Living Gently

In the last few years, my son Anthony has been coming to North Yorkshire to give me a break from caring for my husband who has severe COPD and dementia. We go for five days.

North Yorkshire was the home and practice of James Herriott, the initial reason for going there was to see his original veterinary practice and home, now a museum.

We found the area absolutely breath-taking and the people very friendly. Many of the farmers have had to diversify to keep going and operate shops or cafes. Seeing these farms it is possible to understand how they are being farmed sustainably.

Since the last outbreak of foot and mouth disease which saw a lot of animals destroyed, many farmers were in the position of having to start again from scratch when the ground was considered safe to do so. Some changed direction and alpaca farming became popular. In addition, some people owning a field and wanting to keep animals to keep the grass down often use alpacas. They make money by charging people to take alpacas for a walk. Being gentle creatures, it seemed appropriate to use pictures of alpacas on a book about, 'Living Gently'.