A sheepdog has “found his sea legs” after starting work on a remote shingle spit off the Suffolk coast which requires a commute by boat, a shepherd has said.
One-year-old border collie Sweep has been rounding up rare-breed sheep at the National Trust’s Orford Ness nature reserve since February this year, taking over from his predecessor, Kite.
One-year-old border collie Sweep must take a boat to work as a sheepdog at Orford Ness, off the Suffolk coast (National Trust/Richard Scott/PA)
Shepherd Andrew Capell said: “He’s used to being around sheep but the ferry crossing has taken a bit of getting used to.
BBC News
Published
image captionSweep is the only dog allowed on Orford Ness
A sheepdog whose commute requires a boat has found his sea legs , a shepherd has said.
Since February, one-year-old border collie Sweep has been rounding up rare-breed sheep at the National Trust s Orford Ness nature reserve, on a remote shingle spit off the Suffolk coast.
Sweep, who is still in training, has taken over from his predecessor, Kite.
Shepherd Andrew Capell said Sweep was used to sheep but the ferry crossing has taken a bit of getting used to . Thankfully, he seems to have found his sea legs, he said.
Published:
12:15 AM April 7, 2021
Andrew Capell with Sweep, the border collie responsible for rounding up sheep on the Orford Ness
- Credit: National Trust/Richard Scott
A seafaring border collie has been recruited to round up flocks of sheep that live in the Orford Ness nature reserve, off the Suffolk coast.
One-year-old Sweep travels by boat across the water to the shingle spit, where he looks after some of the country’s rarest breeds of sheep under the watchful eye of National Trust shepherd Andrew Capell.
Sweep travels over to the Ness via boat
- Credit: National Trust/Richard Scott
Breeds kept on the Ness include the Whitefaced Woodland, which was saved from extinction in the 1970s, the Manx Loaghtan, which has fewer than 1,500 breeding females left in the country, and the Herdwick, which has long been associated with author Beatrix Potter.
Sea-faring sheepdog recruited to work with rare sheep
7 April 2021 |
Sweep will round flocks of rare sheep on a remote island off the Suffolk coast (Photo: National Trust)
A one-year-old border collie has been recruited by the National Trust to help look after some of the UK s rarest sheep on remote land off the Suffolk coast.
Sweep travelled to Orford Ness nature reserve by boat where he will round flocks of sheep under the watchful eye of shepherd Andrew Capell.
Breeds there include the Whitefaced Woodland, saved from extinction in the 1970s, the Manx Loaghtan which has fewer than 1,500 breeding females left and the Herdwick.