The fank

Another view of the glen.

The building you can see is the sheep fank where the sheep gathered on the surrounding hills are clipped, dosed, and generally handled. You can maybe get an idea of how high up it is from the size of the trees in the picture. It's a lot easier to gather the sheep into it than to take them to the farm and back!! Also Blackface sheep are "hefted" which means that they are acclimatised to their part of the hill. A hefted flock is of more value to a farmer as they tend to roam far less and are therefore easier to manage. It is thought that Blackface sheep are developed from a breed of horned sheep that predates modern history!!

The dots in the middle on the right hand side are the cattle of the August 18th blip! Still grazing high and not quite ready to come home....although the weather yesterday and today may change all that!!

There is still a lovely purple tinge to the hills but the weather has been atrocious. It wasn't the best day for a walk and Nellie and I got soaked!!