Tumbledown Farm .9 Acres (give or take an acre or two)

Tales from the Green Valley, Tales from the Victorian Farm

(Image source, http://www.petersommer.com/images/uploads/oxen_ploughing.jpg; Watch a Video Clip from Tales From The Green Valley BBC2, 2005 [9 mins 19MB] Clips require Quicktime & fast connection)

Wow! Occasionally our internet-connected world provides a wonderful human connection and a new point of entry into the world of traditional farming. Yesterday I received an e-mail note from Peter Sommer suggesting, based on my reference to one of his photos on the Bible Pasture blog (sowing), that I take a look at these two TV series. I had no idea these two productions existed, so imagine my delight at learning that I can now purchase some 9 hours of TV programming created to bring traditional English farming to life based on the best available archaeological data. Both series use only the materials and resources that were available in their respective eras, tending to livestock, repairing buildings, growing and preparing food, and crafting furniture and tools. This is almost as good as visiting a "living history farm" like the Acton Scott Historic Working Farm featured on the second of the TV series. So I've ordered the two series, the first set on a 1620s Welsh borderland farm, the second a late 19th Century farm. As soon as I've received them I'll post reviews on the Tumbledown Farmer's Blog.

Life hardly gets any better than this for the Tumbledown Farmer!

P.S.--if you want to discover more and maybe even order the DVD for yourself, check out Peter Sommer's websites for Tales from the Green Valley (2005) and Tales from the Victorian Farm (2008). (NOTE: the DVDs are PAL European format, not NTSC U.S. and Canada format. Check your player before ordering!)
Can't play the PAL format? Then check out the book and watch for my review later this year.

You can also visit the pages of the historical consultants for the series directly:
Ruth Goodman, Historian
Alex Langlands, Archaeologist