Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker, an eight-part television series for primetime Channel 4, is back! The second series will be filmed for four weeks in Eryri (Snowdonia) by Big Circus Media and will see seven applicants (individuals or couples / partnerships) brought together for the final stage of selecting a new tenant for the vacant Llyndy Isaf Farm, a National Trust farm in Eryri (Snowdonia).
The applicants will be assessed on their business plans and their abilities and approaches to agricultural, environmental farming and renovation by completing a series of real-world tasks/experiences, with the successful applicant invited to take on a 15-year tenancy of the farm.
In each episode the potential tenants will take on one or more tasks/experiences before the assessors decide who will progress to the next stage. Many of the real-world farm tasks/experiences involve processes that help to improve the land or buildings on the available farm. Some will take place on other farms which may be in the local area.
The television series is presented by Matt Baker and the assessors will be representatives of the National Trust.
The chosen applicant will be expected to enter into a 15 year standard tenancy agreement directly with the National Trust. This commercial relationship, between the chosen applicant and the National Trust, will be exclusively between the two parties and not involve Big Circus or any of its partners or affiliates. The lease and all rent payments form no part of the television series and will be the sole responsibility of the tenant.
Applicants can apply either as an individual or as a couple / partnership.
Applications will be treated as confidential but successful applications that meet the eligibility criteria will, where necessary, be shared with The National Trust and Channel 4.
Successful applicants will be invited to view the farm in May 2024. Due to the volume of expected enquiries, Big Circus Media and the National Trust will not be able to answer any questions prior to the viewing day.
Applications close at midnight on Sunday 21st April 2024. If you have not heard from a member of the Big Circus Media team by phone or email by midnight on Friday 3rd May 2024, then unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.
If you cannot apply online and would like an application form posted to you or require assistance, please email farmapplication@bigcircus.co.uk stating your full name, full address (including postcode) and telephone number. Please also make sure you read Big Circus Media’s Privacy Policy >
ABOUT LLYNDY ISAF FARM
Llyndy Isaf is a 248.40 hectare (613.80 acre) farm extending from Llyn Dinas to the summit of Moel Dyniewyd. It includes a four bedroom farmhouse (currently being refurbished), two bedroom annex with potential for holiday letting, two bothies with potential for holiday lets, together with a range of traditional and modern farm buildings. Llyndy Isaf was purchased by the National Trust in 2012 following a successful public appeal, and in partnership with the Wales Young Farmers Federation recruited Scholarships until 2020. The Trust is now ready to let the farm for a new tenant to deliver farming, nature, and access to the countryside at the heart of their business plan.
If you are successful in your application and you make it to the end of the selection process and take on the tenancy, you will be expected to enter into a 15 year-tenancy agreement directly with the National Trust which will include paying rent and complying with the terms of the tenancy commencing on or around 31st October 2024. The relationship between the National Trust and the tenant will be the usual landlord/tenant relationship including all relevant obligations and liabilities, and neither Big Circus Media nor Channel 4 shall have any liability whatsoever in respect of the tenancy.
If you are interested in applying, please ensure you have read the “Farm Particulars” available here >
KEY DATES & THE APPLICATION PROCESS
In order to apply you must be happy to appear in a television series that will be broadcast on Channel 4. All applicants must complete the Application Form (link above). If you are successful and proceed through the first stage of the application process, you will be invited to attend a site visit of Llyndy Isaf Farm, a National Trust farm in Eryri (Snowdonia) on either Tuesday 7th or Wednesday 8th May 2024 (we will notify you of the exact date if you are selected), to learn more about the farm, the tenancy and the television series. You must be able to commit to both these dates and you will be responsible for arranging and paying for your own travel to Snowdonia for this visit. If you have made it through the first stage of the application process you will hear from us by Friday 3rd May 2024.
Selected applicants who attended the site visit will be invited to take part in the next stage of the application process which will include completing a second application form with further details about your background, undergoing financial checks and providing a business plan, including tendering rent, for Llyndy Isaf Farm. Applicants will be required to submit to Big Circus a short video about themselves and may be required to take part in a recorded video call with Big Circus Media.
If, after the second stage of the application process you are chosen to participate in the Programme, you will be invited to take part in a three-week residential selection process, which will be filmed on-site at Llyndy Isaf Farm, a National Trust farm in Eryri (Snowdonia) (and other locations notified to you). During this process applicants will be required to take part in a series of real-life farm related tasks and based on the outcome of these tasks and the applicants’ business plans, some applicants will be eliminated. One successful applicant will be invited by the assessors to sign the tenancy agreement for Llyndy Isaf Farm.
Filming is planned to take place in September and October 2024. If selected, during this time you will be living away from home in Snowdonia in accommodation arranged and paid for by the television production company and to take part in farming-based challenges.
Applications close at midnight on Sunday 21st April 2024.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
An individual or couple / partnership who:
- Can run a successful, viable and profitable business at Llyndy Isaf Farm.
- Has experience and/or qualifications when it comes to working with livestock.
- Has a passion for farming in a regenerative sustainable way.
- Is willing to become a tenant who works in a true partnership with the National Trust and has a positive approach to engagement with the other farmers and businesses.
- Can be a successful communicator with the local community and the public.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Please read and make sure you understand the following important documents which govern your application: