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baby was the wrong way up , which meant ambulance to Northallerton , two hours away (!), for a caesarean . The trip was so rough that the midwife was being travel-sick in a bowl and there was no pain relief in the ambulance ! Would you believe it , Amanda then came straight back after the birth . Whilst she was nursing baby Raven , Clive is lambing next door in a pen made from old pallets , bringing each one to the door for her to see .
Baby number two was a November baby . That evening they had bought in a Chinese to eat , Amanda felt the baby coming ( she learnt from the first that she goes into labour quickly and her waters don ’ t break ) she went upstairs to give birth . The baby was 10 weeks early , the ambulance took way too long to come , so a friend who was a nurse helped deliver . It was not easy , Amanda lost a lot of blood and the baby was only 3.5 lbs ! This time , hospital was 70 miles away at Middlesbrough . Despite being premature with a number of complications , Reuben is now a big , strapping , healthy lad . The other births were much simpler , but often involved dashes to hospital due to the speed that Amanda gives birth . This meant a number of them were born in laybys en route . Child number eight Amanda decided to have at home , with no mad dash to hospital . She got up in the middle of the night with what she thought was indigestion , however it was her labour starting . So without waking Clive , she crept downstairs and by the fire on a makeshift bed of cushions she gave birth to Clementine . After delivering the afterbirth as well , she took the bundle upstairs to meet a highly surprised Clive . They went to Middlesbrough for a check-up and all was fine . Lo and behold , Amanda and Clemmy came home the next day on three buses ! Well , it was busy at haytime .
After the relative ease of Clementine ’ s birth , child number nine , Nancy , was problematic and having lost a lot of blood again , it was another trip to Middlesbrough . This time , Amanda got the bus back without a baby this time . I had to ask , “ So is nine enough then ?” With a smile , both Clive and Amanda said , “ We think so , but hey , you never know !”
Picking back up on the diversification of the business , which started with Amanda having the idea for selling tea and scones to walkers after there were a good few gatecrashers at their wedding . This has become very popular with walkers as a stopover . The cream teas go down a treat ; also , nowadays , people love to sit and chat and ask questions about the farm . Amanda often gives impromptu talks . Unfortunately , Ravenseat has been closed since last March due to the pandemic restrictions , however they should be able to open for part of the season as it runs from May to September , people just need check the website for up to date information beforehand .
In the past years , Ravenseat has
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developed and continues to do so . As well as catering for the walkers , for a complete get away from it all experience you can hire The Shepherd ’ s Hut – no mobile signal or Wi Fi , you can relax in the serenity kept warm by the log burning stove . If you do need to contact the outside world there is a good signal at Kirkby Stephen a few miles on . For those who want something a bit more substantial , you can hire The Firs , which is a delightful 17th century six-bed cottage , complete with stone floors and Yorkshire range . Once the pandemic is over – hopefully by September people can hire these again .
I asked Amanda that given the size of the farm , the walkers , accommodation and nine kids , “ How on earth did TV and books come about ?” “ By chance ”, was the reply .
One day , Amanda was entertaining a number of walkers and there was one chap who didn ’ t look like your average walker . It turned out he wasn ’ t , and he asked Amanda if she would be interested in being in an episode of Coast to Coast with Julia Bradbury ?! “ I ’ ll do it ”, she said , so she did , and it developed from there , featuring in Dales documentary with Ade Edmondson . Following this a literary agent rang out of the blue and asked if she would like to write about her life on the farm , to which she replied , “ Im a reader , not a writer .” The agent gave her a couple of ideas and in usual Amanda style , she agreed . Amanda is now on her fourth book - which is on the best seller list ! The success of the books really pushed her into the limelight and from that she was approached by Channel 5 to do “ Our Yorkshire Farm ”, which has been a great success - the new series started on the 13th April . Due to lockdown , filming finished last March and the family were asked to film the final part themselves . The company gave them the cameras and taught them what to do !
I asked Amanda what has made the series so successful , she said “ I don ’ t tell people what to do , they just watch our everyday lives unfold and I explain as we go , people can then make their own minds up . Everyday is the same , but different , the cameras just catch us all as each day unfolds . When the kids are here , they muck in , fall down , get dirty and learn something every day . They will help with lambing , trudge the fells in snow looking for sheep ,
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feed the cattle , you name it , everyone gets involved . They also do all the normal things kids do , school , sleepovers etc . There is no time for sulking , laziness or favouritism . We will encourage the kids to follow what they enjoy which is why Raven is heading for a first in Bio Science at University and will maybe be a doctor . Reuben works with plant and machinery . “ All the kids bubble over with enthusiasm and fun , every day is full , from waking up to going to bed .
No wonder the programme is such a success . Amanda epitomises the phrase , “ If you want something doing ….” She still finds time to do talks , after-dinner speaking , lecture tours , personal appearances on “ Lorraine , Jeremy Vine and This Morning ”, to name but a few . Her writing takes place at night-time on her iPad . As Clive said , “ She doesn ’ t need much sleep , she hasn ’ t got time ”.
As filming was halted due to the pandemic , so have all her public engagements been put on hold , apart from the odd TV appearance . I asked what effect Covid has had on the family . Both Clive and Amanda said that living at Ravenseat and it being isolated makes you both independent and resilient . Even though the accommodation and cream teas etc have all been put on hold , general farming life has carried on as it must , weather and all . The big difference has been all nine kids being at home , which then creates a huge challenge to get everybody fed . Mealtimes are planned , and you get what you ’ re given , no time for nonsense or faddyness . Amanda said to me , “ It was embarrassing at the supermarket . I had to bulk-buy to feed the family , but still got severe looks at the amounts , and I did feel a tad guilty .” They did alleviate the constant need for milk by going out and buying their own “ House Cow “ Indeed , when I sat down to chat with mug of tea in hand , it was with fresh milk from that morning .
Both Clive and Amanda did say lockdown was tough to keep going sometimes . They felt the isolation a lot more after lambing time , the filming being suspended and
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no visitors . What made it hard was not knowing what was round the corner and when the situation would end . However , the farm has plenty to keep all occupied . Amanda has also had more time to ride her horse which she enjoys , as well as being a keen photographer and capturing everything about daily life on the farm and the kids growing up .
The family do enjoy sitting by the river , as well as swimming in the tarn . Surrounding them are hay and wild-flower meadows , rare birds such as curlews , oystercatcher , lapwings , golden plover and black grouse , and kestrels and owls also abound . They plant trees , clear gulleys and drainage channels , and generally enjoy and nurture the natural environment
Clive and Amanda have achieved much at Ravenseat , including all the development - Amanda even helped tamping the concrete in the yard ! Clive said , “ She is brave as a lion . “ “ Apart from squealing at rats ,” she replied .
As lockdown has hopefully eased by the time you will be reading this , the pace at Ravenseat will be moving , no doubt , from busy to frenetic . Already new on the horizon , Ravenseat will be selling their own Lamb Boxes in September , in conjunction with Wensleydale Meats .
I enquired further about future plans . “ See what happens ,” was the joint reply . Well I can ’ t fault that . It has served them well so far .
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