John Allen, his sons and his dogs go up into the morning mist and, as the sun breaks through behind Lakeland peaks, his 1,300 ewes move down to the valley. The Allens work a 15-hour day-in silence. Lambing time, they say, 'brings out the best in ewes but not necessarily in people. We say good morning and good night and as little as possible in between.'

Hardly time for wool-gathering: page T