Commons Stories
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.
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Poem: A Kind of Wonder
A poem from a collection created as part of the Commons Stories series, with Our Upland Commons: A Kind of Wonder reflects on upland commons across England.
Poem: Permanence and Change
A poem written in response to consideration of land use traditions and change in England’s upland commons.
Poem: Small is Relative
A poem about dung beetles and their role beside sheep, cows and horses, in the cycling of soil: inspired by a meeting with Clive Turner, in Dartmoor National Park.
Poem: transition
Lambing is a time for seemingly endless chores, and, on occasions, some hands-on assistance for a lamb coming into the world. This poem by Harriet was inspired by her time with John Heighway, in the Shropshire Hills.
Poem: Gathering
A poem written after a day gathering herdwicks in from the fells above Langstrath Valley, in the Lake District, with Craig Fearon and his neighbouring commoners.
Poem: What you might learn when laying a hedge
A poem about hedge laying, inspired by a day with Jeremy Weiss in Dartmoor National Park.
