Hope for the Lappinch

We bought our farmhouse in Cheshire during the summer of 2021 – the culmination of a hectic three months that also involved selling our house nearby – a property we built from scratch 10 years previously and home for almost all our time together as a family.

While we had long aspired to own land, at the beginning of 2021, as we were both in bed coughing our way through proper, pre-vaccination COVID, neither of us thought this would be the year we would finally make good on our dreams. 

So what happened?  

A combination of reaching a time in life when there are likely fewer years ahead of us than behind; work / life changes following COVID, a sympathetic bank manager and a dose of good luck probably all conspired to see us leave the comforts of a modern, energy efficient (and warm) new-build, for the joys of a sprawling farmhouse with a failing thatched roof, the prospect of serious energy bills, some spectacular 1980’s décor and, most excitingly, 35 acres of “improved” pasture, along with 50+ young cows that were happily grazing away on our arrival*.  The start of our new adventure – with not a day of farming experience between us. 

To be fair, we were not completely naïve about what we were letting ourselves in for, albeit our proper farming friends may dispute that!  

Both of us had spent considerable periods living in the countryside, had worked at times in conservation and had longstanding interests in nature and the outdoors.  Importantly, we also had local farming friends who encouraged our dreams and provided well-timed advice and support – especially when it looked like these dreams might actually become reality.  On a very small scale, we had also done our own bit of countryside restoration when we built our previous house – establishing a ¼ acre wildflower meadow.  Using a traditional English wildflower mix and by removing the fertile topsoil, we changed a little piece of Cheshire from a monoculture of lawn grass to a thriving ecosystem, bubbling with insects, bees, butterflies, frogs, voles, goldfinches and a wonderfully rich mix of perennial wildflowers and fine grasses that provided a constantly evolving display, from spring to autumn and from year to year. 

This one act taught us three things: (i) that even the smallest patch of ground, managed sympathetically, can make a huge difference; (ii) that we could do it; and (iii) that we enjoyed it and wanted to do more – much more.

So here we are – 35 acres later.   Now the hard work really starts!

*It is only fair to note that the cows were (and are) owned by a proper farmer who actually knows what he is doing!