Yan,Tyan, Tethera: Life on a Cumbrian Hill Farm

Yan, Tyan, Tethera LIFE ON A CUMBRIAN HILL FARM

NEAL ANDREWS

Yan, Tyan, Tethera LIFE ON A CUMBRIAN HILL FARM

Photography, text and book design by NEAL ANDREWS

‘The Shepherd’s Year’ text by PAUL RENISON

Copyright © Neal Andrews 2010

A traditional sheep counting rhyme Although no longer in actual use, Yan, Tyan, Tethera was a rhyme used as a method of counting sheep, albeit with v arying words and pr onunciation depending on the Lak eland dale in w hich it w as used.

Traditionally, the shepherd counted to twenty, then marked a stone or stic k with a ‘score’ and started again, with the final total being so many score of sheep.

1. Yan

11. Yan-a-dick

2. Tyan

12. Tyan-a-dick

3. Tethera

13. Tethera-a-dick

4. Methera

14. Methera-a-dick

5. Pimp

15. Bumfit

6. Sethera

16. Yan-a-bumfit

7. Lethera

17. Tyan-a-bumfit

8. Hovera

18. Tethera-a-bumfit

9. Dovra

19. Methera-a-bumfit

10. Dick

20. Giggot

Introduction

A

s a keen Lake District f ell walker, I ha ve often observ ed hill far ms and considered their viability in the modern world. No detailed study exists, but anecdotally it is thought that since the

mid-19th Century hill farms in Cumbria have declined by about three quarters, and today they face a number of challenging issues, including: an a geing workforce and loss of skills, which is accelerated by rural depopulation, y outh apathy and the high cost of farmhouses and land; economic pr essure from retailers; the constant thr eat of livestock disease; the impact of regulation, tourism and other economic pressures such as low incomes and g eneral economic hardship. These factors threaten the sustainability of many hill far ms, b ut also impact upon the fa bric of the rur al comm unities with which farms coexist, and on the futur e care of a rural landscape shaped by farming, a landscape that tourists demand and expect.

Braesteads Farm is set in the Grisedale V

alley near P atterdale in Cumbria, and has

been a working hill far m for more than 200 y ears. T oday the farm is mana ged by Paul Renison, a moder n-day far m mana ger and shepher d, w ho li ves ther e with his par

tner Nic and their

baby daughter Bella. W ith help fr om Andr ew, his far m hand, and a team of sheep do gs, P aul mana ges a lo vestock of mor e than 1,000 sheep and her

e xtremely ca pable

ds of Simmental and

Belted Galloway cows.

From No vember 2009 to A at Br aesteads.

This book is fr

pril 2010, I had the pleasur

e of documenting lif

e

amed b y the ann ual lambing c ycle, w hich is , after all, the

farm’s r aison d’êtr e, b ut it is not just a

bout that. It is a

bout the symbiotic r

elationship

between man, animals and the landsca pe. It is a bout rur al cr aft and the seasonal rh ythms and routines of hill far ming. It is a bout the beauty and dominance of

the landsca pe, set a gainst the

day-to-day gritty realities and the hard work and dedication that ar e required. Above all, this book is a personal trib ute to a far ming family that is passionate a bout impr oving both the landsca pe and their li vestock, pr eserving hill far ming tr aditions and securing a sustaina Braesteads Farm, a family for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect.

ble futur e f or

Grisedale Valley, Patterdale, Cumbria

Reproduced from 2005 Ordnance Survey map with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Crown Copyright April 2010.

Disused farm buildings awaiting conversion to holiday apartments, Home Farm, Patterdale, Cumbria, April 2010.

The Shepherd’s Year

By Paul Renison

A

t Braesteads, the Shepher d’s year is a constant c ycle that is contr olled by the seasons and the rhythm of nature, and there isn’t a single day that’s not spent looking after animals or mending

the farm in some way.

The lambing c ycle star ts in ear ly October, when lambs fr om the pr evious year have been weaned and e wes are returned to the f ell, not bef ore they’ve been dipped to kill lice, tic ks and sca b.

The previous year’s lambs are also dipped before the Wether lambs (castrated males) are sold as stores to other farmers to finish, and the Gimmer lambs (females) are sent away for the winter period down country where they can grow nicely on a diet of good grass.

Then comes Tup Time, when tups (rams) are let loose with the ewes for mating. In September and October I b uy a f ew new tups; Swaledale tups come fr om Bob Wear at Har tsop, while Cheviots come from Lairg in the Nor th of Scotland, both of which are hardy breeds that can cope with lif e in the fells. Firstly, the ewes need to be g athered in off the fell, and are given a dose of minerals and wormers. The Cumbrian fells are a harsh environment, so we ‘dose’ sheep with minerals and wormers to supplement the e we’s diet and k eep internal parasites at ba y. T he Cheviot tups g et turned into the Cheviot ewes on the 10th of November, while the Swales are loosed with the Swale ewes a few weeks later so we don’t end up getting all our lambs at the same time. W e use a ‘raddle’ on the chest of the tups - a sticky mixture of coloured powder and engine oil – so w e know which ewes have been served and can make sure the tups are doing their job. Once that’s done, the ewes are sent back on the fell to graze for the winter, and are given another dose and worming if they need it.

During this winter period the co ws have to be m ucked out and f ed everyday, and there are walls to maintain and f ences to build. The floods and severe winter conditions this year have kept us busy with repair work to make the field’s stock-proof for lambing time. It’s been a long, hard winter.

