So the big trip has finally started. A picture of me grinning like a Cheshire cat at my local station. I asked one a fellow passenger to take a photo of me and the station name and as she stepped back to get a wider view her partner grabbed he just before she stepped off the edge of the platform to hoots of laughter from the rest of the party. It was hard to keep a straight face with everyone laughing!
The rucksack had too many straps hanging off it so it had to be handled as over size luggage. This meant it got 'special handling' at the other end. An electric tug pulling a trailer with just my ruck sack on the back stopped and unceremoniously dumped it off on its own carousel at the far end of the baggage reclaim.
Most people personalise their luggage and for this trip you will see the Herdy key fob. The story of the Herdy brand is fascinating to me.
It was started by a Lake District sheep farmer who was passionate about his sheep. The local traditional sheep breed is known as the Herdwick. It was bred to withstand the changeable weather, the wind and the cold. The Herdwick sheep breed lent its name to the brand name. That farmer started using social media as the Herdy Shepherd to tell the world about his daily life with his sheep and in 2007 launched the brand with three simple products.
He knows his sheep individually which is important as the area is unfenced and the sheep can roam freely across the fells. His hill farm is located near Wast Water which is part of the most remote area within the Lake District. Despite the ability of the sheep to just walk and walk across the fells, many of them have their own patch of fell where they live. One particular ewe can always be found within 200 metres of one particular peak.
Sheep are let loose on the fells after lambing until they are rounded up in the autumn.. Sometimes sheep do wander and when rounded up end up on the wrong farm. Farmers are happy to co-operate amongst them selves to return sheep to the rightful owner.
There are sixteen lakes larger than 0.5km2 and dozens of smaller bodies of water. However the Lake District is a misnomer as most of these bodies of water are called waters or meres and the smaller ones are called tarns. There is only one specifically named lake in the Lake District, Bassenthwaite Lake.
The brand has increased its product range and now has three of its own shops in Keswick, Hawes and Grasmere selling all sorts of Herdy branded products. It also sells a wide product range through over 250 other UK retailers, and exports overseas. But it has not lost its core purpose, promoting the Herdwick sheep, providing local employment and supporting good causes.
The Herdy Shepherd still goes out every day up high into the remote fells to check on his sheep and has over 60,000 followers.
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