Herdwicks

Forged by the Fells

Herdwicks are an ancient sheep breed native to the Lake District, with 95% of the estimated 50,000 breeding ewes concentrated within a 20 mile radius of Coniston Water.

Their name derives from the Old Norse herdvyck, meaning “sheep pasture,” hinting at the breed’s deep historical roots in the area. Local folklore attributes their origins to Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th or 10th century, a theory supported by genetic analysis showing a rare shared trait with Texel sheep from the Wadden Sea, a Viking trading hub.

They are uniquely adapted to the Lake District’s often challenging climate. Their double-layered fleece, comprising a woolly inner coat and a hairy, water-repellent outer layer, protects them from relentless rain and winds on fells reaching 3,000 feet.

Their white faces and sturdy builds (the rams sporting spectacularly curved white horns) reflect selective breeding for survival, not aesthetics and, unlike commercial breeds, Herdwicks produce coarse, grey wool best suited for fabrics like carpets and strongly flavored lamb and mutton, prioritizing hardiness over high yields.

They graze freely on unfenced common land, surviving winters without need for supplementary feeding, a testament to their robust health and ability to forage for food on the barest of mountain tops.

Hefting, a Bond between Sheep, Shepherd and Land

At the heart of Herdwick farming lies hefting (or heafing in local dialect), a practice that allows sheep to graze vast areas of unfenced common land without wandering far.

Hefting refers to the instinctual tendency of sheep, particularly Herdwicks, to bond with a specific area of the landscape, known as their heft. This knowledge is passed from ewe to lamb, with each generation learning the boundaries of their territory, where to find grazing, and where to seek shelter.

The process begins when lambs follow their mothers to the fells, typically in late spring after lambing, as ewes always return to the precise area where they were born and raised, teaching their offspring to do the same. Over time, this creates a self-sustaining system where flocks remain within their designated heft without physical boundaries.

On tenanted farms, “landlord flocks” are often passed from tenant to tenant to preserve this instinct, ensuring the heft remains intact.

Hefting is not merely practical, it’s a cultural cornerstone, and this was reflected in the Lake District’s designation as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2017, when hefted flocks were officially recognised as a defining feature of the historic farming landscape.

Without hefting, managing livestock on the region’s vast commons would require extensive fencing, disrupting both the landscape and traditional practices.

However, establishing a new heft is labour-intensive, requiring constant shepherding until the flock learns its place, a process that can take years.

Shielings and Scales

The breed and the manner in which it is kept have shaped not only the cultural but the physical and linguistic fabric of Cumbria and Northern England too. Before permanent settlements, shepherds used temporary, rudimentary shelters called shielings to graze flocks on the fells during summer, a practice that likely laid the groundwork for hefting.

The words ‘Shieling’ and ‘Shelter’ have the same Old Norse roots, coming from skjól (‘shelter’) or skali (‘hut’), over time this evolved into ‘scale’.

When these permanent settlements were established many were centred on the sites of these shielings and this is recorded in some place-names as listed below;

Examples of Place Names with ‘Scale’ in England

• Barden Scale (North Yorkshire)

• East Scale Lodge (North Yorkshire)

• High Scale (Cumbria and North Yorkshire)
• Low Scale (Cumbria)

• North Scale (Cumbria)

• Scale Beck (Cumbria,) multiple locations,) ‘Beck’ is Old Norse for a stream, so this likely refers to a stream near a shieling or hut.

• Scale Cross (North Yorkshire,) this may indicate a crossroads or marker near a shieling site.
• Scale Farm (North Yorkshire)
• Scale Foot (North Yorkshire,) likely refers to the base or foot of a hill where a shieling was located.

• Scale Force (Cumbria,) ‘Force’ is a northern English term for a waterfall, indicating a waterfall near a shieling.
• Scale Gill Foot Moss (Cumbria,) combines ‘gill’ (a narrow valley or ravine) and ‘moss’ (bog or marsh), pointing to a shieling in a specific landscape.
• Scale Green (Cumbria,) refers to a green or grassy area near a shieling.
• Scale Hall (Lancashire)
• Scale Hill (Cumbria)
• Scale House (Cumbria and North Yorkshire)
• Scale House Barn (Lancashire)
• West Scale Park (North Yorkshire)

Pinfolds and lug-marking

The monastic abbeys of the 12th and 13th centuries, such as Furness and Fountains, further organised farming, leveraging the wool trade to amass vast wealth, (see part 2 of my History of Sheep series) and turning sheep farming into one of Britain’s most profitable industries.

