Helen Skelton reveals the big impact her surprising childhood home had on her

The Countryfile presenter grew up on a farm


helen skelton cheltenham
On 31 March 2022

Helen Skelton may now be happily settled in Yorkshire after several years living in France, but she spent her childhood growing up on a dairy farm in the village of Kirkby Thore, near Penrith.

RELATED: Helen Skelton gives HELLO! an exclusive tour of her new family home

The mum-of-three has revealed how she believes the experience has shaped her love of the great outdoors, and also came in handy when she hosted Channel 5's This Week on the Farm.

WATCH: At home with Helen Skelton

Speaking to Blacks, as part of her new campaign with North Ridge to encourage everyone to get outside, Helen said: "I was brought up on a farm on the edge of the Lake District so life was always outdoors."

Helen now prioritises spending time outdoors wherever possible, even if it as simple as taking her dog for a walk. "My dog needs walking every day. I am not as close to the mountains as I would like to be but when I get home I like to be up a fell," the 38-year-old said. "One of my best friends has just started doing fell yoga which I can’t wait to try sometime soon."

© Photo: Instagram

Helen Skelton grew up on a farm

The Countryfile presenter's love of being outside is evident in her social media posts, in which she has recently showcased how much she enjoys playing in the garden with her two sons, Louis and Ernie, while her baby daughter Elsie sleeps.

MORE: Helen Skelton looks ahead to 'next pregnancy' in social media post

"Garden days are good days. Grateful for patio chalks – the only thing the boys will spend more than five mins doing," Helen captioned a recent photo, which showed her standing in her garden holding her baby girl who was wrapped up in a fluffy pram suit.

© Photo: Instagram

The mum-of-three has a love of the outdoors

The TV star previously told HELLO! that the garden was the biggest attraction of her family home, which they moved to in February 2020.

MORE: Helen Skelton shares incredibly relatable parenting moment

"I kept sneaking back to see it," said Helen. "I knew there was no one living there. We looked at other houses, but they didn’t have that special something. This one did."

Like this story? Sign up to our HELLO! Mail newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

More Homes

See more