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1. Growing Up

Powerful account of James Rebanks's life as a traditional sheep farmer in the Lake District. Read by Bryan Dick.

Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't.

The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations.

It's a life lived according to the demands of the seasons.

Sheep are sent to the fells in the Summer and making the hay.

In Autumn flocks are replenished - followed by the gruelling toil of keeping the sheep alive.

Light-headedness comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.

Through James's eyes, we see that the Lake District is not a playground or a scenic backdrop, it's a working landscape that needs sheep and its farmers to survive.

Abridged in five parts by Sian Preece.

Read by Bryan Dick.

Music: "The Nightshift", Country Escape, BBC Production Music BBCPM031.

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2015.

15 minutes

Last on

Tue 25 Feb 202503:30

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Credits

RoleContributor
ReaderBryan Dick
AuthorJames Rebanks
AbridgerSian Preece
ProducerKirsteen Cameron

Broadcasts

  • Mon 13 Apr 201509:45
  • Tue 14 Apr 201500:30
  • Mon 28 Mar 201614:45
  • Tue 29 Mar 201602:45
  • Mon 20 Jan 202014:45
  • Tue 21 Jan 202002:45
  • Mon 24 Feb 202508:30
  • Mon 24 Feb 202513:30
  • Mon 24 Feb 202519:30
  • Tue 25 Feb 202503:30

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James Rebanks: On Your Farm

Caz Graham Caz joins James herding sheep back to the fells for summer.

The Shepherd's Life - Are Ewe A Shepherd at Heart?

The Shepherd's Life - Are Ewe A Shepherd at Heart?

Take our quiz and discover if you can tell your heft from your herd.

One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep

One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep

James Rebanks reflects on the worldwide response to The Shepherd's Life.

James Rebanks: "People like us are married to the landscape"

James Rebanks: "People like us are married to the landscape"

James Rebanks on his connection to the land and the farmers that went before him

Nine things you never knew about sheep

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James Rebanks reveals some surprising facts about ewes, rams and lambs.

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