On Your Farm

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On Your Farm: Shingle Spit Sheep

Shingle Spit Sheep

BBC Radio 4 - On Your Farm, Shingle Spit Sheep

Anna Louise Claydon explores the farmland around the archaeological site of Sutton Hoo.

Anna Louise Claydon explores the farmland surrounding the archaeological site of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. She joins a flock of sheep as they travel by ferry to their grazing grounds.

Anna Louise Claydon explores the historic farmland surrounding the world-famous archaeological site of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. She joins National Trust shepherd Andy Capell as he rounds up sheep ready to travel by ferry to what rangers call "the island" - ten miles of unique marshland, the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe. She travels with the flock of 100 sheep, who spend the rest of the year helping to improve the habitat for the endangered wading birds which live on the spit at Orford Ness.

She meets the rare breed Herdwicks, Manx Loaghtan and Whitefaced Woodland sheep as they embark on their journey over to the island, and hears how their grazing has been boosting the breeding grounds of birds such as redshanks, avocets and the red-listed lapwings. She finds out how the birds and sheep are mutually beneficial, with the grazing done by the flock providing different grass lengths for the ground-nesting birds. The sheep are in need of support too, as there are only currently 900 registered Whitefaced Woodland females left. 

Anna Louise finds out about the working life of a shepherd on the island: she learns how he's had to master life on the water, negotiate boats to commute to and tend his sheep every day, and create emergency evacuation plans in order to keep his flock safe on the intriguing, unusual and unpredictable terrain of the shingle spit.

Presented and produced by Anna Louise Claydon

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