Herdwick sheep are a beautiful breed that is native to the Lake District and Cumbria, they are the most hardy of all Britain’s breeds of hill sheep and are prized for their robust health.
The lambs are born mostly black, they turn to a dark brown within one year and then they gradually lighten to a very light grey in old age.
They have been bred for hundreds of years to be territorial, known by farmers as ‘heafed’ to the fell, which means that they can be safely left on unfenced terrain and will not wander off their patch.
Herdwick farms typically have less than 100 acres, the lambs graze with their mothers on the heaf belonging to that farm instilling a lifelong knowledge of where on the fell they should be grazing, which is why farmers find them invaluable.
Herdwick sheep are in balance with their environment as they graze on grass and heather evenly along with keeping bracken scrub under control. They have a large reputation for their foraging ability even in the most difficult terrain, many of them live life without receiving any supplementary feed.
We find our Herdwick skins to be in constant high demand, they can be very difficult to obtain, if you notice we do not have any in stock, please give us a ring so we can give you an estimated time to availability.
