A Kendal horseback adventurer has set off on a trek around the Lake District in a bid to raise awareness of regenerative farmers in the area.
Clare Dyson is a gardener and forest school teacher at Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School.
Clare has set out with her seven-year-old Welsh Cob, Merry, to ride a route of over 150 miles through the Lake District. The route will take her from the Lyth Valley to Coniston, then over to Ravenglass, through Great Langdale, and on to Ullswater and Haweswater.
Clare will wild camp for the whole route, including staying overnight at farms that are adopting regenerative agricultural practices. Regenerative agriculture produces food whilst simultaneously boosting biodiversity and helping combat climate change.
“I did a similar trek through the Lakes four years ago and on my way around I ended up staying on a few farms and got into some really interesting conversations with farmers about their work and how they feel about wildlife,” said Clare.
“I care passionately about what’s happening in the natural world and realised just how much farmland is a key part of that. There is some fantastic work going on in the Lakes and I want to shine a light on that rather than being negative and pointing out what people are doing wrong. Farmers are having a hard enough time at the moment so we should be encouraging and celebrating what is working.’
Whilst on the journey, which is being supported by clothing manufacturer Fjallraven and the National Trust, Clare will carry out podcast interviews with some of the farmers. The trek will be documented by local filmmakers Dom Bush and Helen Lawrie, from Kendal-based Land & Sky Media with the film being shown at events and festivals once it has been released.
Farms she and Merry will visit on the way will include Nibthwaite Grange Farm, near Ulverston, and Naddle Farm, which is part of the RSPB’s Wild Haweswater project.
“Over 70 per cent of this country is farmland so if more farmers are able to work in an environmentally beneficial way then that’s going to help,” says Clare.
Follow Clare’s progress on her website at www.claredyson.com or on Instagram @the_horseback_adventurer. You can also find The Horseback Adventurer on Facebook.
The team will be launching a crowdfunder in June to raise funds to finish the film.
