Double-deck vehicle off-loads Cheviots The way of sheep is written into Lake District landscape. In-bye pastures where lambs are nurtured close to the farm, out-gangs- lanes bordered by drystone walls that lead maturing lambs to independence, outlying barns, sheep-folds, then out onto common grazing and the open fell. The thrill of watching a gathering when they're brought home again! The character of hill farming is written by the way of sheep, a heritage landscape.
Today, we are in for a surprise.
Today, we are in for a surprise.
As we walk down Nanny Lane, to Troutbeck Village, a farm gate closes- barring the way through the farm yard. It's a busy day at this working Troutbeck Farm. A double-deck sheep transporter is about to unload. Two black and white sheepdogs are on duty as the first Cheviots come clattering down the metal ramp. Cheviots- a breed from Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The farmer is up on the floor of the double-decker, keeping a close eye on the flock. The Cheviots have travelled on two decks partitioned within, so there are four distinct down-loads- if I saw it aright as I tried for stills and a video. I wonder where they have come from?
I once met a double-deck sheep transporter off-loading at a junction of two narrow country lanes. Delighted to see it, and to find a working farm in Troutbeck Village. All along the village street there are stone-built barns and farm houses but how many of them are working farms these days? A sequence of stone wells beside the road, an abundant water supply for the village. All the changes of use these old buildings have seen as farming changes, as the tourist industry makes its mark. And the drove roads, the way of sheep with shepherds and their dogs walking the sheep long distances across country to market. Wool is my bread, Pannus Mihi Panis, is the motto of Kendal. Well, no Lake District hill farmer could have lived off sales of wool in recent years.
I once met a double-deck sheep transporter off-loading at a junction of two narrow country lanes. Delighted to see it, and to find a working farm in Troutbeck Village. All along the village street there are stone-built barns and farm houses but how many of them are working farms these days? A sequence of stone wells beside the road, an abundant water supply for the village. All the changes of use these old buildings have seen as farming changes, as the tourist industry makes its mark. And the drove roads, the way of sheep with shepherds and their dogs walking the sheep long distances across country to market. Wool is my bread, Pannus Mihi Panis, is the motto of Kendal. Well, no Lake District hill farmer could have lived off sales of wool in recent years.
The day is overcast, there is a hint of ice where water runs off the fellside. This encounter with a flock of Cheviots arriving at a Troutbeck Farm was a highlight of our day. The novelty of a double-deck as a way of transporting sheep, new to most of us anyway. Troutbeck Village is heritage landscape, road and farmyard are not designed for this large modern vehicle. As we walked along Robin Lane and by Skelghyll Wood John and I talked hill farming and whether a farmer could make a living from sheep. The importance of sheep and conservation grazing by hardy breeds of cattle, numbers carefully managed to the needs of the environment.
Over Christmas, there was a screening of Far From The Madding Crowd with Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene. Hardy's novel was published in 1874. The idea of a woman owning and running a farm! Far From The Madding Crowd: Hardy's farmers are not troubled by walkers wanting to walk through the farmyard when a flock is arriving. The fictitious Bathsheba Everdene cannot compare with the achievement of Beatrix Potter with her network of farms. She began breeding Herdwicks at Hill Top in 1906. An outstanding achievement, then there's her contribution to mycology, her study of fungi and her beautiful illustrations and the little matter of her best-selling books.
I hope the Cheviots at Troutbeck will settle in well. How might they be hefted to the fell, I wonder? That secret knowledge that a flock of sheep passes on through the generations, their intimate knowledge of their habitat that enables them to thrive in a challenging landscape.
Over Christmas, there was a screening of Far From The Madding Crowd with Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene. Hardy's novel was published in 1874. The idea of a woman owning and running a farm! Far From The Madding Crowd: Hardy's farmers are not troubled by walkers wanting to walk through the farmyard when a flock is arriving. The fictitious Bathsheba Everdene cannot compare with the achievement of Beatrix Potter with her network of farms. She began breeding Herdwicks at Hill Top in 1906. An outstanding achievement, then there's her contribution to mycology, her study of fungi and her beautiful illustrations and the little matter of her best-selling books.
I hope the Cheviots at Troutbeck will settle in well. How might they be hefted to the fell, I wonder? That secret knowledge that a flock of sheep passes on through the generations, their intimate knowledge of their habitat that enables them to thrive in a challenging landscape.
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