Ben Fogle last night

[Samcro]

did anyone watch it?\I was amazed. she had 8 kids yet was still working so hard on the farm

[nuttybananas]

I love his programs but usually find the people irritating - this is the only one where I've really liked them!
She was amazing - made me feel so lazy in comparison. She kind of reminded me of my mum although my mum only had me - not an extra 7 and possibly more!

[seasidesally]

yeah loving the series so much

and clemmie was beautiful,she looked so small

what a great life those kids are having

[MrsSiba]

Really enjoyed the programme. I also thought they were very likeable people.
Did anyone see last week.....the lady
living truly wild, off grid with no electricity and collecting water from a stream. Must be so hard.

[Skippedthelightfandango]

I am trying to get over being grumpy about the £65 they get for all their wool when I pay a fortune in the shops! I want the farmers to have my money not the bloody middle men! I guess it is the same argument re the milk prices.

Good programme, I enjoyed it.

[seasidesally]

yes i saw the lady of grid

i dont know what it was a found her hard to warm to.it seemed selfish that her and her ex partner moved the kids to Wales then she buggered of to find herself

but admired her strength and determination though

i did think the familys £130 electric and £80 wood bill a month was a huge amount considering things were tight,i thought they would seriously been into solar or some low cost energy thing

[HighNoon]

Thought they were wonderful, liked the mole in the washing machine!

[seasidesally]

oh yes that was funny,the son clearly loves countrylife

[OldCrowMedicineShow]

The shepherdess was an amazing, inspiring woman! I thought it was so moving when she quietly stoked up the fire, gave birth and didn't want to disturb her sleeping family. She brought her husband a cup of tea and their new daughter in the morning.
Their eldest son seems a natural to farm, very handy with mechanical things plus practical stuff like mole trapping.

The off grid woman in Wales was equally hardy but is in a very vulnerable situation as she becomes older. It will become more difficult to heft wood and jump into the river over the years but she is very determined to live to her beliefs and way of life. Each to their own but if she was my mum, I would worry.

I never cared much for Ben Fogle but think this series shows a lovely man who is genuinely interested in the lives and people who are being interviewed.

[SiegeofEnnis]

I just watched this last night - I find the two UK ones I've seen so far (this one and the family on the island of Rum (Rhum? Rumm?) much more interesting than the more 'exotic' Polynesian islands Australian outback etc type thing in his other series.

I loved this family, especially the mother, who was so Zen and stalwart and gorgeous and stoical - and happy, which is I think what really showed.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Raven the fourteen-year-old, because it seems likely that life will change a lot as the children get older, and because (I'm also the eldest of a large family) she seemed to have a lot of subsidiary mother responsibilities which were not as obviously 'fun' as the younger children's chores. If she goes off to university in three or four years, will Reuben and the next children be old enough to look after themselves and a four-year-old Clemmie while both parents are off on the hills rounding up sheep? It just struck me that they couldn't currently run the farm without Raven to do childcare.

The other bit that interested me was how, for two people who had very much chosen a deliberate, atypical, financially-difficult way of life, the parents seemed to have a slightly mad attitude to reproducing. There were three years or so between Raven and Reuben, but the youngest children were incredibly close-born. It just seemed a bit mad when they run the farm on such a shoestring that extra mouths to feed seem like a luxury...?

I'm hoping the others are available on the iPlayer.

[ProfYaffle]

I agree, the UK ones are so much more interesting than the 'exotic' ones.

The Shepherdess has been on another programme but I can't remember which one. Think it was a George Clarke type thing when she renovated the Shepherd's hut that Ben slept in.

[nuttybananas]

I kept telling my other half that I was sure I'd seen her before on TV - i'm glad you thought the same!

[seasidesally]

listening on other forums i think Aide edmmonson had visited on a tv programme last year

[ootsideinbacktaefront]

I thought she was lovely and amazing however im not convinced she was from a normal 3 bed semi, she seemed ver posh

[ProfYaffle]

I've had a Google and the Ade Admondson programme was the only one I could find though I could have sworn it was a renovation type thing. Must have mis-remembered

[ChipInTheSugar]

I think she's done something on Radio 4 - I didn't see the Ben F programme but recognise the details.

