The Herdy 'Fell' design features the famous Cumbrian skyline, carved from the ancient Lake District fells and home to the native Herdwick sheep. The design highlights the relationship between the Herdwick and the Cumbrian fells. You can find Herdy gambolling over the rolling hills, roaming freely amongst the common grazing land.
Herdwicks and the Cumbrian Fells
Herdwicks famously roam over large areas of the Cumbrian landscape, from the highest peaks to the lowest valleys. These large areas of unfenced common grazing land create the perfect environment for the sheep to thrive.
Herdwick flocks have been historically managed in such a way that the sheep remember which parts of the fell they are supposed to graze. Plus, unlike most other breeds, they keep to this “heaf”.
This instinct is especially strong in Herdwicks that graze unfenced uplands. To the extent that the sheep stay with the farm when the farm is sold or changes hands. The sheep belong to the land and are literally the living culture of the farming people of the Lake District.
Farming in the fells
Farming in the Lake District revolves around one simple reality: the short growing season for grass on the fells. Lake District farmers take advantage of this growing season in just the same way that the first settlers did thousands of years ago. Lambing is timed so that the lambs are born as the grass starts to grow, and are reared through the lush and pleasant summer months.
By Winter, the farms can only carry the core ewe flocks with help from the summer’s crop. In May and June the valley bottom meadows are cleared of sheep, the walls repaired, the sheep released on the fells to the new grass, and the meadows allowed to flower and spurt into life. Soon they are lush green carpets of grass and flowers, which will be made into hay in July or August.
