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Born in the Borrowdale valley in the Lake District, Little Herdy is a very special kind of sheep - the adventurous herdwick – a mountain sheep who loves to roam free on the high fells, in one of the most beautiful parts of England. Being born and bred here, he thrives up on the tops, come rain or shine.
All herdwicks are born little black lambs, and when they get to about a year old, their fluffy fleeces change colour, first to a dark brown, then to a lovely light grey, and their faces change to white. Some are also born with a cute white tuft on their head and chest. They also have long tails, which they love to waggle as they bounce off down the valley.
Little Herdy likes sunshine and rain. He doesn’t mind what the weather throws at him. Even though he’s small and cuddly, he’s really strong and tougher than he looks. He loves rock climbing and wandering off to get a view from the tops. You’ll find him frolicking with his friends, springing about in a meadow before having a snooze in the sunshine, tired out from having lots of fun.
He’s a little bit mischievous sometimes but always very nice. You might find him working his way through a dry stone wall, trying to find some sweet grass or flower heads; but he doesn’t mean any harm. He’s sometimes quite nosey and might come up behind you to see what’s on your sandwiches. You can’t be cross at him though, especially when you see his cheeky smile!
Little Herdy’s mum is teaching him how to ‘heft’. That means as he wanders about the fields, meadows and fellsides he learns how to come back again to his ‘heaf’ (Cumbrian dialect for pasture or home) without getting lost. It’s a little bit of herdy magic, which is very useful, as the mountains here can range for miles, and it could take hours, or even days for farmers to find and bring home their flock. It’s hard to describe in human terms: think of it as a kind of herdy ‘satnav’, which always brings them home.
Little Herdy loves his life in the Lakes and his favourite time of year is spring, the time when he was born, and when the earth is warming up and coming back to life.
He feels very lucky living in this very special place, and his happy smile says it all!
How do you hug yours? #littleherdyhug
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