Lynn and Sandra took part in BBC2's This Farming Life, and this book was published to accompany the series.
The two meet while working for the National Trust and realize they share a dream to live closer to the land.
First they find jobs in Scotland, then they start their search for the perfect location. They fall in love with a property which they believe is beyond their budget, however, in the end a friend lends them the money. I found this quite hard to believe as, by their own admittance, they had little idea as to what they were going to do with the land. Having worked out how much money they would need to pay the bills they feel the only solution is to get jobs: 'It is clear to us now that in spite of all the early planning, thinking, researching and endless spreadsheets, the reality was we didn't actually know what we were doing other than following our hearts and dreams.'
In 2016 they receive the keys to Lynbeck croft. Where to start? There are so many jobs that they have no idea which to tackle first. In the end, noticing trees that need attention, they decide to spend some time tending to young saplings. Next is the kitchen garden. Meanwhile they both find jobs locally.
Eventually they dedide to apply for the Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Scheme, which helps new entrants into farming. In April 2017, much to their own surprise, they hear they will receive the grant. They also receive woodland funding, enabling them to plant 17,400 trees.
As for farming, they find inspiration in the work of other farmers and study books on regenerative agriculture, a way of farming that regenerates the land and the communities that live on it.
Pigs and chickens arrive and they start to sell eggs and pork locally.
By this time I was beginning to wonder what on earth they lived on and how they paid the bills, both haven given up their jobs. Surely you can't live on grants alone? On page 161 Lynn starts to tackle this subject. The solution is a subscription club, with people signing up for a weekly box. They start off with selling eggs, gradually adding pork and beef, and, using their passion for food to turn their limited amount of produce 'from something good into something incredible', homemade sausages and bacon. This means taking out a loan to build a butchery and taking courses. The new products, again sold through subcription, are an immediate success.
The book ends with them applying for and being accepted by This Farming Life (while I am following the current series, I did not see this earlier one). Response to the programme is overwhelmingly positive.
Lynn includes lots of interesting facts and stories about the history and the people of the area and about agriculture, but the book is also strangely bland. I wonder if a ghost writer was involved? You just don't get the "feel" you get when reading some of the more amateur publications covered on this blog.
Lynn and Sandra's website can be found here .
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