As Spring approaches and the fields fill up with lambs, Richard Darlington talks to Ruth Addicott about his life as a shepherd

At 23, Richard Darlington has not only found his dream job, but one he hopes he’ll still be doing when he’s 90. He’s a shepherd at Hall Hill Farm on the edge of the Pennines in County Durham.

Having grown up on the farm which attracts visitors all year around, Richard grew up surrounded by 1,500 sheep and had delivered a lamb by the time he was six. Over the years, he has been kicked, shoved, head-butted and nearly blinded (by the cows, the sheep are “placid”), but as far as Richard is concerned, it is the best job in the world. To prove it, he is offering one lucky person the chance to experience it for themselves and spend the day with him and his flock. He is looking for someone “not too squeamish” who is used to being hands on and getting a bit mucky. “It’s about the experience,” he says.

Richard studied Agriculture at Newcastle University, before returning to the 720-acre farm where he now looks after 150 sheep. His daily routine involves anything from sheep shearing and trimming their toe nails to feeding, but the best time of the year is lambing. “When they first go out into the field, the lambs are a bit confused, but give it 30 seconds and they go absolutely ballistic. It’s a nice sight,” he says. “I had a lamb jump on the quad bike and sit beside the sheepdog once, but it hopped off before I could take a photo.”

Richard has delivered thousands of lambs in his time, including many live on the Lamb-Cam which allows people to keep up to date with events on the farm. “The lamb is up on its feet within five minutes and the mother is on its feet within about five seconds, it’s very rewarding,” he says.

One of the most memorable moments was in front of a packed crowd one Easter Monday when a scan suggested a sheep was going to give birth to only one lamb, but when Richard went to deliver it, he got more than he bargained for. “Four came out,” he recalls. “I got a round of applause by the end.”

As well as feeding and regular health checks, another of Richard’s tasks is hoof trimming which he says is “a bit like doing your finger nails”, but with a heavy duty scissors. Difficult? “It depends on the size of the sheep,” he says. “Obviously if you’ve got a tall sheep, you have to bend down to do the back feet, but if you’ve got a short sheep, it’s a lot easier. They hate it, but they’d be lame if you didn’t do it.”

Richard’s technique is to talk nicely to them and act normal. “If you’re really shouty and aggressive it’s no good, but if you’re gentle and act normal, they’re fine,” he says. “I end up singing along to Radio One, to be honest, and Fearne Cotton. It calms them down. They kick a bit, but I haven’t been kicked in the nose or anything.”

Another skill he has had to learn is sheep shearing. When he first started, it took him 15 minutes to do a sheep – now he can do it in a minute – and still recalls his first. “It looked like a poodle,” he says. “I had one sheep I’d only half finished and it ran off into the field. I think that was the worst point. You’ve got to go very slow and steady. I’ve been head-butted in the knees a few times, but they’re quite placid.”

Hall Hill Farm has Mule ewes which Richard says are extremely nice natured and very good mothers. “It’s the cows that can do the real damage,” he says. “I got blinded in the eye after a Highland cow caught me with its horn once. I lost my sight for a couple of months, but it’s fully back now. I’ve had a broken leg and stuff, but the sheep are very pleasant.”

Another of his responsibilities is making sure the sheep don’t wander off. He spent a day trying to find them in a large wood once. “It was like a comedy show, I ran one way around the tree and the sheep ran around the other,” he says. “The furthest they’ve gone is four or five miles, but we always find them.”

The worst thing is heavy snow. Two years ago they had about 200 lambs outside and worked through the night and following day digging them out trying to bring them all in.

So what is his top tip for a wannabe shepherd?

“Sometimes a ewe will think, what’s this I’ve given birth to? and try and run away, but if you put them in the pen and tie the sheepdog up outside, the ewe will stamp her feet and sort of say ‘leave this little lamb alone’ and after about an hour, the ewe will take to it. My grandfather Jack Gibson taught me that and it works every time.”

The job also requires a lot of commitment - at lambing time farmers can often do 20 hour days for three weeks; a normal day is 8am to 9pm. “It’s hard work, but on a sunny day, I can’t think of a better job,” says Richard. "That’s why you see these shepherds still going at 90 or 100.”

Can he see himself doing it when he’s 90?

“Oh, definitely,” he says. “My granddad still does it and he’s 83, so I don’t see why I can’t.”

Want to be a shepherd for the day?

Hall Hill Farm is offering readers the chance to be a shepherd for a day. To enter visit the Hall Hill Farm Facebook page or simply write to Richard at Hall Hill Farm, Lanchester, Durham, DH7 OTA and tell him why you’d like to be a shepherd. Entrants must be at least 16 years old. The closing date is March 14.