Kate MiddletonandPrince Williamare back in the country!

The royal couple headed to see a farm in northeast England early Tuesday, where they took a lamb for a walk and both tried their hand at driving a huge tractor.

It was the first time the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had been on a royal outing away from London since theirtrain tour of the U.K.to thank key workers and carers for the unceasing work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kate Middleton on the farm.PA Images

Royal visit to Durham

Prince William and Kate Middleton.PA Images

Royal visit to Durham

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With COVID-19 restrictions in the U.K. lifting gradually, Kate, 39, and William, 38, took the opportunity to make the trip to the countryside. At Manor Farm, near Darlington in County Durham, which was the first of two stops on Tuesday, they met owners Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman. Touring the the cattle, calving and lambing sheds, William and Kate were told how Clare and Stewart care for the health and welfare of their livestock.

Royal visit to Durham

Kate Middleton.PA Images

Royal visit to Durham

They were also shown some of the tools used at the farm including grass monitoring, land rotation and feed sampling to improve productivity and ensure that they are able to give back to the environment and increase their sustainability.

William and Kate then sat on some straw bales to join a discussion with local farmers about their experiences of the last year, including the mental health impact of COVID-19 for farmers and the challenges of balancing home-schooling with farm work.

“That is one of the ongoing things, being at home all day, it starts to wear on people and the pandemic has take away those coping mechanisms,” William said, according to theNorthern Echo.

Prince William and Kate Middleton at the farm on Tuesday.PA Images

Royal visit to Durham

With the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year, the group also spoke about the work that is being carried out across the industry to improve environmental impact and help deliver the U.K.’s commitment to “net zero” carbon emissions.

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Kate Middleton.PA

Royal visit to Durham

Royal visit to Durham

Poignantly, with two days until their 10th wedding anniversary, their second visit of the day was to a local youth project which benefitted from donations from the couple’s Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund in 2011.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Cheesy Waffles Project, which supports children, young people and adults with additional needs aged 7 to 35 from across County Durham, to see for themselves some of the inspiring work helping to enable young people to achieve their full potential.

That meant the sporty royals pitching in with some games, including trying their hand at teeing off at golf and taking part in an art project.

The couple have much to smile about this week. Apart from their anniversary, they have just marked littlePrince Louis’sthird birthday(andstarting preschool!) and are looking towards the 6th birthday ofPrincess Charlotteon May 2.

The couple stepped out last Wednesday in their first appearance since the funeral of William’s grandfatherPrince Philip. Their visit had a special link to Philip as they met the 282 (East Ham) Squadron, Air Training Corps in East London to hear more about how the Air Cadets support young people to develop vital life skills.Prince Philipserved as Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps for 63 years until 2015, when he passed the military patronage on to Kate, who became Honorary Air Commandant.

source: people.com