BY ALLISON LEE
Alison O’Neill comes from a family of hill farmers, so farming is deeply rooted in her heritage. She describes her family as “Sedbergh folk who started farming in Garsdale, in the Yorkshire Dales.”
Alison recalls her father’s sale of the family farm in the late ’70s following his heart attack. She found the experience very distressing, especially since he was the final member of their farming family. “It broke my heart to leave the farm,” Alison told me, and she made a promise to herself that someday she would own a farm again and become a farmer.
Although it took Alison some time to return to the land, she finally realised her dream in May 1999, when she took over the tenancy of Shacklabank Farm, a small hill farm near Sedbergh in the Howgill Fells. Although Alison is, in all but name, a ‘shepherdess’—having sold her cows and pigs and now keeping only sheep—she says the word is often overused for footholds on TV and social media. Therefore, she prefers to think of herself as a ‘daughter of the dales’.
Alison says it isn’t easy holding on to the farm, and her dreams of securing the tenancy become more difficult each year. She currently operates under a two-year tenancy, but her goal is to own a farm or, at the very least, secure a long-term tenancy. However, she does consider Shacklabank to be hers and cares for the farm as if it were.
Alison lives alone, though she says she is never lonely because she has friends and family nearby. She does most of the shepherding herself with the help of her loyal dog. While she has a couple of lads to shear the sheep, all the wool processing, packing, and handling are done by Alison herself.
I asked Alison about a typical day on the farm, and this is what she told me: “I don’t have typical days as each day can be so different. However, I usually wake up at 6 am and am outside immediately in my pyjamas, wellingtons, big coat, and hat, with my sheepdog, Swiftly, by my side.” The days are long and involve a constant round of checking the flock, carrying out maintenance, mucking out, sorting emails, and packing orders. Alison says she usually has supper at 7 pm and is often asleep by 10 pm—sometimes on the sofa if she doesn’t manage to get to bed, always with her dog by her side.
Alison keeps around 150 fell sheep, which are part of her wool flock. She no longer breeds sheep for slaughter; they are kept solely for wool. She explains that it was a huge decision to change the way she farms, but one she feels confident about. She says she had become too attached to the sheep. Although she had farmed for many years producing meat, she now feels much happier with this method. Crucially, she adds that she makes more money from the wool than she ever did from the meat.
Alison designs wool tweeds, dog leads, and horse halters, all made from her own flock. To boost her income, she also hosts farm tours at Shacklabank, which are proving very popular. Alison has a small design studio called ‘The Wool Shed’ and is a qualified walking guide. “Diversifying pays,” she says. “It’s all about thriving and surviving.” Alison has her wool washed and processed, and then it is returned to her to be turned into various merchandise.
Alison began offering holidays as a way to earn extra money. She provides ladies’ retreats, which are an extension of her guided walks, for like-minded women who enjoy nature, walking, and cold-water dipping among the sheep in the Yorkshire Dales. The retreat is situated near Alison’s farm in a beautiful location called “Eden”. It is a peaceful, quiet, and secluded spot that Alison also considers her personal holiday.
Alison loves the freedom of being her own boss, choosing what she does and when, and she makes the most of every moment in nature. She experiences the seasons in a way town folk can only imagine. Although the work is physically exhausting, Alison clearly sees her work as a calling, a blessing in nature. She has a close relationship with her flock and has bonded well with them, working each season and embracing whatever the weather throws at her. Some of the downsides of hill farming are the harsh weather, rain, mud, long winters, and the death of stock—all of which are inevitable. However, the fact that she can use the sunrise as her alarm clock and maintain a positive attitude, knowing that the rain will eventually stop and the sun will shine, keeps her doing what she loves.
Alison mentioned that she met Hannah Hauxwell, the farmer who lived alone on a remote County Durham farm without electricity or running water, and whose solitary life was featured in the 1971 documentary Too Long a Winter. Alison’s grandparents knew Hannah, and Alison says she was inspired by the genuine countrywoman who lived quietly and passionately doing what she loved.
Alison sees wonder all around her. A rainbow, a skylark singing on the moors, the first lamb of spring—all of these fill her with a sense of wellbeing. She tells me that she sees Shacklabank as a nature farm, an antidote to intensive farming. While she acknowledges that it is a struggle and making a living is hard, she also says she enjoys the struggle; she simply loves her life.
She has diversified because of the love she has for her sheep and says she struggled with ‘playing god.’ Now she can devote her time to caring for her flock and maintaining a wildlife haven where she balances her sheep with nature. Shacklabank Farm is, she says, a beautiful space with water meadows, hay meadows, bluebell woods, and wildflowers; it is peaceful and thriving.
There appears to be no limit to Alison’s talents. I found out she published a coffee table book in 2018, a photographic study of her life, and she has plans to write her autobiography.
If you would like to learn more about Alison and what she can offer, please visit her website here.
Allison Lee is a smallholder from North Yorkshire who has written for the Yorkshire Times and other publications. Her website can be accessed here.