Everyone loves them, but keeping the distinctive breed as a viable part of fell country life needs networking, hard work - and good appetites
Cumbria's famous Herdwick sheep are holding an At Home next month which stands to be in their interests as a species, if not as individuals.
Its main point is to get more of us to appreciate the distinctive breed as a menu item, including persuading caterers and restaurateurs to be specific when serving Herwick hogget and young meat, rather than simply calling it 'lamb'.
The sturdy fellside animals have many of the attributes of their human counterparts who stride the Lake District or creep up its crags by toeholds. That is to say, they are lean and sinewy, sometimes to the point of scragginess, and their darker wool fleece can resemble the more ancient type of anorak or sweater worn by veteran fell-walers.
Both attributes have held the breed back somewhat as a rival to fat and succulent lamb with snowy fleeces from the gentler pastures of the English lowlands, although their wool has done relatively well in the roof and wall insulation trade. Now, the Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association and the Herdy company are jointly holding a day at Yew Tree Farm in Rosthwaite, a place beloved of one of the Herdwicks' great champions, the Prince of Wales.
It's an invitation-only affair but there should be quite a lot of room on the guided walks of the Herwdicks' heafs, or areas of fellside which ewes claim, memorise and pass on to their descendants in the manner of migrating birds such as swallows. There will also be butchery and cookery demonstrations and, most important of all, a chance to sample a selection of different Herdwick dishes and talk to their chefs.
"We hope to improve links between farmers, catering suppliers and the hospitality industry," says William Rawling, chair of the HSBA:
The day should offer an insight into the farm methods that result in lean, succulent Herdwick meat, explain the effects that grazing has on the landscape of the Lake District and Cumbria, and improve understanding of its optimum, peak season accordoing to the fell farming year.
We would like to help more of it find its way on to local menus, in pubs, restaurants and hotels, during this peak season.
The Herdwick has had many influential friends over the years, including Beatrix Potter who farmed the breed and the Guardian's own A. Harry Griffin, writer of the Country Diary for 53 years, who wrote during the 2001 foot and mouth crisis – the greatest ever threat to the sheep:
If they and their shepherds go, that is the end of the Lakeland where I have climbed, walked, skied and skated for nearly 80 years; of the Lakeland I have written about nearly all my life.
Thanks to Herculean efforts by farmers, landowners and the whole emergency apparatus set up to meet the crisis, both sheep and Lakeland survived. But as the October day at Rosthwaite will emphasise, neither can be taken for granted.