When she first arrived at Ravenseat, Amanda Owen was 21. Eight children later, she is still going strong and has just published the latest chapters in her life on a remote hill farm

One husband, eight children, 1,000 sheep, says the tagline on Amanda Owen’s latest book. Remarkable yes, but very far from the full story. The woman now known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess was born and brought up in Huddersfield, a world away from the remote hills and dales she now calls home. Her mother had her down for a career with Marks & Spencer, but the rebellious teenager with a hankering for the rural life had other ideas.

After reading a book called Hill Shepherd, by John and Eliza Forder, her mind was made up. “I borrowed it from the library in Huddersfield. It had pictures of shepherds and farmers and lambs and I looked and I thought, ‘that’s amazing. I didn’t know that was still going on’. I realised that life did exist and that I wanted to be a shepherd,” she says.

The journey wasn’t easy – “you can’t go to college and train to be a shepherd” – but she started at the bottom and worked her way up, learning her craft by doing odd jobs for farmers. She met her husband Clive on a trip to his home of Ravenseat in less than romantic circumstances. “I had to pick up a tup from Ravenseat,” she recalls. “It was a dark, wet and windy night. I met Clive and we got on okay but I was in a dreadful rush to get away. I can’t say I was totally bowled over.” Then she went over again to help with a sick ewe and the rest is history. She married tenant farmer Clive, and his unforgiving way of life at Ravenseat, a life she loves despite its hardships.

It’s a life she has recounted in books – her latest has just been published. Full of amusing anecdotes and unforgettable characters, A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess takes us from fitting in with the locals to fitting in motherhood, from the demands of the livestock to the demands of raising a large family in such a rural backwater. The couple now have a flock of their very own – eight children – four of whom were born en route to hospital, such is the remoteness of their farm. Amanda gave birth to the latest addition to the family in her kitchen, in front of the fire, as her family slept upstairs.

“Up the stairs I went, carrying my precious bundle,” she writes. “It was less than an hour since I’d come down feeling restless. So much had happened, but in a strange way it also felt like nothing had happened; it felt so natural, normal, organic.

“Clive,” I whispered, reluctant to break the peave. He slept on.

“Clive,” I said a little louder. I didn’t want to startle him. He shuffled in his bed.

“Clive,” I spoke at normal volume now. “Wake up. I’ve ‘ad t’baby.”

At this he sat bolt upright, squinting in the half-light. What he said is unrepeatable, but it ended with, “Yer some woman, thee.”

Amanda took time out from her busy life to talk to Weekend:

Is there anything you miss about your former existence?

Not really! Where you go to live moulds your character. Being out in the wild is character-building. I see myself as an ordinary person living in an extraordinary place. You’ve got the freedom which you wouldn’t get in a town.

What are the drawbacks of living somewhere so remote?

You don’t wake up in the morning thinking its remote. I’m not saying it’s easy, life isn’t supposed to be easy. You get your downsides. In summer, it’s amazing, but the downsides are that if like today the washing machine is bust, you can’t get anyone out to fix it. It’s a balancing thing.

Sheep farming is hard work. Where you get your enormous reserves of energy from?

I think I’m hyperactive. No, I do get tired, I get knackered – physically, and then sometimes you feel mentally tired. Going to bed physically tired is a good thing, it means you’ve achieved something. I look down at my grubby hands and I’ve got one blue nail. I’m always very busy, but that gives you something to write about.

Looking after eight children must be a logistics nightmare. How do you manage?

Yes, it is a logistics nightmare! They all have their responsibilities, but it’s all about prioritising and getting everything done beforehand. If the important things are done, like having clean clothes, washing and feeding the children, then that’s fine. Raven, my eldest, helps the most, but everyone has a part to play, it gives them a sense of belonging and importance to be living on a working farm.

Tell me about family mealtimes – are you constantly cooking?

No, I’m always a day ahead of myself. I tend to look at what I’ve got and make the most of it. We have an Aga which is on all the time, so it’s not hard to plonk some food in it. We eat all the normal things really. Toast/cereal for breakfast, a snack for lunch like a sandwich, and then a proper meal for tea like meat, pasta, soups – all sorts of things. Fresh fruit is a luxury, you’re more in touch with seasonality in here. I buy in bulk and store lots of things. But whether its feeding four mouths or 12, the effort is all the same.

Do you get attached to your animals?

I’m always talking about the fact that you can care for the animals and be okay with eating them, because I have a clear conscience, knowing they’ve had a good life. The trouble you go to look after the sheep when any of them needs particular help shows you have to love them to be able to rear them. You have to have a passion, so it’s more than just an income.

Do you ever yearn to put your feet up?

Sometimes I think I’d like to, but if there is ever a moment when none of the kids are there, I just find something else to do. If I wanted the party, going-out lifestyle, I would have stayed in the town. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a hill shepherd. You can’t beat this place on a fine glorious day in summer when the children are playing in the river. The harder times are when it’ll snow on you and the weather will be against you. 2001 was a bad year, but onwards and upwards!

Do you worry about leaving the EU?

What does the future hold?

I think it won’t affect us because we’ll always carry on doing what we do. What will be will be, but people always need to eat.

  • A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen (Sidgwick & Jackson, £16.99)

The Ravenseat 8

Raven, 15. Very sensible, very mature, academic. She likes studying, looking after the horses and photography.

Reuben, 13. Always grubby, very outgoing. When he was younger, he was always breaking things, now he likes repairing things!

Miles, 10. Quieter. Likes his animals a lot.

Edith, 8. Kind-hearted and caring. She likes looking after the little ones and enjoys farming.

Violet, 6. The tomboy, she’s always hanging-off something like a tree. Very hands-on.

Sydney, 5. Very kind, very chatty. He likes Reuben a lot.

Annas, 3. Blonde bomb shell, cheeky, she likes dressing up, would wear a pink tutu under her faming clothes!

Clemmy, 18 months. In her stroppy stage. She loves walking about and being outside

Nancy, six months. Very cute. She has big eyes.