Our Yorkshire Farm neighbours dish on what it's like living next to TV family

The neighbours of the stars of hit Channel 5 series Our Yorkshire Farm have given an insight into what life is like living next to one of the most famous farming families in the UK.

Patricia and Ronald Tyler, aged 66 and 74, have lived next to Ravenseat Farm for 20 years in an old farmhouse that they purchased in 1989 ahead of their retirement.

Ravenseat Farm is the 2500 acre home to the Owen family, headed by husband and wife Clive and Amanda and also includes their nine children.

They’re now famous for their time on Our Yorkshire Farm – a documentary that follows their day-to-day lives on the billionaire-owned estate.

The Tylers moved to the remote part of the Yorkshire Dales after retirement to get away from the hustle and bustle of London.

The couple told Yorkshire Live that they have seen a noticeable increase in the number of visitors since the farm next door became famous, with fans of its occupants taking “pilgrimages” to come and see them.

Over the last decade, Amanda has become an immensely popular figure among the farming community and in wider spheres.

Initially best known for her Twitter feed where she posted as The Yorkshire Shepherdess, she has now written four books about her life in the fields as well as gaining huge popularity on the show.

This is all while continuing her regular life as a farmer and a mother, which is how the Tyler family and the rest of the locals know her.

The Tylers live just up from Ravenseat Farm – and Mr Tyler bought the flat after seeing it advertised in the window of an estate agents “completely by chance” while on a business trip to Leeds in the late 1980s.

It was a few years later that Amanda Owen entered the picture, which is when the profile of the area began to become exponentially more well known.

Mrs Tyler said: “They are fantastic neighbours. They are there if we need them not intrusive.

“The gamekeeper lives near as well and they are all very good neighbours – happy and content.”

She added: “There’s a different arrangement to what there is in the suburbs where you live close to each other but you don’t know anyone.

“You can be more lonely in the city than a place that most people think of as isolated.”

She said that the main draw of the area was how peaceful it was but added that “a lot has changed” in the time that the couple moved into the cottage, particularly in terms of the number of people who visit.

Mrs Tyler said: “It all started when Julia Bradbury did one of her programmes down here and Amanda got to know her.

“Now that she’s written her books and done everything people come down a lot now. It’s almost like a pilgrimage.

“She (Amanda) has got a huge fan base. We get people who come down and if she is closed they will travel miles to get home and then come back the next day. I think people just want to see her.”

The Tylers added that when the cameras are off, the Owen family is much like any of the other traditional farming families and focus on their jobs in the fields.

On the dedicated fan base the family have established, Mrs Tyler said she couldn’t quite get her head around the interest that people have in what they do, saying: “That’s one of the sad things. It seems like people like to live their lives vicariously.”

Asked if they were fans of Our Yorkshire Farm, Mrs Tyler said: “We don’t watch it. It’s too real for us. We already know everything that happens!”

Since moving into the neighbourhood the Tylers have had to get used to the utter isolation and living miles from civilisation.

Mrs Tyler explained that when they first moved in a farming neighbour advised them to always keep 12 weeks worth of food in stock, which kept them in good stead when the pandemic hit.

She said: “She was so right. I have always done that ever since.

“It helped us tremendously during lockdown.”

The couple added that a “very good hub” was set up by the locals during the pandemic so that “everything that one needed was provided”.

Mrs Tyler said: “People would ring us up to make sure we are okay. You just got the feeling that everyone was looking after you.

“It was awesome.”

When they first moved in, the isolation meant that the Tylers had virtually no contact with the outside world and it wasn’t until after a few years when a new member of the community moved in that they were able to get an internet connection.

Mrs Tyler said: “We were tremendously fortunate. BT would not put broadband here and it wasn’t until a nice new chap moved into the Dale that we managed to get high speed broadband. It’s certainly helped during lockdown.”

Mr Tyler explained that he has been nurturing a family of blackbirds in the log cabin over the last year, saying: “After biting me a few times she now lets me stroke her.

“On the other hand you have to get ready for the winters, which we have learnt how to do now. One year we had eight feet of snow drifts. But as long as we can keep the power and water going it’s not too difficult.

“You definitely get an awareness of nature out here. You can’t fight it, it’s inevitable.”

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk