Helen Rebanks is driving towards her farm, which is between Keswick and Penrith in the Lake District but, before we get there, she pulls up unexpectedly by the side of the road. She gets out of the car and leads the way into a field where her husband, James Rebanks, bestselling author of The Shepherd’s Life and English Pastoral – books about life as a traditional farmer – is working with a herd of black-and-white cattle. He is about to load his animals – belted galloways – into a trailer and move them on to pastures new.
On the ground are leftovers from yesterday’s sheep-shearing (300 done, 200 to go). Helen informs me that these are “daggings”, which are good to put on hedges and mulch saplings as they help retain moisture in the ground. It is not the most convenient moment for introductions but James’s face breaks into the widest of smiles when, over the fence, I tell him how much I loved his wife’s new book.
