Three city families esca and discover the reality
Three townie families were shocked to discover the grinding reality of hill farming in Snowdonia when they appeared on a new a fly-on-the-wall TV series.
After swapping their humdrum nine-to-five lives for the apparent idyll of rural north Wales, they quickly learned that producing food on inhospitable mountainsides was harder than they imagined.
But their experiences, captured in the BBC Wales series The Family Farm, also taught them to appreciate the smaller things in life and how to reconnect with each other.
The three families, from across the UK, were hosted by Gareth Wyn Jones at his Llanfairfechan hill farm, Conwy. In his first network role, Gareth co-presented the series with wildlife presenter Kate Humble.
Gareth said: “It was difficult for them. Coming from the city, it was a real challenge and there were lots of ups and downs – the time they spent with us was an emotional rollercoaster.
“I didn’t want it to be this perfect, pretty rural idyll. I wanted it to be warts and all – and to give them a real sense of what it takes to be a farmer.
“There is a cost to food production – not just financially, but emotionally, physically and mentally. Hardest of all for the families was the responsibility, especially for the livestock – making sure they were fed and watered and in good health.”
For the four-part series, the Morgans from Tenby, the Burtons from Manchester and the McNulty family from Glasgow were pushed to their limits, with early starts, late finishes and “dirty jobs” in all weather conditions.
Living on site in a special tented village, the families were given daily farm chores, plus a set of challenges designed to show how food is produced.
Each week their efforts were assessed and one individual was presented with a shepherd’s crook for their good work.
Inevitably there were pratfalls, tantrums and laughter, but Gareth said the programme carried a serious underlying message.
“I want to educate the next generation about food production, seasonality and locality, and how they can eat both heathily and affordably,” he said.
“It we can get this message across, we will be investing in the future and saving the NHS millions by reducing obesity and other health issues.
“I hope the families went home having had life-changing experiences.”
During filming, the participants visited farms across north Wales, including milk and veg holdings on Anglesey and a chicken unit near Denbigh. They also got to meet Coleg Glynllifon’s pigs near Caernarfon and took on a challenge at Egwlysbach Show.
THE BURTONS
Sarah and Mark Burton, from Stalybridge, Manchester, applied for the programme after having a “you youngsters don’t know what work is” conversation with son Xavia, who had refused to vacuum a room because he was tired.
“I was halfway through my rant when a text arrived from my sister telling me about the show,” said Sarah.
“I thought it was divine intervention. I knew that if we got through, the whole family would find out what hard work is!”
The biggest challenge for the Burton family was accommodating their diverse range of diets. Sarah’s daughter Amber is vegan, Sarah herself is “mostly vegan”, while husband Mark and sons Xavia and Roman are meat-eaters
THE MORGANS
Simon and Sam Morgan, and children Rhys, Gracie and Brody were