My Favourite Place: Eden Valley, Cumbria
I like to ride up onto the fell, Loadpot. You can see Ullswater in one direction and, to the other, there's an amazing view of the Eden Valley where I grew up, framed by the Pennines behind.
As a child I used to shepherd sheep, so I know all the tracks and all the names of the hills – Dufton Pike, Cross Fell, Dunfell – that I'd walk with the farmer. There's a wonderful warmth of familiarity. The seasons change, and the trees and fields change colour, but the hills are always there.
My earliest memories are of the garden. I had a strawberry patch of my own and liked putting the straw underneath the plants' leaves to make sure that the fruit didn’t touch the ground. My mum was a keen gardener, too, and grew lots of flowers and vegetables.
At school we’d all pile into the back of Mrs Tebbutt the teacher’s old Morris Minor 'Woody' and go on nature walks. We’d go to special places. She was inspirational and very into natural history. So was mum, she’d tell us about the birds and trees and the wildflowers; it was good grounding and very handy, on reflection.
I did a human ecology degree and I think that we can all have a place doing something for the environment. We shouldn’t undervalue that; every little step counts and one of the places to take that step is in the garden.
A golden thread has always brought me back to Cumbria and I garden on a bigger scale now. We have reintroduced wildflower meadows and planted an orchard. My father-in-law used to scrump 'Keswick Codlin' apples on what became our farm, so we had to plant one of those!
I got a beehive for Christmas. I've wanted bees all my life! It’s such a huge responsibility and it’s important there’s enough nectar and pollen to cover the season. On a good day they might be able to make it to Dan Pearson’s new rose garden at Lowther Castle, but there’s lots of heather and bramble and gorse in between so they won’t go hungry!
■ www.visitcumbria.com; www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk.