It’s a 100minute documentary about
sheep farming on Scafell Pike, England’s tallest mountain, and so you’re
probably not interested in watching it… BUT I really think you should.
Every summer, half a dozen shepherds and perhaps 20 sheepdogs gather a flock of 500 native Hardwick sheep from some 1,200 acres(?) and bring them down the mountain to the farm for shearing. It’s an event that has taken place in the Lake District for over a thousand years.
The Great Mountain Sheep Gather charts this journey across the fells with epic bird’s-eye view photography descending into the valley below. The gathering commences at dawn (in thick mist) and takes some 7 hours to complete – over foggy peaks, crags and incredibly rough terrain (no electric quad bikes here!).
As the fog lifts to expose the breathtaking landscape, and the small pockets of sheep merge into one big group, the voice of Lakeland shepherd Andrew Harrison allows us to see this unique world through his eyes – the knowledge of the dogs, farmers and sheep passed down from generation to generation for centuries, the challenges of life in the fells, and the conflict posed by visitors and the 21st century. Harrison explains that some of the smaller farms have been sold and the farmhouses converted to holiday homes. There are less and less experienced farmers and shepherds remaining to pass on knowledge acquired over generations. Harrison talks movingly of the pride and respect he holds for the land and the privilege of doing what he does
The documentary is beautifully put together – with the shepherd’s insights, poetry (written by Mark Pajak), bleats, barks and birdsong echoing down the valley creating an evocative natural soundtrack (no background is required!).
And, of course, once the flock has assembled at the farm, five hundred sheep now have to be sheared! It’s a shepherd’s life…
It’s a quite, quite wonderful and a hugely humbling account of the challenges, skill, knowledge and bravery needed to care for a flock in this rugged land.
PPS: I read an excellent interview with Rebanks’ wife Helen in last Sunday’s ‘Observer Review’… she’s written a book of her own – shining a light on small-scale farming and the pressures of Brexit and the women who frequently hold things together. It’s on my booklist!
PPPS: Will environment minister Thérèse Coffey have a clue about the lives of sheep farmers like Andrew Harrison and James+Helen Rebanks? I suspect not (she’s SO keen on sorting out the state of our rivers, obviously!).
Every summer, half a dozen shepherds and perhaps 20 sheepdogs gather a flock of 500 native Hardwick sheep from some 1,200 acres(?) and bring them down the mountain to the farm for shearing. It’s an event that has taken place in the Lake District for over a thousand years.
The Great Mountain Sheep Gather charts this journey across the fells with epic bird’s-eye view photography descending into the valley below. The gathering commences at dawn (in thick mist) and takes some 7 hours to complete – over foggy peaks, crags and incredibly rough terrain (no electric quad bikes here!).
As the fog lifts to expose the breathtaking landscape, and the small pockets of sheep merge into one big group, the voice of Lakeland shepherd Andrew Harrison allows us to see this unique world through his eyes – the knowledge of the dogs, farmers and sheep passed down from generation to generation for centuries, the challenges of life in the fells, and the conflict posed by visitors and the 21st century. Harrison explains that some of the smaller farms have been sold and the farmhouses converted to holiday homes. There are less and less experienced farmers and shepherds remaining to pass on knowledge acquired over generations. Harrison talks movingly of the pride and respect he holds for the land and the privilege of doing what he does
The documentary is beautifully put together – with the shepherd’s insights, poetry (written by Mark Pajak), bleats, barks and birdsong echoing down the valley creating an evocative natural soundtrack (no background is required!).
And, of course, once the flock has assembled at the farm, five hundred sheep now have to be sheared! It’s a shepherd’s life…
It’s a quite, quite wonderful and a hugely humbling account of the challenges, skill, knowledge and bravery needed to care for a flock in this rugged land.
PPS: I read an excellent interview with Rebanks’ wife Helen in last Sunday’s ‘Observer Review’… she’s written a book of her own – shining a light on small-scale farming and the pressures of Brexit and the women who frequently hold things together. It’s on my booklist!
PPPS: Will environment minister Thérèse Coffey have a clue about the lives of sheep farmers like Andrew Harrison and James+Helen Rebanks? I suspect not (she’s SO keen on sorting out the state of our rivers, obviously!).
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