Sunday 30th November

 All 40 sheep, gates & trough are fine. 20 WFW happily resting in the Gypsy Swing Dell & all Shetlands were out on the lower slopes (one away from the others, lying down almost hidden, but was fine when it got up & walked away)

Pippa.

Friday 28 November

20 White Face and 1 Shetland out in the open at the top of the western compartment , remaining 19 Shetlands all together down the hill grazing on the lower slope.

No issues noted. 

1 walker with dog on lead, 1 other walker with no dog.

Tues 25th Nov staff check

All present and correct. 

19 Shetlands out in open east of corral.

1 Shetland and 15 WFW in woods. 

5 WFW laughing at me 1 hour and several hills later up by Plum Pudding. 

Monday 24th November

 Found 37 sheep, 20 Shetlands and 17 WFW of which :-

- 19 Shetlands were on the Downs towards the Corall.

-  13  WFW and 1 Shetland centrally in the Bowl

- 4 WFW at the top of the Bowl close to the Beech Wood just North of Plum Pudding

The missing 3 WFW are likely to be in the Bowl somewhere but parts of it are hard to reach safely as they are steep (and slippery in the wet ground).

Water trough was full.

No dogs or walkers seen on nature reserve but there was a lost dog on the Clarendon Way, it was a type of spaniel with a red coat but no collar or name/address.

Sunday 23rd November

 First time ever we couldn’t find any sheep 😬       pp Paddy & Nicola Mawhinney. 

I'm sorry they didn't report this earlier, I've had to prompt them tonight to give me a report. Maybe the sheep were hiding in the Gypsy Swing Dell    Pippa

Tuesday 18th November - Staff Check

All 40 sheep present and correct.

19 Shetlands down towards the corral and trough

17 WFW and 1 Shetland inside woodland close to the Hampshire gate between Central and Western

3 WFW at the top of the woodland, close to Plum Pudding.

Trough full but a bit icy today - keep an eye in case temperatures drop as it might need breaking apart.

Also 5 yellowhammers, 6 siskins, 2 bullfinch and some redwings. Keep an eye in the winter food mix in the arable field adjacent to the corral, as the chaffinchs and bullfinch were dipping in to feed on the seed heads! 

Andy

Monday 17th November

Found all 40 sheep, 24 (19 Shetland, 5 WFW) at the bottom  of the downs in the sun, 16 (1 Shetland, 15 WFW) in the woodland nearby. All out of the wind. All looked well.

All gates sound/shutting properly (and with signs to let dog owners know there are livestock) and fences good.

Water trough full.

No walkers or dogs seen on reserve.

Sunday 16th November

 Managed to count 39 today so not too bad.  Again all calm and all down the bottom.  Roughly half bottom West corner and the others in the wood near the swing.

Pippa pp    Clare Davies

Saturday 15th November

 I went today and counted approx 32 sheep, roughly half of each type.  Although I didn't definitely count them all, they all seemed very calm and I did not come across any limping or ill sheep even though I covered a large area.  They were all at the bottom , mainly in the bushes and trees.  I shall hopefully manage to count more tomorrow. 

Pippa   pp Clare Davies

Friday 14 November 2025

A very wet morning on the Down slippy underfoot but 8 white faced were found on top of plum pudding, and the remaining 12 white face lower down slope towards bottom fence where all 20 Shetlands were spread out grazing in the rain! No problems noted.

No walkers or dogs.

Tuesday 11th November - Staff Update

All 40 sheep are now fenced into the Western compartment. IBC filling the trough well.

All 20 WFW and 20 Shetlands found out grazing in the open area of the down close to the corral.

Monday 10th November

 Found all 40 Sheep, 1 WFW has a  branch in its coat but other than that all look well.

Western Compartment 

- SW section 12 WFW and 1 Shetland

- close to corral 2 Shetlands

 - about 70m west of the NE gate close to path 3 WFW (including one with branch) and 16 Shetlands

  - water trough in this compartment is about 4/5 full

  - Note all the gates and fences are fine in this compartment but none have a notice indicating that there are livestock in the compartment.

Central Compartment 

- about 30m west of NE gate on path 5 WFW and 1 Shetland

- water troughs full in this compartment

 - the sheep nuts are in the red tin in the tree nearby (about 1/4 full)

 - I also saw a deer in this compartment

No dogs or walkers seen on the nature reserve.

Sunday 9th November

 Went up early this morning. Found the 6 in the central compartment, all well. 16 by the lower gate in the western compartment, and the other 18 in groups scattered around. Again all looked fine. Did not need to use the bag of nuts.

Pippa   pp. Chris Lloyd

Sheep Move

34 sheep moved to the Western compartment, 6 in Central. Unfortunately not enough of us to get the remaining 6 - so we'll move these on Tuesday when we have a volunteer group and more hands.

To summarise:

34 sheep in West (15 WFW, 19 Shetland)

6 sheep in Central (5 WFW, 1 Shetland)

Friday 7 November 2025

 Alone on the Down. Pretty sure I found all 40 but some were deep in the scrub playing hide & seek. Guess they'll be easier to count when they're moved over the weekend. All busily munching & looked strapping, especially the WFW. Got to admire the new stile too👍

Sam

Sheep Move tomorrow - Saturday 8th November

 Hi all,

Just to let you know that I plan to move the sheep across to the Western compartment of Broughton tomorrow morning, all being well. We have been given permission by our Senior Estates Manager that they are allowed back into this compartment, as he doesn't see the yew posing a significant risk and believes that any issues we had previously were possibly as a result of a lack of forage availability - of which there is now plenty within this compartment. 

Just a heads up for anyone heading up there this weekend - that they may have moved.

Will post again after the move.

Also how lovely are the colours of the Beech trees up there at the moment?!

Thanks,

Andy

Tuesday 4th November

All 20 woodland and 20 Shetland found spread out along the northern and western site of the Hill. All who looked healthy. All gates good, somebody has adjusted the lower northern gate between East and central so the closer works very well now. Thank you. 

.

No walkers or dogs. Troughs full.

Monday 3rd November

 Found all 40 Sheep across 2 locations :-

19 Shetlands and 3 WFW in the open area to the east of the water troughs (mostly sitting).

17 WFW and 1 Shetland towards the SW gate in the compartment,  all were eating, a lot eating the scrub.

Water troughs full.

No dogs or walkers seen.

All fences and gates secure. Is there still a gate on the East side of the compartment now the new fencing is up?

Saturday 1st Novemeber 2025

 

Bit rainy today so sheep were spread between 3 main groups, taking a while to locate despite enlisting a son & husband. We find using walkie talkies to assist both practical & adds a feeling of professionalism! Water troughs both unsurprisingly brimming, didn't see nut bucket. Found plenty of badger holes searching the thicker scrub at the top of the Eastern valley. Planning to return at dusk one day to observe. Eventually located all 40 sheep, no sign of any issues. No other walkers.

Best wishes with the op Guy. I look forward to the return of your entertaining blogs in due course!