A great-grandmother has described running her family’s farm for nearly 70 years as a “brilliant” life.
Margaret Lees, 89, took over Park Farm near Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester in 1957 with her late husband John.
“We got married, jumped in the Land Rover and drove over here,” she explained. “The next day I was milking the cows and starting the milk rounds.”
The thriving farm business is still family-run nearly seven decades later.
Margaret Lees, 89, is still involved in running the family farm [BBC]
Margaret said their farmhouse was “unbelievably basic” when she and her groom first arrived following their wedding.
“We had a chair, a table and a bed,” she remembered. “Two knives and two forks and one teaspoon.
“We were quite poor for a while as we saved our money for the outside, for the cows.”
Over the following years, Margaret and John slowly built up the business, buying and selling pigs, increasing milk rounds and setting up a small roadside shop.
Park Farm now has a tearoom, a farm shop and a garden centre.
“We’ve worked hard, been lucky in many respects but on the whole it’s been brilliant,” reflected Margaret.
She said she was proud that so many of her family were still involved in running the farm.
“There’s a lot of us – I have six children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, so it’s quite a few. There’s always a pram around!”
Park Farm has a farm shop, tearoom and garden centre [BBC]
The farm currently has about 80 cows and sheep.
Its own produce is used in the tearoom and shop.
“Our food miles are really low”, said Margaret’s daughter-in-law, Margaret Lees Jr.
“We make things in the tearoom from scratch. We use our own milk and cream and we source eggs locally.
“Our customers love the fact that they know where the food is coming from.”
Margaret Lees Jr says increased paperwork is a challenge for farmers [BBC]
The younger Margaret said farmers were facing many challenges, particularly related to new legislation and paperwork.
She said England produced “some of the best beef, lamb and milk in the world” and farming could help provide the country with more food security.
“I think there is a future for the industry but the powers-that-be have to listen to farmers,” she said.
