Craig Fearon : Commoner, Lake District
Craig Fearon
Cumbrian Commoner
Where: Nook Farm, Borrowdale. This is a National Trust farm, set in one of England’s wettest spots (but arguably also one of its most beautiful)
Common used for grazing: Scawdel Fell & Langstrath Common
“Out there, it’s great. Nobody, nothing for miles, and you can just hear the sheep and the birds. Best feeling ever.”
Craig was born and brought up at Hollows Farm at Grange in Borrowdale, a beautiful valley just beyond the watery stretch of Derwent Water in Cumbria. Craig is now 25 years old, and in early 2022 began life in charge of his own farm, just down the road from Hollows: he took on the National Trust tenancy at Nook Farm in April 2022. With the farm, he has also taken on the landlord’s flock of pure bred Herdwick sheep, which are hefted to particular areas of fell in nearby commons: some go behind the farm up on Scawdel, some go further away onto Langstrath common.
‘On Langstrath,’ says Craig, ‘there's six of us commoners and we need to work together to gather in all our sheep. I’ve gathered the Nook heft a couple of times with Stanley Jackson, who was the tenant before me, so I'm still getting to grips with it, and I suppose I'll be learning for a long time to come.’ In handing on the farm, Stanley has also shared some of his learning with Craig. Although Craig already knows the area quite well, this is a real help for him.
Farming is in Craig’s blood, but he wasn’t always sure that he’d end up taking on a farm. ‘When I when I was 16, I thought I'll just work on the farm and see how it goes. I love it though, and I've never looked back. I'm out here doing what I want to do, all day, I work for myself, I'm outside all the time, working with dogs, and with sheep. What more could you want?.’ Craig has learned from many different people, and the task ahead of him now is to make small changes that suit his farm, the flock’s hefts, and his preferences, yet still work within the system of commoning in the Cumbrian fells. ‘And out there, it's great. Nobody, nothing for miles, and you can just hear the sheep and the birds. Best feeling ever.’
There are challenges, though. While Borrowdale is a stunning valley, it’s also the wettest place in England; another challenge is the distance from Nook Farm to Langstrath - the valley head is six miles from the farm: ‘It’s a long way for the sheep to walk when we gather them in.’
Craig’s also anticipating challenges around the need to adapt to the end of Basic Payment Scheme and the introduction of new environmental schemes, and not yet knowing how these will look. ‘I'm fairly positive about taking on the farm, though,’ he says. ‘No one really knows what the future holds - we've just gotta take it as it comes and do our best along the way.’
Nook Farm has a holiday cottage, which is an important part of the business, and Craig’s partner Fay works for the police. This is fairly typical for fell farmers. ‘Most farmers do have another source of income, whether that's a holiday cottage, or a contracting business, and most partners work off farm, or they've got a cafe or something along those lines.’
“We have to try and find a way to keep everything in good condition and get things to work together, without one thing completely overriding the other.”
As Craig thinks about his role as a commoner, he can’t help letting his attention drift to the fells. ‘You've got to take the wildlife and plants into consideration, and maintain a proper hefted flock of fell sheep. We have to try and find a way to keep everything in good condition and get things to work together, without one thing completely overriding the other. I suppose good commoning is making sure that you're looking after your heft well, and getting on with your neighbours is a really important part of commoning.’
When asked if he thinks people know enough about commoning, Craig thinks not. ‘I would love for people to find out more. It feels important that people understand what's happening and what they could be losing, if we’re not well supported.’