“The buggers are out of control and the trust just let them away with it. It’s not good enough.” That’s the verdict of Billy Bland, 75, a lifelong resident of Borrowdale, in the English Lake District. He’s talking about the farmers – including friends, family and neighbours – who work the land here, and of the valley’s principal landlord, the National Trust, which owns eight of Borrowdale’s 11 farms along with large tracts of woodland, wetland and fell.
With its rugged crags, wood-lined valley sides and stone wall-fringed pastures, Borrowdale for many visitors is the most picturesque valley of the Lake District. But Bland is concerned that the way this landscape has been farmed in recent decades is pushing its wildlife into severe decline.
