An 18-year-old who was left to single-handedly run his family’s 1,500-acre Alston Moor hill farm following the death of both his parents has spoken about the care and support of friends, family and neighbours which has helped to see him through.
Angus Richardson was left to look after around 1,000 Swaledale, Mule and Scotch Blackfaced breeding ewes at Sheepriggs from March of last year, after the death of his father, Adam — with his mother, Julie, having died a year before.
Things were hard for Angus even before the death of his father, who had a quad bike accident about four years ago which saw him spend months in hospital and meant he could not do anything on the farm after returning home, leaving all the work to his wife and son.
Fortunately, Julie came from a farming family, the Waltons, and had always taken a keen interest in the business, while Angus had been out and about helping with the hill flock from a young age and so was able to do his bit, and more, when not attending Samuel King’s School, Alston.
And it was from the ranks of his school friends that help came, as an increasing amount of the farm work fell to Angus — including invaluable assistance from his friend Ewan Liptrot, who is now an employee.
Also helping out with farm work before Julie’s death was Mark Elliott — well known as a sheepdog trainer and trials competitor — but he suffered an injury and so has not been able to contribute much for some time.
The first lambing season after Julie death in 2020 saw Mark, Ewan and Angus attending the flock at all hours of day and night, supported by two school friends of Angus — Eimear and Poppy — who came to the farm to work in the lambing sheds and the fields.
“The lasses did a great job, but they couldn’t help much last year because of their schoolwork,” said Angus.
Following Mark’s injury, Ewan was on hand to put in the long hours necessary during the 2021 lambing season and help also came from a 15-year-old neighbour who would drop in to help after school.
Neighbouring farmers also stepped up to lend a hand, with Dan Walton, from Wanwood Hill, being one of those who offered much good advice.
Others who have helped out have included former Samuel King’s School headmaster Ian Johnstone and his wife, Helen, who came to Sheepriggs once a week with food to last Angus for a couple of days.
Ian also gave Angus lifts to attend the former Newton Rigg College, Penrith, where he studied agricultural topics for two years, achieving a distinction.
Another helper has been ex-builder Malcolm Wright, who was on hand last spring to mark the new lambs and so acquired the nickname Chief Dobber. He and his wife Angela also provide a meal for Angus weekly.
His aunt Emma Short has provided much needed help on the housework front, as has neighbour Vicky Younger.
Chief among the support team at Sheepriggs have been Angus’s aunt and uncle Jayne and Miles, from the North East, with Jayne being Julie’s twin sister and so also a member of the Walton farming family.
The couple have travelled over to the farm from the North East every weekend and during holidays for nearly two years and made the trip to Alston Moor on a frequent basis before that.
Miles said: “We have tried to break down the support mechanism for Angus into farm work, housekeeping and finances, including filling out forms. Angus has plenty of background knowledge about the farm, but he did not know much about the finances, so I’ve helped with the paperwork.”
He believes Angus has been doing a very good job on the farm, with one notable high spot being the positive comments made by an examiner who came last year to assess Sheepriggs for the renewal of its red tractor farm assurance accreditation. He particularly praised the teenaged farmer for his good organisational skills.
“It’s been a steep learning curve for Angus, but he had good training from his mum and dad and he has a great group of friends who have helped out,” added Jayne.
As well as his friends and neighbours, this group also includes fellow members of Haltwhistle YFC, who Angus meets on a regular basis.
Looking ahead, Angus says he fully intends to maintain Sheepriggs as a sheep farm, but acknowledges that he will probably also have to diversify to adapt to the new farming support payment system being introduced by the Government.
However, in common with many other farmers, he says there has not been enough information released about the new system to make any decisions as yet.
He added: “I’d just like to thank all the people who’ve helped, especially with the cooking, housework and paperwork. They’ve all helped me cope and I couldn’t have managed without them.”
