The Year Round: Grazing impossible as Friars Hagg suffers worst early winter weather

This North Pennines hill sheep holding has been in the same family for this length of time.

My father had a string of memories of hard winters, which were expected here around the 1,000 feet contour.

All Swaledale ewes wintering on heather on the Big Moor have been brought nearer home.

Grazing had become quite impossible and the sheep were totally reliant on the hay and the silage we fed them. Snow was so deep that we could be by no means sure of reaching them.

We used tractors fitted with a spike to carry big silage bales. In 1947 we were feeding hay, and the wind made it a daily battle to reach the stock.

In 1947 the snow did not start until February 2 and lasted until March 29 when an army tank with snow plough fixed to it made the first breakthrough. This enabled five lorries to follow, laden with feedstuffs.

This tank was from a military depot nearby, and it ran on top of the snow which was so deep that the telephone wires were covered.

In those days we bought ten bags of potatoes from the field at harvest in autumn and also a 10-stone bag of flour for breadmaking.

We stocked up similarly for the cattle and sheep. The border collies needed extra feed and a warm, dry bed at the end of the long day.

The Swaledale hoggs are housed separately and receive hay and sugar beet pulp nuts.

They are doing well enough and at least we know where they are. As last year's gimmer or ewe lambs they join the breeding flock in autumn.

Rams or tups for all these females run in shelter paddocks near the house and are well cared for.

Two valuable aged rams that we hope to use again have their own house.