When we think of farming in the Lake District we usually think of the upland beef and sheep farms, but there is a wealth of other farming activities going on. The Lyth Valley in the south Lakes is famous for its damson trees that seem to hover like mist when they are in blossom. These ghostly congregations of twisted orchard trees sit amid wide hedgerows and woodland strips between the limestone escarpments of Whitbarrow Scar and Brigsteer. The climate here is perfect for them.
Eighteen farms in the valley have orchards and sell their damsons collectively to a supermarket chain as part of the Westmorland Damson Association. One of those is Sandi Friend, a member of our Ladies With Livestock group, and we have come to visit her today on her former dairy farm, bought in 2020 (small fruit farms were hit hard by the advent of imported fruit in the 1970s and many turned to dairy). Sandi has an ambitious plan to restore the soils and grasslands, rejuvenate the hedgerows, bring the damson orchards back into production by pruning and replacing trees – and add an entirely new dimension to the business.
That new dimension is commercial lavender growing – Lake District Lavender. We put on our sunhats and follow Sandi over a stile into a field that has strips of lavender growing. We are here to help with the harvesting. We’re taught how to cut the bunches with a hand scythe, then sit down between the rows cutting away, filling a big cardboard box with the goods.
Below us is a panorama of the valley. A neighbour is cutting grass to make hay and insects hover around us. The number of bees and butterflies on the lavender is breathtaking. Although we are busy working, it is a new, novel busyness and totally relaxing, away from the cares of our own families and farms. We chat about the government closing the farming capital grant scheme – Sandi had hoped to apply for group visits to the lavender farm, but the scheme closed early. We have one more job to do before a scone with jam: pick damsons on the way back to the farmhouse.
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