 |
|
ClearwaterTunis
|
|
Sheep In England
|
|
|
|
Of course there are sheep in other countries, but our first love is England and
Scotland. We don't think you can find more beautiful sheep country. The picture below was taken on Wrynose Pass, which
you have to pass over to get from one incredible sheep place to another. The road over this pass is narrow and windy with
blind corners. It's an adventure just to drive it. But it is worth it.
|
|
|
In the picture above we are about to pass through a sheep gate. The sheep meadows are often walled off into sections
and various means have been devised to allow people walking the public footpaths to get through or over the stone walls. Sometimes
it is a wood stairway or a stone stairway. Or just a gate. This is a step-through with a gate.
|
|
After walking the public footpaths through sheep country in England and Scotland you are sure to notice that many generations
of Brits must have spent their lives carrying stones around. The fences separating pastures are made of stone, a construction
method called dry stone, where mortar is not used. And the outbuildings are also made of stone. It all makes sense, though.
In the early days people were poor, stones were free, and labor was cheap. So they built with stones.
The footpaths are absolutely stunning. They often run alongside a stone wall, or even between two stone walls. And almost
always through incredibly beautiful lands with sheep sprinkled all over the place. This footpath is just up the hill from
the town of Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales. There are not many prettier places in the world.
|
|
A short walk from the town of Keld, in the Yorkshire Dales, this telephone booth stands alone in country inhabited mostly
by sheep. The walk from Keld down to Muker and then on down to Gunnerside is out of this world.
We spent a lot of effort, time and money to get to the Yorkshire Dales. And then we sat for hours and watched lambs playing
on or around the old stone buildings. We got our moneys worth. There is a slate mine on Honister Pass and the big slates on
this roof probably came from there. Big stone slates are common on the stone buildings in this area.
The footpaths around Wastwater lake take walkers through meadows filled with sheep, but also through little forests and
wild gardens, and over those amazing old stone bridges.
|
|
The Yorkshire Dales in the area between the towns of Reeth and Muker are without a doubt one of the most beautiful places
in the world. Rain is common there and mists make the landscape look soft and inviting. Green grasses grow everywhere and
trees line the gullies and creeks. And, of course, sheep inhabit just about every square foot of all this beauty.
In the course of our travels we ran across several large statues of sheep (without
even looking for them). While traveling the English and Scottish countrysides we were greatly impressed with the way their
culture has preserved it's traditions of respect for the sheep that sustained and nourished their forefathers. And we were
also greatly impressed with the way their culture has provided footpaths through both public and private land so that walkers
can enjoy the countryside. In America it is sad that the cattle industry has unjustly turned public sentiment against sheep.
And sadder still that America never implemented a system of public footpaths through private lands so people could enjoy the
countryside. And, to cap it off, the environmentalists, who are at heart against people, have systematically imposed restrictions
on the people's use of public lands in America. Of course we think America is a great country. But there are some areas where
the English and Scots have outdone us.
|
|
How can sheep people not love a country where they have sheep statues?
This Herdwick Tup sheep statue is just outside the city of Cockermouth.
Tunis-The Good Looking Redheads Tunis In Arizona
|
|
|
