 At the age of 18, she moved to Devon to study English literature at Exeter University, and was based in Devon until 2011, when she moved to Oxford.She was a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset between 2003 and 2007.She was a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk award in 2003, and was one of the nominees for the Horizon Award in 2008, going on to win that award in 2009, as well as the award for best traditional track for her recording of "The Lark in the Morning".