(Image: CHANNEL 4)
Amanda Owen says her nine children’s diverging ambitions are making it harder to plan the family’s future at Ravenseat and Anty John’s.
The Yorkshire Shepherdess and her former husband, Clive, watched their children grow up in front of millions on Our Yorkshire Farm.
But the children who once helped with sheep, tractors and animals at their remote Swaledale home are now taking different paths.
Some want to go to university, others are building businesses and some hope to keep farming.
Amanda admits those ambitions mean the family still does not know who will live in the farmhouse they have spent three years restoring.
Amanda, Clive and Kids altogether outside Anty John’s (Image: CHANNEL 4)
Amanda Owen’s children are choosing different paths
Speaking at the Our Farm Next Door: A Behind-the-Scenes Celebration at Everyman Northallerton on September 30, Amanda discussed how quickly her nine children’s lives were changing.
She said: "With some kids wanting to go to university, some starting their lives elsewhere and others wanting to farm, we're unsure of people's futures."
The uncertainty has grown as the family continues transforming Anty John’s, the centuries-old farmhouse near Ravenseat.
Although Anty John’s has been described as the family’s new home, Amanda revealed that its eventual occupants have not been decided.
She said: "It's not been decided yet about who will live at Anty John's.
"We've taken up loads in the Land Rover and moved some stuff in, but we still don't fully know who is going to live there."
The renovation has moved faster than the family’s plans for who will live there.
Reuben and Edith build businesses of their own
Reuben and Edith are two of the clearest examples of the children’s growing independence.
Reuben's enthusiasm for machinery was familiar to viewers of Our Yorkshire Farm, and he has since developed his interest into a heavy plant and machinery business.
His working life has also become the subject of his own television programmes, including Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales.
Edith, meanwhile, has taken charge of the family's revived cream tea operation at Ravenseat.
Amanda once served cream teas to walkers passing Ravenseat on the Coast to Coast route.
After the cream teas stopped, Edith helped revive the tradition.
Amanda told the Northallerton audience: "We gave Edith the little pop-up serving hatch, and she's made a business out of it."
She compared Edith’s opportunity with Reuben’s early interest in machinery.
"We gave Reuben an old digger, he's made a business out of it and now works with some of his brothers."
Amanda added: "It's exciting to see the children getting opportunities."
Who will live at Anty John’s?
The younger children are taking on more responsibility, too.
Sid is preparing for his tractor test so he can do more work at Ravenseat, while Nancy is preparing for a ballet exam.
The family's fourth series of Our Farm Next Door continues to document the restoration of Anty John's alongside everyday work on the farm.
But the family still does not know who will live there.
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Amanda said the children had even discussed keeping a horse and other animals at Anty John’s, although nobody has firm plans to move in.
With nine children at different stages of life, the Owen family’s future homes are about more than finishing the building work.
It is also about where each child wants to live and work.
Amanda’s comments make clear that those decisions have yet to be made.