Yorkshire Farm with 9 kids.

[parchworkpatty]

Now on Channel 5. Fabulous fabulous family. I grew up on a farm and reminds me of my childhood (only 2 siblings though)

So lovely to see children all mucking in as a family. And parents that don't restrict learning and adventure on 'what if' health and safety. Great balance between love , nurturing and freedom. Both parents have got it spot on !

I'm doing a long distance walk next year which goes through their farmyard/past their front gate one day. I believe she sells scones/refreshments so if she's in I'm looking forward to stopping for a cuppa!

It really didn't look glamorous! It looks hard, hard work.

Did anyone watch last night?

I watched last night, felt knackered afterwards and a bit concerned at how precarious it all is.

Loved the 'Fevers for sale'.

Just getting into this and have finished he first episode. They certainly do have a unique life but as a farmer's daughter (although certainly not in such extreme conditions) I can see the positives and negatives of bringing up a family in this life.

It is fantastic that they are learning so much about farming and will clearly have a brilliant work ethic. Rueben was very impressive with his mechanical skills. Agree that Amanda looks amazing after 9 children and spending so much time in such harsh outside conditions. Loved the boot puller Rueben made for Amanda for Mother's Day. They obviously care for their children very much.

It's fine as long as all 9 children love the lifestyle that their parents have chosen to live, but I can guarantee that at least one of them will resent the extremities that have been forced upon them. If it takes them 2 hours to get to school they can hardly meet up with friends on the weekends which much really restrict their social life, which is why I used the word forced - as a child in that kind of environment you don't have a choice. I got the impression that the eldest daughter was less enthusiastic, I haven't seen as much footage of her doing the hands on stuff and maybe as teenagers they will yearn for a more 'normal' lifestyle. I suppose by the time they reach adulthood they can go off and do what they want, but it will be difficult breaking away from that environment. It also broke my heart a little to see those tiny ones crying out in the snow before Rueben took them home, they must have been frozen.

Looking forward to catching up on the next 2 episodes.

secretuser The children will all have to get off the farm. There isn't enough of a living for them.

Agreed @derxa I was going to add that to my post but thought I'd rattled on enough!

I just think it will be quite difficult for them to find their own ways and do their own thing when they've had such an unusual childhood.

I spent my teenage years on a working farm where I kept my horses then, not a fancy stables, I literally paid the farmer for a space in the barn for my horses during the winter and during the summer they lived out. They were a largish family (6 children) and every single one of them embraced the farm life, the girls were older, two were adults, and they both married farmers and carried on the way of life. Their life was tough and not many financial rewards, I know now that all of them have carried on the farming life, I just wanted to write this to the people saying that some of the kids will resent being brought up this way, I really bet they don't. Farming is something that's in you I think, if you are brought up that way you know no different. To be honest their life is tough but it's simpler than city life, social media pressures etc, I'd take their way any day.

Does anyone know if they are

tenant farmers
own the farm?

He is 21 years older than her. There doesn't seem to be much chemistry between them on screen at least.

She is actually quite a business woman; she has her own website, has written 2 books, and her website has cards and other things to sell, so it's not all just idyllic farming, she's got lots of other irons in the fire.

I am amazed at how she managed to have 9 kids and still appears to have a working pelvic floor, and can lift heavy loads. (I had to have surgery after just 2 births!) How do these women stay in one piece after 9 babies?

Re her skin- time will tell. I don't know how old she is- early 40s max?- but give it another 10 years and if she's not using spf 50 all day every day, she will have sun damage.

The kids are great. The older boy is very mature. I only hope they fulfil their educational potential and are not being lined up as farm hands when they might want to do other things.

I also fail to understand why anyone would want 9 kids at all, except to have cheap labour, as they did 100 years ago.

My late MIL was one of 9 on a farm in the SW and the idea was they had loads of kids because a) no birth control or didn't bother, and b) cheap labour.

Farming is something that's in you I think, if you are brought up that way you know no different

Sorry but that's complete bollocks

I grew up on a farm, I still live on a farm but in between I went and got a few degrees, lived in cities, became a professional in a field entirely unrelated to farming as did all but one of my many siblings. One or two of us have returned to farming in some shape or form but equally many didn't and have nothing to do with farming and no interest in it whatsoever.

We all knew that there was a different life outside farming growing up. As did our friends who were also from farms.

We aren't stuck in some kind of weird time warp, we have mobile phones and tellys and the internet and stuff just like anyone else!

