Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

2. Decisions

After his grandfather's death, James Rebanks's family face a difficult financial decision about the farm. Read by Bryan Dick.

After his grandfather's death, James Rebanks' family face a difficult financial decision about the farm.

James is the first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself. He and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations.

An increasingly marginalised and precarious livelihood - it costs £1 to sheer a sheep, yet each fleece is worth only 40p - Rebanks' anger at the way small farmers are treated, and his passion for continuing his ancestors way of life, is palpable.

Through his eyes, we see that the Lake District is not a playground or a scenic backdrop, it's a working landscape that needs sheep and its farmers to survive.

Abridged by Sian Preece.

Read by Bryan Dick.

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.

First broadcast on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4 in April 2015.

15 minutes

Last on

Wed 26 Feb 2025 03:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Reader Bryan Dick
Author James Rebanks
Abridger Sian Preece
Producer Kirsteen Cameron

Broadcasts

  • Tue 14 Apr 2015 09:45
  • Wed 15 Apr 2015 00:30
  • Tue 29 Mar 2016 14:45
  • Wed 30 Mar 2016 02:45
  • Tue 21 Jan 2020 14:45
  • Wed 22 Jan 2020 02:45
  • Tue 25 Feb 2025 08:30
  • Tue 25 Feb 2025 13:30
  • Tue 25 Feb 2025 19:30
  • Wed 26 Feb 2025 03:30

James Rebanks: On Your Farm

James Rebanks: On Your Farm

Caz Graham Caz joins James herding sheep back to the fells for summer.

The Shepherd's Life - Are Ewe A Shepherd at Heart?

Take our quiz and discover if you can tell your heft from your herd.

One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep

James Rebanks reflects on the worldwide response to The Shepherd's Life.

James Rebanks: "People like us are married to the landscape"

James Rebanks: "People like us are married to the landscape"

James Rebanks on his connection to the land and the farmers that went before him

Nine things you never knew about sheep

James Rebanks reveals some surprising facts about ewes, rams and lambs.

A Sheepdog's Life

A Sheepdog's Life

If there were a prize for the world's cutest puppy, Floss would have won.