Wool Products

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Highfields Farm is home to our lovable Herdwick sheep. They are a beautiful hardy breed with wonderful thick fleeces, suited to our upland farm. The lambs are born black, & overtime through each shear their fleeces change colour and provide you with a wonderful array of dark to light grey wool.

In June we have the sheep sheared, if we have a warm late spring early summer the sheep are pleased to lose their woolly coats. We have shearers come to the farm that shear for us.  A wonderful skilled job, working steady and methodically.

Year upon year the price we get for our wool varies. The cost of shearing unfortunately outweighs the price we get for the fleeces, but it is essential for the well-being of the flock. Herdwick wool isn’t very valuable, being a coarse wool, it is used mainly to produce carpets, rugs and insulation. Some businesses are using it in the production of furniture, clothing and handbags.

Our Special Sheep

The children and I have our own sheep which we name, and each year we keep the fleeces from them in the hope that one day we will make a rug with it. We have had a go with a peg loom which we made, but we need a little more practice yet!  We love producing Herdwick wool products, crafted items that we have made from our own flock, and which are to us, our ’special’ sheep which we can pick out of the flock.

In 2020 unfortunately my beautiful sheep ‘Moss’ passed away. She was a good age & there was something special about her eyes. She has over the years, lambed a handsome ram ‘Buster’ who continues her legacy through the flock.  This year she lambed ‘Whisp’ who we had to hand rear by bottle, he never made a bleat for weeks, hence the name. A special bond, it was as though she knew she had to ensure he arrived & then passed away shortly after. The ups & downs of farming life.  Gone but never forgotten.

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Be inspired & get creative

We wash our fleeces in a tub outside and leave to dry in the sun.  The wool is then carded using special combs and rolled into roulags/batts. From these you can then spin, weave or felt with the wool.  We have recently had our wool processed at a local mill, but it can be quite expensive.

A number of Herdwick products are available to purchase from us such as our beautiful felted Herdwick sheep & hearts.

Fleeces and processed Herdwick wool which are suitable for needle & wet felting & spinning is also available to purchase.

For those with green fingers and are wonderful gardeners, why not use the wool to line your hanging baskets, help protect your plants or make a kneeling pad?

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