Sheep
Whitefaced Woodland Sheep
White Faced Woodland Sheep
The Whitefaced Woodland Sheep is one of the largest of the Hill breeds of sheep. They are also known as Penistone, after the Yorkshire town where a sheep fair has been held since 1699. They have a white face with pink nostrils. The rams have long, curly horns, whereas the ewes only have short horns.
Whitefaced Woodlands have excellent wool quality for a hill sheep; and also prodcue tasty meat.
They originated in the Penistone area which is at the border of Yorkshire, Cheshire,and Derbyshire. The Woodland part of the name comes from the nearby Woodland Dale in Derbyshire.
The Whitefaced Woodland is able to thrive in the Pennines. King George III caused the improvement of this breed’s wool by importing Merino sheep in the 18th Century.
Ryeland
Ryelands are one of the oldest, traditional British sheep breeds. Unlike a lot of breeds, Ryelands are docile and easy to look after, making them ideal for the Farm! They really like a diet of good grass and don’t necessarily require additional feed. They also make excellent mothers, which is good news for Nathan our Ram!
Hand spinners and weavers like the Ryeland wool for its extremely woolly, dense texture and high quality. The breed is also well known for producing excellent quality lamb and great tasting meat. We have four Rylands at the Farm, three ewes and a ram, so hopefully there should be some little Ryeland lambs in the Spring!
Random fact: Ryeland’s get their name from the rye pastures they were grazed in, by the monks of Leominster in Herefordshire, over seven centuries ago!
