Clive Owen has shared his thoughts on the future of Ravenseat Farm during the latest episode of the Channel 4 series Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, which aired on Monday (October 26).
Clive lives and works on Ravenseat Farm with his ex-wife, Amanda Owen, and their nine children. The documentary series follows the family as they renovate a 200-year-old farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales. In the latest episode, the younger Owen children set off on an Easter egg hunt, Edith and Raven put the finishing touches to the family cream tea van, and Clive and Miles sorted out a waterlogged field.
Reflecting on the Farm's Future
While working on the field, Clive reflected on the future of the farm, saying: "It's going to be a little bit wetter now than it was before because of our drain, and I think that'll be good." He added: "It'll mean something else can flourish. And we've planted lots and lots of trees over the years to encourage wildlife. And it takes a long time for them to get established, but finally, they're getting there. So, yeah, I think it's nice to plant something. And then maybe, when you've gone, it's left behind, isn't it?"
However, Clive made clear he is not planning to leave the farm anytime soon, laughing: "Not that I'm planning to go anywhere! It's nice now at last to see them up and growing. Good."
Draining the Waterlogged Field
Explaining the process of draining the field, Clive said: "This field behind us, we call it the Big Breeze. It's a meadow, but we use it, of course, through spring." He added: "A lot of sheep have lambed in it. It's got to the time of year when we take the sheep out of the meadows, so they can grow a crop of hay. There's a lot of old ancient stone drains in all these old meadows, and over time, they break and they block, and so the water comes out onto the top and makes for very wet, boggy land."
Clive noted they needed to cut dry grass to make way for the hay, so "a flooded field is the last thing you want". Miles then began digging a drain up the field to dry it out. Clive explained they had found an ancient drain after digging near the top of the field.
Repairing the Ancient Drains
"God knows who dug it in hundreds of years ago. Somebody, bless them. We tapped into it, so now we're bringing all that water. It's coming right down to the river. And on its way, we've joined other drains," Clive said. He added: "And so, hopefully, it'll stay underground and go on its merry way, and the field will be drier for it and better for that. So, no, we've done a lot of good... We'll just have to watch and see."
The family are constantly repairing lengths of drain, but this was the first time they had gone downfield with one. "I think we'll have done a good job," Clive shared. "I don't think we've done too much damage. It'll soon recover. Land does recover. You know, nature's a wonderful thing. I think, in a fortnights time, you'll hardly know that we've been here."
Clive was later pleased to see how much water had been sent down the field through the drain, noting it would make a big difference to the bog that used to be up there. He also mentioned a little sheep with two lambs that had been poorly, saying: "They were poorly, and we've been giving them medicine, but they're away, they're fine again. A couple of days ago, they could hardly stand."
Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids airs Monday nights at 9pm on More4.
