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Cheese-making on Mull

Nancy Nicolson is on the Isle of Mull in the Hebrides, where she meets the Reade family. Forty years ago they upped sticks from Somerset to move to a derelict farm on the island.

It's forty years since the Reades, a first generation farming couple from Somerset, uprooted their four teenage sons and a few dairy cows and headed for life on a derelict farm in the far north of Mull in the Hebrides. Hard graft and imagination has turned those ruins into a thriving multifaceted business which, among other things, exports Isle of Mull farmhouse cheese around the world and is now on the brink of distilling spirit from whey.

Chris Reade may be in her eighties now, but she is still a driving force on Sgriob-Ruadh, the farm on the outskirts of Tobermory which is now run by her sons Garth and Brendan along with other members of the extended family. She gives Nancy Nicolson a tour of the farm, including the swimming pool which has a dual purpose, and the recycled glass hall which houses the farm's cafe and shop. Yet despite all the success, Chris isn't sitting back and resting on her laurels. As she makes a start on her latest project, she tells Nancy her job isn't finished yet.

Produced and presented by Nancy Nicolson

Available now

22 minutes

Last on

Sun 28 Nov 2021 06:35

Broadcast

  • Sun 28 Nov 2021 06:35