End of February is when all the e wes are scanned to see w hat our expected lamb crop will be, after which they are shedded (sorted) into groups. Singles are left unmarked, twins are marked with orange paint, and g eld (empty) with r ed. T he single and g eld sheep g et returned to the f ell, but the twins stay in the fields and get extra feed.

Lambing gets going early in April, so all the sheep on the fells need gathering up and putting down on the lower fields so we can manage it all properly. Gathering happens probably five or six times

a y ear. T he nor mal g ang comprises of Myself , Andr ew my far m hand, K ev fr om Nor an Bank, Jimmy from Deepdale Hall and the Blands from Thirlmere, but other farmers like Watty also come and help when they can. The aim is to go up there with a lot of men and dogs and bring as many sheep back to Braesteads as possible, even if they are not ours, so they can shedded and go back with who ever they belong to. When we get back Nic gives us a good feed and we all have a crack around the kitchen table.

Helping each other out like this is essential up here, and the favours are always returned.

Gathering is when the dogs are vital, and without good dogs you’re no use at all. We’ve got three bitches, Ci (pronounced ‘Ki’), Di and Boo, and one dog, Sarge. I’ve had them all since they were pups, but Ci is I suppose my top do g. Ci and I have learnt together. She knows what I’m thinking, and she’s good both on the f ell and in the fields. F ell dogs aren’t like ‘one man and his do g’ dogs – they’re unrefined and much tougher, I think. I really couldn’t run this farm without them.

By the end of April lambing is in full swing. All the ewes are in the lower fields and all give birth on their own outside unless there’s a problem, in which case we might need to intervene to help the lamb the ewes. These are long, knackering days, and a time when we really are in the hands of Mother Nature. A f ew wet cold da ys, difficult births, lambs g etting rejected, foxes, badgers and a f ew eyes pecked out by crows, and things can all go to pot v ery quickly. But, if the ewes are in good nick, with good weather and a bit of luck, it’s the best time of year, and what makes all the hard work worthwhile.

We’ll go round the sheep every four hours or so, picking up any problems and feeding them morning and night. The cows are also still housed so they need sorting every day. It’s also the time when all the cattle sales start, and when the field work like harrowing, rolling and fertilising needs to be cracked on with. Fortunately the longer evenings mean we can work until eight or nine o’clock and get more done.

The winters are long up here, and from November until mid-January we don’t get sunlight on the house or buildings, which is tough and gets you down, so it’s lovely to have the sunlight.

As the ewes lamb, we ‘walk out’ the ewes and lambs on the f ell in small g roups, but before this the lambs need to be lug- and smit-marked, which is where individual farm marks are cut into their ears and their fleeces are marked with paint, in our case a v ertical blue line. Both ewes and lambs get a high copper mineral dose and have a back pour to protect them from ticks, then they are left to their own devices on the fell for two months before all being g athered in again for clipping in the summer.

In the intervening months we hope to get our first cut of silage, and maybe even a holiday.

July and August is clipping time. Andr ew and myself try and do most of them ourselves, although we might get Bob’s shearing gang in for one day when we are sick of the job. It’s backbreaking work, but we have some good m usic going and tr y and get into a good rh ythm, and it’s not too bad.

Years ago the wool cheque would have been a welcome contribution to the farm’s income, but now we

purely clip the sheep for welfare reasons. Last year our wool cheque for over 1,000 fleeces was just over £120 after haulage, and a contractor will charge 80p a sheep to sheer, so it’s best not to think about this too hard as your back is breaking, hugging sheep on a hot day. It’s just got to be done.

Before we know it, the next gather is October and weaning time is upon us again. And that’s it, in a nutshell. Right, off to bed now, we’re shattered.

April 2010

Fom left: Andrew, Paul, Jimmy and Watty after a ‘gather’ at Braesteads Farm, March 2010.

Tup time

Overleaf: Ci’s eye - A good sheep do g needs to have what’s known as ‘eye’, a powerful glare that they can fix on sheep to make them move in the direction the dog wants.

Before tups are let loose with ewes, a thick, oily paint called ‘raddle’ is applied to their chest to identify which ewes have been mounted so Paul can make sure the tup is doing its job.

Overleaf: A Kerryhill tup catches the scent of his ewes.

On the mend

On the gather

New life

‘Setting on’ The farm will lose a number of lambs to nature, but dead lambs are a valuable commodity and are kept for their skin, or more precisely for their scent. The skin of the dead lamb can be ‘set’ on a rejected or orphaned lamb in the hope that the ber eaved ewe will be familiar with the scent and accept it as her own. Once the lamb has a new coat, it is put with it’s new mum in a quiet pen so they’ve got time and space to bond. This doesn’t always work, however, in which case the lamb becomes a ‘pet’ and has to be reared by hand.

Ewes sometimes r eject lambs and in doing so deny them access to their colostrum, the life-giving milk that boosts a lamb’ s imm une system in the ear ly hours of its lif e. If so , their chance of survi val is slim, so P aul needs to interv ene, and if necessar y adopt the lamb to a different ewe.

Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to Paul Renison and Nic Francis for agreeing to participate in this project, for their help and hospitality, and for allowing me to photograph them so freely over the last six months .

I would also lik e to thank Andr ew Winter, P aul’s far m hand, and far mers Ste ve ‘Watty’ Watson, Jimmy Br own and Car l ‘the f oot trimmer’ Scri vens, w ho w ere also willing par ticipants. Finally , I w ould lik e to thank Denis T horpe, Ian Beesely and T erry Speak e f or their help and ad vice.

In the making of this book I ha ve made ne w friends, learnt a f ew things a bout farming and had an experience I will never forget.

Neal Andrews, May 2010