Film shows realities of sheep farming in upland Yorkshire Dales

The "quietly brilliant" documentary Farming Through The Seasons follows the ups and downs of Stephen Bostock and his nephew Dave Fullerton at Hall Farm in Gammersgill, Coverdale, in the Yorkshire Dales.

The pair admitted they had no idea how hard it would be as crews from Film on the Brain production company spent three days each season following their every movement.

Stephen said: “I think it’s important that hill farming is promoted as even though we call it a way of life, we’ve got to make a living. People need to realise what hill farmers do to contribute to the upkeep of the countryside.

"It can be easy to take the landscape and the heritage for granted, but the landscape we have, the barns, the walls, is down to generations of farmers.

“It’s not quite Clarkson’s Farm but it is another perspective on farming. The film puts across the costs and hardships of hill farming, but also the more enjoyable parts.

“We didn’t realise all it would entail when we said ‘yes’, but we’re pleased with how it’s turned out. There were three days of filming per season as well as preparation time. We agreed to it because we thought it would help promote farming, especially our type of hill farming. It’s about farming and conservation, and in the future farming certainly needs to go hand-in-hand with conservation to be successful.”

The 27 minute film was commissioned by the National Park Authority as a way of supporting hill farmers to help make their voices heard during a period of time that the government is calling an agricultural transition for England.

Mark Corner, member champion for the natural environment at the park authority, said: “We want those upland farmers that are really looking after this landscape to be heard in the national conversation about the future of farming. The film has no narrator, only the gentle twang of Stephen and Dave as they explain their traditional practices and share their feelings about farming through the seasons.

“The sound work is the other aspect that makes ‘Farming Through The Seasons’ quietly brilliant. You can hear the rain pelting into waterproofs as the farmers repair the drystone walls in the spring; you can hear stone on stone as the wall is put together again. The scenes of sheep dogs, of haymaking and of feeding sheep in the snow are quintessentially Yorkshire Dales National Park.”

The film is being broadcast on the National Park Authority’s YouTube channel: youtu.be/9dUtOFdoPO4. It is also being entered for the Kendal Mountain Festival in November.

Matthew Wood from Film on the Brain said: “Producing this documentary was a real privilege. We get to meet a lot of amazing people in our line of work but rarely do we stay with them for so long. Having the chance to revisit David and Stephen, we got very close with them.

“We realised how important it was to get a raw and honest portrayal of what life is like on a hill farm. Having now completed the film, it's a great reminder of how many stories there are to be told throughout Yorkshire, of the hardworking individuals and the challenges it brings year round.

“We really hope this speaks to an audience interested in heritage and traditional practice while getting a wonderful insight into the people and generations behind hill farming in the Yorkshire Dales.”