Island Blog

The North Ronaldsay or ‘Rollie’ breed of sheep pre-dates the Iron Age. These rare and unique sheep do not need humans to help them in any way. Although it is possible (if often frustrating!) to gather them by human activity, it is not advisable to try using dogs. ‘Rollies’ have no respect for any canine …

Our life on Auskerry relies heavily on our supply of peat to keep our stove burning in order to provide us with hot water and a house warm enough to survive the long, dark nights of an Orcadian winter. We cut the peat out of the ground with an ‘L’ shaped, long handled knife known …

For the last 35 years we have been farming the isolated island of Auskerry. Our boys have grown up helping to round up the sheep for lambing and clipping; a job that involves a lot of running over this 250-acre island especially as North Ronaldsay sheep have no respect for sheepdogs and will jump straight …

We have been farming the island of Auskerry for 35 years. The stretches of water that separate us and the nearest islands are subject to strong tides, and we are often unable to cross for anything up to 6 weeks in the winter. Even in summertime it can be hard to find a day that …

These sheep have thrived in Orkney for thousands of years, having been farmed by the original settlers who built the Ring of Brodgar and Maeshowe. Rolie fleeces lined the beds at Skara Brae and kept our ancestors warm in a variety of ways. The sheepskins are a perfect insulator and would have been used to …