Up with the Lark: My Life on the Land

by Joan Bomford

'An evocative portrait of a forgotten period of Britain's farming history... is an ode both to the soil, and those who have worked it alongside her' Daily TelegraphJoan Bomford wanted to be a farmer so much she always wore a tie like her dad. She ran away from school whenever she could to help him. As an 8 year-old she was the first person in the family to drive a tractor. No job was ever too tough for her. Now aged 83, she's still as active, still driving tractors, still feeding the farm's beef cattle and horses, and still giving riding lessons.This is her account of a lifelong love-affair with the land and the people who work on it. With the warmth and wit of a born story teller, she tells us what it's been like to live through an era of enormous change, her love of animals kindled by her father's shire horses who did all the heavy work until machinery took over. Up With The Lark is not only the portrait of a forgotten era, but also the story of one woman's overwhelming desire to do the thing she cared about more than anything else - being Farmer Joan.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Bomford, who won the Country File Farming Hero award in 2015, recounts her life story from a young girl born on a working farm through to life on her own farm and successful riding school. She doesn't sugar coat her story, she tells it like it is, good times and bad. Still going strong when this was published.

[Katy Chessum-Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good farming memoir, plenty of stories of animals and events that shaped Joan's life in the countryside. Joan has had lots of ups and downs but seems to have come at everything with a sense of humour, grit and determination. Not something I would usually have read, it was an easy read and a good way to find out more about Worcestershire farming since the 1940s.

[Joanne Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of farming life, made me laugh and cry.
Loved reading all the horses names too!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining and touching.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating farming autobiography by a remarkable lady. Joan Bomford seems to have known she wanted to be a farmer as soon as she could walk! Certainly, by the time she was finishing primary school, she was playing an active role on her father's farm, and later she tells of her marriage to Tony and how they built up their own farm and riding school together. I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in farming, but I think even people who know nothing about farming will be inspired by the account of this hardworking and courageous lady's life.

[Deebro Skellystrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had interesting parts but wasn't quite what I was expecting. For me it lacked the detail of exactly how she lived and quickly jumped through time when I would have liked her to elaborate more.

[Sophie Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely one of the best books I have ever read, I couldn’t put it down. Joan is so inspiring and her life has been full of ups and downs which were portrayed perfectly in this book. You have to read it!

[Ruth Parkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Sam Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book to read.

[Judith Falkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a national treasure this lady is! She relates a fascinating recent farming history along with a life well lived.

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gently interesting autobiography but dnf

[Pam Strachan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring, delightful book. Winner of the countryfile farming hero award 2015. Set in the vale of Evesham

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this for what it was, a simple, honest account of a farmer's life. The author doesn't seem to shy away from unpleasant recollections, particularly regarding her eventual mother-in-law, but the whole narrative is couched in such simplistic language it creates a distance between the reader and the author. None of her family or friends really become 'real' to you, instead they are presented as sequences of anecdotes, and never become 'people' to the reader. This makes any real emotional connection difficult, and though I still enjoyed it, it hardly had any emotional impact on me at all. I'm finding it difficult to convey what I mean; the best analogy I can find is if an older person you encountered in the dentist's waiting room started telling you about their life and misfortunes. You say 'oh how interesting/sad/awful' but really you're just listening to be polite and waiting to move on. In comparison, I read The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks earlier this year and it was excellent. He really drew you into his life, and his passion for farming leapt off the page. To summarise, this a lovely little book with no real faults as such and is worth picking up from the library if you fancy a light, pleasant read, but if you only read one farming autobiography this year make it Rebanks.

[Lizzie Huxley-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up With the Lark by Joan Bomford is an absolutely charming book from the Countryfile Farming Hero Award winner, detailing her life as a farmer in her own right.

Up With the Lark is as much Joan and her family's story as a tale of farming in Britain over the last hundred years. Joan is tenacious, determined to prove all the men wrong who doubt her, and show that she has the talent and drive to be a farmer herself, not just the farmer's wife.

This is a really beautiful, charming story, tonally quite similar to Our Zoo by June Motteshead, and certainly a winner for fans of The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks.

Thank you kindly to Hodder for sharing this copy with me.

[Martina Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing lady who just got on with life in spite of her horrible mother in law.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating look at this amazing lady's life as a farmer. I particularly enjoyed her determination at all times, in the face of all obstacles.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a fabulous book, she works so hard but enjoys life and all that it offers. What an inspiring woman.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

an enjoyable account of life on a nearby farm, told with a refreshing honesty.