Swaledale Sheep

The Swaledale is a domestic sheep breed named for the Yorkshire valley of Swaledale, found through the mountainous sheep country of Great Britain including the Yorkshire Dales, County Durham and the Pennine fells of Cumbria. It is identified by a black face marked with bright white around the nose and eyes, curled horns that are larger in rams, and a thick, very coarse white or off-white fleece; it is a medium-sized, notably hardy breed. Swaledales are kept for lamb and mutton, as breeding stock, and, crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester, to produce the North of England Mule; their wool, though low in value, is durable enough for carpets, rugs and insulation. About 1,200 pedigree flocks exist in the United Kingdom, and the breed, an official symbol of the Yorkshire Dales, has been organised under the Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association since 1919.