The Great Staycation: Dot’s Farm is an up-lifting, half-hour documentary on BBC One North West and on BBC One HD on Monday 11 November at 7.30pm which follows the heart-warming adventures of farmer Dot McCarthy as she opens up her beloved Lancashire hill farm to guests looking for a slice of the good life.
Since taking over the sheep and goat farm from her mum, Joy, two years ago, this 30-year-old country entrepreneur has hand-built a range of accommodation from scratch – with no prior experience. Filmed over the summer in Rossendale, this observational film races after Dot as she tries to balance a burgeoning holiday destination with the demands of a busy every-day farm.
With more guests than ever booked in – including a wedding on the farm at the end of the summer – Dot, a newcomer to hospitality, has got her work cut out. Then there is the small matter of her latest scheme – goat yoga. It’s a sell-out online. But with no prior experience, and a herd of goats waiting to meet the yoga guests, will she be able to pull it off?
Meanwhile, she has decided to upgrade her accommodation – and this film follows her race against the clock to install a hot tub with just days to go until the biggest event of the year. Will she finish it in time for the bride-to-be and her guests to enjoy the luxury soak they have booked?
A human dynamo, who leaps from one scheme to another – and built most of the accommodation on the farm herself – Dot is an amazing character who will engage with viewers through her sheer pluck and determination. But there is a serious side to Dot’s adventures too, as this film finds out more about the effects of climate change on the farm. And how Dot is saving all the money she makes to buy a wind turbine and try and help secure the farm’s future.
Voiced by the actress Sally Lindsay, the documentary captures a slice of summer in the beautiful Lancashire countryside. With a farmer whose adventures will have viewers laughing and wiping away the occasional tear.
