We were looking out across one of the most beautiful panoramic views in the Lake District, above Ennerdale Water, with the dramatic horseshoe of fells all around us. Richard and Alison Maxwell of Howside Farm were teaching nature-friendly farming to a group of farmers and those aspiring to be farmers, all working in the Lake District.
Howside started out as a small 100-acre National Trust farm back in 1998, but it has greatly expanded since then, as they changed mindset from being focused on food production to considering nature as “essential”, as Richard puts it.
First they took on land on Pillar, one of the tallest mountains in England, where they now graze a hefted flock of Herdwick sheep about nine miles from the farmstead. The stock of wethers (castrated males) was removed from the fell due to a government environmental scheme, and this made a massive difference to the abundance of bilberry, heather and mosses.
Then they took on a forest from the Forestry Commission (they were the only farmers to turn up to the commission’s meeting on the matter). After that, there was a domino effect, with more opportunities coming up.
In 2008 they changed from productive continental cattle to native galloway cattle, as part of the Wild Ennerdale project, and since then bird populations have soared, especially willow warbler, wren and chaffinch. Red-listed ring ouzel territories have increased, and dippers and green woodpeckers are new to the valley.
We saw the herd of galloway cows with their calves – physical fencing has been removed and the cattle use Nofence collars to target grazing in particular areas, benefiting species such as the marsh fritillary butterfly (which was extinct in the Lake District not long ago).
Other measures include farming without fertiliser or imported nutrients; introducing more trees, in the form of new hedgerow corridors; and oxford sandy and black pigs to help disturb the land. We were glad to see the pigs before heading back to the farmhouse for tea and cake.
What the Maxwells have done is inspirational. They’ve made such a range of changes, taken lots of opportunities, and nature is benefiting as a result. It just shows what a family farm can do.
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