Amanda Owen: how a teenage Goth became the Yorkshire Shepherdess and TV star
Amanda Owen aka The Yorkshire Shepherdess with her flock
Our Yorkshire Farm's Amanda Owen: From teenage Goth to Yorkshire Shepherdess, by MAXINE GORDON
AMANDA OWEN is a household name, a TV favourite thanks to Our Yorkshire Farm and its popular spin-offs.
But the Yorkshire Shepherdess's life could have turned out very differently.
She grew up in suburban Huddersfield, was a teenage Goth and enjoyed her share of clubbing, drinking, partying and shopping.
But the lure of the Yorkshire countryside proved stronger.
Her rise to fame began when she shared stories of rural life as a mother of nine on Twitter using the handle 'The Yorkshire Shepherdess'.
Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen with one of her children strapped to her back
Book deals followed (she has five to her name) and TV series came in their wake, starting with Channel 5's Our Yorkshire Farm in 2018, which followed her unconventional family life at remote Ravenseat in Swaledale.
She is back on our screens this month and fans have been enjoying Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, following Amanda, her ex-husband Clive, and their children renovating a derelict farmhouse.
Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids is back for a new series on Channel 4
Yet her love affair with the Yorkshire countryside began long before Ravenseat – and can be traced back to those teenage Goth years in Huddersfield.
"From my house I could walk 20 minutes into town or 20 minutes into the Moors.
"For some reason, I'd gravitate to going out to the Moors. I loved the freedom of it. It really struck a chord with me," says Amanda, who grew up loving James Herriot's books.
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Then came a chance visit to the library and a photographic coffee-table book about a hill shepherd.
The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen - one of her many books
Her fate was sealed.
"A picture does say one thousand words. That book altered my outlook. These were the places I had read about in my Herriot books."
That teenage love of the Yorkshire countryside has stood her in good stead.
She said: "One thing being out in the Yorkshire countryside is good for is giving you headspace. When I am out there, that is when I do my thinking."
The new season of Our Farm Next Door began on October 5 on Channel 4