Our Story: Chapter 2

“That would do!”

When our eldest was a toddler he had endless energy and I would walk him and the dog a couple of times a day. Most of these wanderings were unremarkable and unmemorable. When walking out of our village there are several short ‘lonnin’ - Cumbrian green lanes - to provide access to the fields. They don’t go anywhere and ‘second lonnin’ (unimaginatively named) was especially muddy and overgrown. Toddler heaven. One summery day, long before the polytunnel or ultimatum but with the dream of a little land, woods and hens, I distinctly remember walking down that lonnin, standing at the gate and looking down the fields, with the fells in the distance, and thinking “that would do!”

We had no idea how hard it was to buy or even rent land for long term use until we started trying to get a few acres for ourselves. It felt impossible.

Tiny paddocks sold for huge amounts of money. Some landowners were rude when we asked them, others told us the blunt truth; sheep were easier. Fields for sale were hilly. Exposed. Boggy. Miles away.

Then out of the blue, in spring 2019, we were approached by a land agent about the possibility of some land being available.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the land agent’s map: it was the “that would do” field.

In October 2019 we became the owners of that field. In fact we bought a parcel of land that included two fields and a little woodland with river frontage. Sure it was boggy, hilly, compacted clay and very overgrown…

But it would definitely do.

-Harriet x