Seaweed eating sheep of North Ronaldsay
A quick photo diary of my trip to meet the seaweed eating sheep of North Ronaldsay.
In September, I had the privilege of being invited to speak at the Orkney Science Festival about Birlinn Yarn and my previous Viking cloak art project Auður the Deep Minded (find the link: HERE). The couple of days on mainland Orkney were wonderful as the Festival followed a sub-theme of wool and sheep.
There was a very special afternoon Wools New Horizons hosted by the Orkney Science Festival in the beautiful recently renovated Old Library, Kirkwall where Orcadians came together to show their wool textiles and crafts with visiting delegates from the Iceland, Faroes, Northern Ireland and of course Birlinn Yarn.
Beautiful flight to North Ronaldsay.
North Ronaldsay is the most northerly of the islands in the Orkney archipelago. It is only 690 hectares (2.7 sq mi) with a population of around 60 people. With full exposure to the wrath of the Atlantic all round it is exhilarating and breathtaking to say the least!
We were accommodated in the North Ronaldsay light house keeper’s houses. It was a very dramatic setting and we were delighted that Billie Muir, the light house keeper for the past 50+ years, was kind enough to show us around and tell us tales of shipwrecks from years gone past.
The light house is also the site of the current woollen mill producing small amounts of yarn from North Ronaldsay sheep. The community are currently in the process of constructing a new mill next to the island airport and hope this will come online sometime next year. With state of the art machinery it is hoped to increase yarn production in order that many more can enjoy this exquisitely soft yarn.
North Ronaldsay sheep roaming the shore and feeding almost exclusively on seaweed.
Why is the yarn so soft? It might be because North Ronaldsay sheep feed almost exclusively on seaweed. In 1832, a “drystone dyke” (stone wall) was constructed around the island and the sheep were excluded from the grass lands in order to protect the fields for cattle grazing and crops. Since then the flocks have run semi feral. The dyke is around 19 km (12 miles) and 1.8 m (6 ft) high and circles the entire island and it has been A listed by Historic Scotland. Maintaining the dyke is a continual challenge for the small island population with winter storms breaking down sections each year.
We of course lent a hand at wall building for an afternoon!
My trip to the island was all too short. On my last day we visited Ann Tulloch who showed us her wonderful North Ronaldsay knitting over a warm cup of tea … the perfect way to end my trip to this beautiful island.
For further information on North Ronaldsay please consult the community website: HERE
