Listen up, Londoners, because I come bearing some information that’s sure to make ewe smile. A flock of five rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down sheep have just arrived on Hampstead Heath as part of a special conservation mission. And Londoners can pay the wonderfully wooly creatures a visit over the next week of so. Pretty baa-rilliant news, right?
The flock are on loan from Mudchute Farm in east London, and arrived on the Heath earlier this week courtesy of a conservation grazing project between the City of London Corporation, the Heath & Hampstead Society, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and Heath Hands.
Now, this may come as a surprise, but seeing sheep on Hampstead Heath is actually nothing n-ewe. In fact, new research by the London Archives confirmed that it used to be a rather familiar sight, having uncovered records showing that sheep grazed on the Heath from as early as the 18th century. They disappeared during the 1950s, but the Heath’s new ecological grazing trials comes in an effort to use these more traditional methods as a ‘low impact alternative to machinery’.
Sheep have very specific selective feeding behaviours and tend to eat dominant plants, meaning that the flock will help make the area more biodiverse (or should I say, baa-odiverse?), whilst providing an (extremely cute) alternative to land-damaging heavy machinery.
The flock will be grazing on Hampstead Heath between 8am and 7pm from now until September 21. They are being tended to by a group of volunteers and stabled locally overnight. So, if you fancy having the rare chance to see some wooly wildlife in the heart of the capital city, you know where to go.
Alderman Gregory Jones KC, Chair of the City Corporation’s Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee, said: “Grazing sheep were a familiar part of Heath life for generations, and archive discoveries have helped us better understand that history.
“We’ve also learned through recent trials there traditional methods can still deliver real benefits for nature today, particularly in sensitive habitats where grazing offers a low-impact alternative to machinery.
“By bringing sheep back to the Heath, we’re reconnecting with that heritage while learning how to care for this special landscape in the future.”
The sheep will be grazing on Hampstead Heath until Monday, September 21. Find out more about them here.
