A rough guide to some of the various bits of farm machinery you might see around the countryside of Northern England

Types of farm machinery This is a basic and non-exhaustive guide to some of the various bits of agricultural machinery you might see in use in the fields, in front of you holding up traffic on a narrow country lane, or rusting away in a farmyard around the countryside of Northern England. Balers, little, square,Continue reading “A rough guide to some of the various bits of farm machinery you might see around the countryside of Northern England”

The role of the Sheep in shaping Britains Landscape and History, Part Two; The breeds of sheep that made Britain prosperous

Part Two, The breeds of Sheep that made Britain prosperous In Part 1 of this 3-part series of articles I covered how sheep farming became a major industry in the British isles, in this post I’ll look at some of the breeds of sheep that made Britain prosperous, in particular wool breeds, see the articleContinue reading “The role of the Sheep in shaping Britains Landscape and History, Part Two; The breeds of sheep that made Britain prosperous”

Styles of Stiles

A short History of the Stile The Word ‘stile’ is thought to have Anglo Saxon origins and have evolved from from the Old English ‘stiġel’, “a set of steps for getting over a fence”, which in turn is thought to be based on the Proto-Germanic ‘stigilō’ “an entry, entrance, overpass or device for climbing,”. TheyContinue reading “Styles of Stiles”

The Role of the Sheep in Shaping Britain’s History and Landscape, Part One

Part One; How sheep farming became a major industry in the British isles There are currently around 38 million sheep in British isles, made up of more than 60 different breeds, not to mention an enormous variety of crossbreeds, or ‘mules’. In this series of articles I’ll write about the history of some of theseContinue reading “The Role of the Sheep in Shaping Britain’s History and Landscape, Part One”

Down on the Dairy farm in March

Dairy farming Whilst I write a fair bit about sheep farming on here there are of course other ways in which the land of the Northwest is farmed, after all we produce over 15% of the UK’s farmed food and ¼ of the nation’s milk! With this is in mind I’d like to write aContinue reading “Down on the Dairy farm in March”

Drystone Walls, a part of the Northern Landscape

Dry Stone walls A lot of visitors to the North of England will comment on the multitude of stone walls winding their way across the landscape and they are part of the character of the countryside which brings those visitors here in the first place. On a cloudy day, their grey and green stones seemContinue reading “Drystone Walls, a part of the Northern Landscape”

Some of the breeds of Hill Sheep that can be found in the Northwest

This is a guide to some of the Hill Sheep breeds that can be found in the Northwest of England, (for an explanation of some of the terms used please see this article) ; The Derbyshire Gritstone This hardy breed of hill sheep was originally bred by Peak District hill farmers to survive in harshContinue reading “Some of the breeds of Hill Sheep that can be found in the Northwest”