Commons Stories is a collection of stories from four upland common regions across England: Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and the Shropshire Hills.
You’ll find written and photographic portraits of people, short videos, audio clips, and reflections on events through the year, as well as reflections on some of the challenges of building sustainable futures for people and landscape in these special places.
The collection is put together by somewhere nowhere duo, writer Harriet Fraser and photographer Rob Fraser, with contributions from commoners using GoPro cameras to capture snippets of their day-to-day lives on the farm and in the hills.
Jane Saxon is General Manager for the National Trust, overseeing the North and West of the Lake District. In this interview she talks to Harriet Fraser about her role, and working with tenants and other organisations in their joint care of the Lake District, aiming to increase resilience for nature and people in the 21st Century.
Read MoreHerdwick ewes inspect the camera before being rounded up and brought into line for judging at the 2023 Matterdale and St Johns Sheep Show.
Read MoreHow might upland farmers become more involved in restoring peat and increasing sphagnum growth in the uplands? Harriet spoke to Simon Bland, from Dalefoot Farm, Bampton Common, to find out more about his vision, and Dalefoot’s work in producing peat-free compost, and restoring peatlands across the country.
Read MoreWhat evidence is there of a Roman road on Bampton Common - and why does learning more matter? We spent time with Archeologist Martin Railton to find out more about the 2022 dig on Cumbria’s mountain-top High Street.
Read MoreAcross the commons on the west coast of Cumbria, farmers are joining together to develop landscape-scale learning and collaboration in support of sustainable upland farming. Helen Race, who is one of four facilitators, talks about the journey so far.
Read MoreLake District Commoner Craig Fearon joins two other commoners to gather their herdwick sheep down from the upland commons into Langstrath Valley. A short post with an opportunity to listen in to the calls of farmers echoing around the valley.
Read MoreIn a break from shearing his herdwick sheep on his farm in Grasmere, Will Benson shares his thoughts about farming in the Lake District and the heritage of the upland commons. A 6-minute watch.
Read MoreA shepherd’s eye view while gathering sheep in from Kinniside Common in Cumbria’s Lake District. Join Lizzie Weir as she looks for and coaxes sheep away from the common and back to the home farm for sorting.
Read MoreHow can farmers calculate carbon storage when their farming system includes the commons? Farmers in Cumbria are beginning work to develop a new toolkit - we join them on Kinniside Common with Becky Willson from Farm Carbon Toolkit.
Read MoreKinniside Commoners Kevin, Vicky and Pete talk about their life, their attachment to the farming life in Cumbria’s uplands, and the challenges - and hopes - going forwards.
Read MoreListen to Sam Rawling describing the process of gathering sheep in from Kinniside Common, down to the River Calder, in July 2022. Commoners work together to bring in the sheep so they can be sheared. The recording is shared with a selection of images from the day, as the sheep are brought into the pens, and sorted.
Read MoreEach year on Cumbria’s upland farms, lambs must be marked so that they can be distinguished from other flocks once they are back out on the common, where several flocks graze. Sam Rawling and Lizzie Weir add smit marks and lug marks to their herdwick flock.
Read MoreAn introduction to Sam Rawling and Lizzie Weir, commoners who have a hill farm in Ennerdale, Cumbria, and use Kinniside Common for grazing
Read MoreA glimpse at the action during Keswick Spring Fair - a short video clip.
Read MoreKeswick Tup Fair, or Keswick Spring Fair, is an annual event for the showing of Herdwick tups (rams). It’s the first gathering for Lakeland shepherd’s after the cold of winter.
Read MoreAn introduction to Craig Fearon of Nook Farm, Borrowdale. Craig is a National Trust tenant and Cumbrian Commoner with Herdwick Sheep grazing the Cumbrian fells.
Read MoreKinniside Common is in the far west of Cumbria, on the edge of the English Lake District. A walk from the valley to the common, and back again, reveals layers of history, wildlife and weather.
Read MoreHanding over the Landlord’s Flock at Nook Farm, Borrowdale. When a National Trust farm changes hands, and is passed on to a new tenant, that person also takes on the hefted flock. Today Craig Fearon takes on the flock that Stanley Jackson has looked after for decades.
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