The Herdwick is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Lake District in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse herdvyck, meaning sheep pasture.[1] Though low in lambing capacity and perceived wool quality when compared to more common commercial breeds, Herdwicks are prized for their robust health, their ability to live solely on forage, and their tendency to be territorial and not to stray over the difficult upland terrain of the Lake District. It is considered that up to 99% of all Herdwick sheep are commercially farmed in the central and western Lake District.[2]
The wool of a Herdwick has unique qualities relating to durability. Thick bristle type fibres will often protrude from garments made from the wool, forming a protective layer in blizzards—most likely the same qualities that protect the sheep in similar conditions. Herdwicks have been known to survive under a blanket of snow for three days while eating their own wool.[3]
Severely threatened by the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England and Wales, the breed has survived due to the intent to preserve this unique animal as a crucial part of traditional Lakeland agriculture. Still far fewer in number than most commercial breeds, Herdwicks survive largely due to farming subsidies.
^Bryson, Bill; Photographs by Annie Griffths Belt (August 1994). "Beauty Besieged: England's Lake District". National Geographic Magazine. 182 (2). National Geographic Society.
^Cite error: The named reference intro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Davies, Hunter. A Walk Around the Lakes, Frances Lincoln Limited, 2009 (revised edition), p. 94
The Herdwick is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Lake District in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse herdvyck...
published English Pastoral in 2020. He also published The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd in 2015 and The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient...
Lived in the Lake District; Susan Denyer, 1993 Herdwick Sheep Farming; Geoff Brown, (2009) Herdwicks: Herdwick Sheep and the English Lake District; Judy Taylor...
a well-recognised result of this. Other regional specialities include Herdwick mutton and the salt-marsh raised lamb of the Cartmel Peninsula. Cumbria...
Roman times. The breed most closely associated with the area is the tough Herdwick, with Rough Fell and Swaledale sheep also common. Sheep farming remains...
2016. Rebanks, James (2019). "James Rebanks: One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep". bbc.co.uk. "People think travel broadens the mind, I'm not so sure...
Westmorland). The crest above the shield was the head of a ram of the local Herdwick breed. On the ram's forehead was a shearman's hook, a tool used in the...
Mule sheep, and as Pedigree breeding stock. Together with the Rough Fell, Herdwick, and Dalesbred sheep, they are one of the four variations associated with...
Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere and makes sausages with a local Herdwick sheep farmer. 9 "Carlisle to Glasgow" 14 January 2010 (2010-01-14) Portillo...
"disgraceful purchase" of land in the Lake District, which could threaten the Herdwick rare breed of sheep as well as the Lake District's historic farming system...
Heidschnucke White Horned Heath Germany Meat, wool, vegetation management Herdwick England Meat Herik Turkey Hill Radnor Wales Meat Hog Island United States...
farm. She bred Herdwick sheep there with the help of shepherd Tom Storey. When she died in 1943 she was president-elect of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders'...
Gillman Speedway. Retrieved 22 February 2024. "Australian Tate Zischke Signs With Workington Comets". The Herdwick News. Retrieved 22 February 2024. v t e...
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