales as part of her course, she was sure that her career was already marked out and would be among these and other cetaceans. But all that was about to change…
Every year the Jacksons — mum, dad, Hannah, and her two younger sisters — would go to Cumbria in their caravan. It was the summer following her degree and Hannah was enjoying the beautiful scenery.
“It was perfect,” she remembers. “It was sunny, there was a lake in the background and then I watched a lamb being born. This little thing just popped out, there as I was watching, and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do. I went back and made an announcement — I was going to be a sheep farmer!”
In more normal circumstances I would be sitting around the kitchen table with Hannah as I delve into the string of decisions that brought her to this old stone farmhouse in Cumbria’s Eden Valley. But, due to lockdown, I’m confined to barracks (home) and have to take her word for it that her 27 acres of countryside and bucolic life live up to the paradisal setting. But her enthusiasm is infectious.
Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
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Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century
