Farmer and I were booked on a Grazing School workshop in Cumbria last week. Unfortunately it was cancelled 2 days before it started as 2 of the key people involved had both contracted Covid. (Thankfully they are both recovering).
We weren’t entitled to a refund from our accommodation at such short notice and as we’d already arranged to buy some Herdwick ewe lambs from the farm where the workshop was being held we decided just to go anyway.
Our Airbnb was perfect. On a farm. Near Askham, not far from Penrith. Very quiet. Lovely walks. Simple but comfortable accommodation. Everything we needed and lovely hosts.
We spent Monday visiting friends near Coniston, which was about 90 minutes drive away and on Tuesday we went to look at the ewe lambs.
It was great to meet James and Helen Rebanks in person having read both James’s books and following them both on Instagram! We had a cup of tea in their garden and then went to look at the lambs.
Our knowledge of good Herdwick breeding is pretty uneducated, so it was very useful to talk to James and pick up a few tips! And we now have 5 ewe lambs from Racy Ghyll born in April/May.
The other farming excitement was a trip to the farmer’s emporium Relphs, which our Airbnb host told us about. It is such a novelty for us to be able to walk into a shop and find that everything we need is stocked and that there is even a selection!
On Wednesday morning we picked up the lambs and drove home via Lochaline. The 5 ewe lambs are isolating in the stack yard shelter, they seem to have settled down quickly!