Swaledale Farmer pt.4: Side By Side (Ray Ridley)

As Ray gives his beloved White Park cattle a scratch in a rain-battered shed, he reveals how Swaledale sheep numbers have come down over the years as stewardship schemes have come in.  He describes how lapwings and sheep ‘look out for each other’, how ‘scrapes’ have been dug to provide habitat for the birds, and how he grew up on the farm wondering at the abundance of wildlife.    

Om Podcasten

Voices From The Dales  is currently in Series Three, 'Swaledale Farmer'.  It's a mix of fresh interviews and clips from the Dales Countryside Museum's oral history archive.  All episodes are 15 minutes and presented by Andrew Fagg from Hawes.