We have a small flock of rare and native breed sheep including pedigree black Wensleydales and Shetlands. We often have wool, sheepskins and meat for sale - please see our Products section. Sheep sometimes for sale too!

Wensleydale sheep are on the Rare Breed Survival Trusts "At Risk" Register. We started our flock with three ewes, who produced 5 lambs in 2008. Our 5 lambs born in 2009 were conceived by artificial insemination.

Wensleydales are a dual purpose sheep producing some of the best wool but also being rather tasty! The breed was developed for crossing onto hill ewes to produce prolific, milky and hardy breeding ewes. Our ewes often have twins and are fantastic mothers.

Wensleydales are large sheep, with an average ram weighing in at 136kgs! The British Meat and Livestock Commission describe the Wensleydale as "probably the heaviest of all our indigenous breeds”. They have a distinctive blue head and ears with a ‘topping’ of woolly forelock. They are a good looking, strong sheep with a broad level back on wide quarters and strong thighs.

We keep a small flock of Shetland sheep which originally came from the Scottish Wildlife Trusts ‘Flying Flock’ which graze conservation grassland sites. Our Shetlands are cheeky characters compared to our rather laid-back Wensleydales!

After starting out with a black flock of Wensleydales, in 2010 we purchased a white ram and two ewe lambs. Leyburn Levi (by Leyburn Cascade) was bought at Melton Mowbray in 2010.

Our foundation flock boasts the Champion female sheep and Reserve Champion of the Wensleydale Breed Society Show at Skipton Mart in 2010. She is from the highly successful Thistle flock and is by Thistle Barron x Providence President. We purchased another ewe lamb from the same flock by Thistle Dandy x Princethorpe Baroque - she was the 3rd placed ewe lamb of the 2010 show. They both have spectacular fleece quality. These ewes will be tupped by Leyburn Levi autumn 2011. In 2011 we added to our foundation ewes with the purchase of five shearling ewes from Skipton Mart. Three of the ewes are sired by Maesafon Gareth Thomas (by Beehive Villa Evan) who was the 2008 Wensleydale Breed Champion at the Melton Mowbray show run by the Rare Breed Survival Trust. Another ewe is sired by the Supreme Champion at Skipton 2006, Providence Lucius, who was also 3rd at the Great Yorkshire Show. The final ewe is by Thistle Dragon x Providence Lucius.

So in total we have 7 fantastic white ewes to be tupped by Leyburn Levi in autumn 2011 to establish our white flock. So watch this space in spring 2012!

With only around 100 lambs entered into the flock book each year, the black Wensleydales are extremely rare. Our Black flock was established in 2008 with three foundation ewes by West End Smoke. Our first lambs, by West End Crow, were born in spring 2008 and included 3 ewe lambs which were retained for breeding. In autumn 2008 our original 3 ewes were artificially inseminated using semen from West End Ace of Spades and we were delighted to gain another three ewe lambs to breed from in the future.

In autumn 2009 we purchased our first ram Beech Hill Bravo (by Beech Hill Grey Owl x Uppermill Eclipse). Bravo tupped our original 3 ewes and the first three homebred ewes (by West End Crow). In spring 2010 eight black Wensleydale lambs were born - 4 male and 4 female. We also had some Shetland x Wensleydale lambs of various colours which also had lovely fleeces. We called them Shetlydales.

In autumn 2010 Bravo tupped two of the foundation ewes by West End Smoke, the three 2009 ewes by West End Crow and the three 2010 ewes by West End Ace of Spades. These ewes produced 10 lambs again with a 50/50 male:female ratio! We hope to have upto 12 black Wensleydales tupped in autumn 2011 - if we can find suitable husbands for them all! Four of our ewes to be tupped are daughters of Beech Hill Bravo, so we are on the lookout for a fabulous new ram!