I'm enjoying the programme but wincing at a lot of the stuff they do. It's like a farm health and safety video at times (particular eek at what looked like an uncovered PTO shaft)

Pretty sure they are tenants Jingling. They also aren't quite as remote as the programme makes out, but I suppose it seems very remote if you aren't used to remoteness!

Clive also has other children from his first marriage who are grown up and are in farming.

I think the older girl (Raven?) isn't that enamoured with it all, I suspect she'll leave. Reuban clearly loves it.
I was wondering how that way of life makes any money.

It IS quite remote- their nearest towns are Darlington or Barnie Castle. Where do the kids go to school?

She is quite a 'star' in her own right and obviously supplementing their income quite a lot I assume with her books, cards, a calendar and public speaking, and a column in the local paper.

I find the dynamics of the marriage more intriguing than anything; she is clearly bright, he's a gruff Yorkshire man old enough to be her dad, previous marriage and kids, and I really, really want to know why they have got 9 of their own!!!!

I was wondering how that way of life makes any money.

It doesn't. EU farm subsidies make up the shortfall. Things will get interesting when/if Brexit happens.

Farming is something that's in you I think, if you are brought up that way you know no different I agree with Scrowy in that I disagree with the previous statement. The average age of a farmer is 59. There isn't enough money in farming to sustain a living for the children. I left our family farm at 18 to go to university and then married a non farmer.
However I'm back farming at ... yes 59! My DF died and left everything to me and my brother died at 32 so there was no one to carry on our dairy herd. DF bought a wee retirement place and had a flock of sheep. Farming does have a powerful pull though even when you're lambing in sub zero temperatures.

their nearest towns are Darlington or Barnie Castle

Don't be silly . Theres Kirkby Stephen for starters which by the looks of things is where they sell their stock at. I think the older kids go to school in Richmond don't they? The younger ones at Reeth?

There's a few other houses around them where they live. Where I live there is no one for 2 miles, and I still don't consider us that isolated...

@Scrowy
well someone's telling fibs because she is quoted as saying they are 2 hrs from a hospital and she had her 8th child on the lounge floor.

And that the boys have a 2hr trip to school.

KS is not 2 hrs away but I was meaning they are quite far from a hospital. Does KS or Richmond have a large hospital?

And that the boys have a 2hr trip to school. That can't possibly be true.

here she is- scroll down and you will see she says she is 2 hrs from a hospital.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/the-yorkshire-shepherdess-amanda-owen-stars-in-our-yorkshire-farm-on-channel-five-1-9461913

I think it was on this thread a poster said the boys were 2 hrs from school.

I think the 2 hour journey for school is because they will be on a bus that does lots of pick ups on the way. When I lived in rural Ireland we were about a 45 minute direct drive to town, but the school bus easily took 2 hours because it picked up at lots of different places on the way and didn't do a direct journey.

I think her and the husband come across quite nicely together, he's a gruff farmer but still comes across as supportive and appreciative of his family, including the wife.

The 2 hour ride to school is presumably because the bus goes all round the houses- literally- to pick up kids from other small villages and houses.

Like my mum's shopper bus takes 35+ mins to the supermarket when in fact it's around 15 min by car.

x-ed posts.

The 2 hour ride to school is presumably because the bus goes all round the houses- literally- to pick up kids from other small villages and houses. Possibly. We needed a taxi and a bus to get to our high school and it took a long time. No possibility of my DF driving us the 10 miles to school. But he was tied to the milking, they're sheep farmers.

I suspect the bus that picks them up for school doesn't go directly to school, it's probably got dozens of other pickups from other rural properties on the way. If you are the first pick up I can easily see how a 40 minute journey door to door suddenly becomes closer to two hours.

That's how it works here any way.

I'm an hour and a half away in normal traffic from either large hospital available to me. It's not that uncommon in rural areas on rural roads.

I read one of her books a few years ago, she has very quick labours if I remember rightly, the issue is she would probably struggle to get to hospital in time wherever she lived rather than distance. Most of us get more than 2 hours warning and would be able to get to hospital in time even if it was two hours away.

Yes I'm intrigued with the chemistry between them. He had a twinkle in his eye when he looked at her and said he didnt know how they had 9 kids. She said that she knew how and gave him a knowing look back. He's very practical but thete's a kindness and softness in his manner. In the group photo at ad breaks she seems conscious of her looks and appearance for the camera - (hair pushed back and hands in skirt pockets) and probably for Clive.