This made sheep very valuable commodities, so stray animals would be rounded up and kept in enclosures called ‘Pinfolds’ (I’ll write more about these in the future,) which gave us the surnames ‘Penfold’ and ‘Pinder’, after the profession of caring for them until the owner turned up.

To identify sheep their ears would be notched, a practice called ‘lug marking’, (think ‘ear-lugs’) that parallels Scandinavian traditions and is recorded in Shepherds Guides since 1817, of course nowadays they are given ear tags.

Shepherds meets, historically held to exchange these strays and tups (rams), remain vibrant community events, blending competitions, fell races, and traditional songs.

Uncertain Future

Figures like Beatrix Potter championed Herdwicks, a dedicated breeder, Potter purchased farms like Troutbeck Park to preserve hefted flocks, recognising their role in maintaining the landscape. Her legacy, including 15 farms bequeathed to the National Trust, underscores the breed’s cultural value.

Poets like William Wordsworth and advocates like Canon Rawnsley also celebrated this agro-pastoral system for its environmental stewardship.

Despite this legacy and the breed’s resilience, Herdwicks face an uncertain future. The 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak decimated 25% of the region’s 100,000-strong flock, forcing shepherds to re-heft new flocks, a daunting task without ewes to teach lambs. Electric fencing was used in some cases to confine new sheep, but traditional shepherding remains the gold standard.

Environmental policies and rewilding schemes have reduced grazing land, with some farms losing up to 50% of their land to alternative uses like holiday lets or equestrian sites. A 2020 census by the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association reported only 157 flocks, with just 90 having more than 50 breeding ewes.

Proposals like a 2015 plan to fence 866 hectares above Thirlmere reservoir sparked outrage, as it threatened to disrupt hefting and alter the open landscape.

Economic pressures also loom. Fell farmers only earn an average of £8,500 annually, and lambs fetch a quarter of their 1970 price, subsidies from the Rural Development Programme for England are critical but cannot be applied for anymore, IHT or the ‘Family Farm Tax’ is threatening family-owned sheep farms and the breed’s low wool and lambing yields make profitability challenging.

Ecological Role

Well-suited to the rugged terrain, Herdwicks graze on diverse vegetation, including coarse grasses and heather, which prevents the overgrowth of dominant plant species.

This grazing pattern promotes a mosaic of habitats, supporting a wide range of flora and fauna, such as wildflowers, insects, and ground-nesting birds like Skylark and Curlew.

Additionally, their grazing helps manage scrub encroachment, preserving open fell landscapes and preventing the loss of ecologically important grasslands.

By keeping vegetation in check, Herdwick sheep also contribute to carbon storage in soils, as grazed pastures maintain healthy root systems that sequester carbon more effectively than overgrown or degraded land.

Such well-structured soil systems also aid in flood prevention by absorbing and draining water, important in a region which has suffered from catastrophic flooding in the past.

A Living Legacy

Once every year shepherds meet at the ‘Gather’, and with their well-trained sheep-dogs round up Herdwicks from the fells for lambing or shearing, this communal effort, unchanged for over a millennium, demonstrates the skills and traditions that the art of hefting keeps alive.

Yet the future of these traditions hangs in the balance, as Amanda Carson of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association warns; disruptions to hefting, such as the removal of flocks and enclosure of the fells, could unravel the entire system.

Protecting Herdwick flocks and their hefts requires a fine balance between modern demands and the preservation of a practice that has defined the Lake District for centuries.

In the words of Shepherd Jon Watson, who cares for the flock at Yew Tree Farm in Coniston, bequeathed to the National Trust by Beatrix Potter; “If they weren’t hefted, they’d wander all over the Lake District, and you’d never know where they were.”

Yan man, yan dog, yan crook an’t sheep

Will keep yon fells alive.

Tis t’grandest sight a man can see

Yon ‘erdwicks oot on’t fell.

Then us knows thars scran on’t table

An’ all with England’s well

Excerpt from Ode to t’Erdwick by Cumbrian dialect poet Walter Winster (1889-1945)

Further Reading

To learn more about Herdwicks and hill farming in the Northwest of England see;

Yain Tain Tethera, for an article about the ancient way of counting sheep.

Some of the breeds of Hill Sheep that can be found in the Northwest, which looks at other breeds of hill sheep.

Baa, Ram, Ewe! A non-exhaustive list of sheep terminology.

The Hills are Alive with the sound of Bleating! For a little look at Lambing

Sheep Scanning The scientific process of scanning ewes for lambs.

A B-H

(May 2025)