[yoyoyoy]

I really enjoyed the programme . I thought the family seemed so content in their way of life despite the hardship . Those lucky lucky children with sensible loving parents who gave them the freedom to roam on the farm , find things out for themselves and enjoy a childhood so different from most children these days , definitely free range not battery . I found the lady in last weeks programme less sympathetic , to transport the family to Wales and then decide on her radical lifestyle change seemed very selfish and what happens to her when she is old and infirm ? I do like Ben Fogle . he comes across as a decent man , sincere and charming .

[scottgirl]

I live near the family filmed for the first episode (converted horse box, Devon, planning issues). I have been reliably informed Ben Fogle is a genuine lovely bloke. The episode also gave an accurate portrayal of the family and he actually does stay with the Families and not just turn, film then go off to a hotel.

[ProfYaffle]

I'm glad he's genuinely nice, he's always struck me a thoroughly decent chap.

[Rivercam]

I've enjoyed this series and the previous exotic ones.

The woman last week was incredible, living her hermit life. I also thought she was a little selfish, choosing that lifestyle. However, I did admire her strength. It would have interesting to talk to some of the Orr hut dwellers. I wondered what they were hiding or running away from, as they didn't talk.

I found the shepherdess family fascinating. The eldest girl didn't seemed a little sad to me. Reuben is amazing and could have a great future.

Although I enjoy these types of programmes, they always give me mixed emotions. Part of me is envious of their lifestyles, although I know I'm too lazy to cut up firewood, etc. however, i sometimes get annoyed (jealous?) at the perfect family units where the children all play nicely together in the countryside, etc. I probably haven't explained that well.

It would be interesting to revisit these families in five or ten years time, to see how things are going.

I think Ben Fogle is a very sincere and interesting presenter.

[berylbainbridge]

Rivercam I think you've described it perfectly. I have that mix of envy and slight annoyance with these programmes for exactly the same reasons as you! Partly annoyed at myself that I haven't the balls to do it! I do think there's a lot of rose tinted spectacles about this lifestyle as Ben Fogle hinted at the sheer physical hard work that is often involved to live like that. But still it's hard not to be seduced by the simplicity of it. I know for a fact my 2 dc would still be at one another's throats whether they lived on a rural farm or not and I'm not made to have loads of children!

[ProfYaffle]

"the sheer physical hard work that is often involved to live like that." Yup, this. I have 2 allotments and in the past have kept pigs and chickens. It's flippin' hard work, even on a small scale. I'd hate to try and live like that.

[pottymummy]

It was the dales that the shepherdesses family were on previously ( I didn't see it last night by the way, I'm just going by your descriptions as I watched the dales)

[sadwidow28]

Apparently Amanda Owen is very enterprising. She first hit the headlines in 2012 in the TV series The Dales, presented by Ade Edmondson and went on to write a book of her memoirs: The Yorkshire Shepherdess which became a best-seller.

To coincide with her appearance on Ben Fogle's programme, she has brought out a 2016 calendar The Yorshire Shepherdess: Amanda Owen 2016 Calendar

She also offers [sells] cream teas to visitors, as the farm sits on the Coast to Coast footpath.

I listened to an interview with Ben Fogle as he was launching the series and he said that he simply loved making the programmes - much more than the exotic ones. He said he didn't realise how many people in the UK were living unusual lives (although they are very, very physically demanding). Another reason he liked making this series is because he could take Storm (DDog) with him.

At the end of the interview he said he would love to live a remote life ..... then of course he laughed when he realised what he had just said. Ben's first TV appearance was in Castaway 2000 when he lived on the remote Scottish Island of Taransay with another 35 people. His luxury item for the year was Inca, his puppy.

Moving story about Inca's demise here

I must admit that I love Ben Fogle's programmes. I am glad to hear that he is a genuine guy.

[seasidesally]

i love Castaway wish they would bring it back

im sure plenty would apply

[sadwidow28]

I also loved 'Castaway' seaside. It was REAL rather than REALITY. They had to sort out the arguments in order to survive and live together rather than just hide their personalities to win some sort of '3-week game show' like I'm A Celebrity.

Mind you, Ben Fogle is hoping to buy Taransay one day - perhaps if he does then we will get a series 2.