• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Monday, June 9, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    How can businesses combat increased pressure on cashflow and profitability?

    How can businesses combat increased pressure on cashflow and profitability?

    Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

    Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

    Paula Roberts’ pilgrim route to raise cash for Red Cross

    Paula Roberts’ pilgrim route to raise cash for Red Cross

    Farmers flock to North Sheep

    Farmers flock to North Sheep

    Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

    Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

    Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

    Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

    Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

    Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

    Free domestic abuse support drop-in service launches in Penrith

    Free domestic abuse support drop-in service launches in Penrith

    Penrith bar relaunched with vibrant events planned

    Penrith bar relaunched with vibrant events planned

  • Sport
    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Cumberland and Westmorland wrestlers head to European championships

    Cumberland and Westmorland wrestlers head to European championships

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    How can businesses combat increased pressure on cashflow and profitability?

    How can businesses combat increased pressure on cashflow and profitability?

    Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

    Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

    Paula Roberts’ pilgrim route to raise cash for Red Cross

    Paula Roberts’ pilgrim route to raise cash for Red Cross

    Farmers flock to North Sheep

    Farmers flock to North Sheep

    Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

    Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

    Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

    Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

    Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

    Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

    Free domestic abuse support drop-in service launches in Penrith

    Free domestic abuse support drop-in service launches in Penrith

    Penrith bar relaunched with vibrant events planned

    Penrith bar relaunched with vibrant events planned

  • Sport
    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Cumberland and Westmorland wrestlers head to European championships

    Cumberland and Westmorland wrestlers head to European championships

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Farm and Countryside

Hats off to Clarkson’s Farm – true TV gold

The Red Shepherdess says Jeremy Clarkson has done a lot for the industry in a short space of time

by CWH
16 January 2024
in Farm and Countryside, Latest
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Clarkson’s Farm. Picture: Amazon

Clarkson’s Farm. Where do we even start?

Jeremey Clarkson has certainly taken the world by storm with his latest programme and, with the announcement that series two is on the horizon, what better time to write about it.

I’ll be honest – I was a huge sceptic when I heard about it. I thought it would be over-hyped, trashy TV that felt completely fake.

I thought Jeremy Clarkson was just a rich individual doing that thing we farmers hate where they buy a farm and then do nothing with it while creaming in the pound signs (although that is maybe half true because he has owned it since 2008).

However, despite that I take my hat off to him.

In series one, he – and Amazon, of course – have done what many farming documentaries have been trying to succeed at for decades.

He captured the nation’s hearts. He drew us all in and took us on his journey with him.

He did what so many have failed at when he appealed to both a farming audience and the general public.

Clarkson’s Farm is a winner because viewers can relate to it.

It’s compelling to us as the nation’s food producers because we feel his every emotion – the frustration as sheep plough over a century-old sandstone wall, the anxiety watching the weather roll in, the exhaustion after hours and hours of non-stop work, the joy when we achieve something we’ve worked so hard for, the disappointment at trade prices and, of course, the upset of saying goodbye to stock.

As we watch it we sit and sympathise with every situation he faces, knowing exactly what it feels like to be stood in his muddy, worn out shoes.

What makes it absolute gold is how it really draws in the general public because it starts at the very beginning.

So many farming documentaries or programmes start half way through somebody’s journey or once they are settled and running a successful farming enterprise.

Clarkson’s Farm finally brings home the proper reality of what it takes to come from “townie to farmer” – or just what it takes to be a farmer – and as someone who has lived through this whole journey personally I couldn’t have celebrated this any more.

For generations, farming has been considered a “labouring job” or, to put it bluntly, a “thick person’s job”, and Clarkson’s Farm immediately smashes that stereotype to pieces.

It shows that the role of a farmer often encompasses skills, knowledge and experience from an endless amount of job sectors, be that veterinary, engineering, business or agronomy, just to name a few. Let’s be honest, the list goes on.

It allows people to see the trials and tribulations of learning to farm, every failure is shown and every lesson is highlighted. With this bravery and vulnerability comes a sense of respect, not just for Clarkson, but for our entire industry.

I can’t say I was ever his biggest fan, but hats off to Clarkson, he has done a lot for the industry in a very short time.

Now it is for us to carry it on, to create a seismic shift in the perceptions of farming and in our engagement with the public.

We need to do this if we are to ride out the unpredictability of the near future and if farming in this country is not only going to survive but to thrive.

Related Posts

Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever
Latest

Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

7 June 2025
Farmers flock to North Sheep
Farm and Countryside

Farmers flock to North Sheep

6 June 2025
Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history
Latest

Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

6 June 2025
Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty
Latest

Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

5 June 2025
Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth
Latest

Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

30 May 2025
Sheep showing season begins
Farm and Countryside

Sheep showing season begins

30 May 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

Cumbrian animal charity celebrates with dog show for opening of new kennel complex

6 June 2025
Farmers flock to North Sheep

Farmers flock to North Sheep

6 June 2025
Honorary assistant bishop Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson

Honorary assistant bishop Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson

6 June 2025
Looking back through the archives

Looking back through the archives

6 June 2025
Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

6 June 2025
Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

Penrith Players present Noel Coward’s Hay Fever

7 June 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
IPSO Logo
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald