These are the Cheviots, a beautiful range of hills around the border of Northumberland and The Scottish Borders.
And this beautiful valley is College Valley within the Northumberland National Park.
The white painted houses in this valley were originally the homes of the shepherds and their families. Traditionally a simple cottage with two bedrooms and a living room with a range fire to cook on. They had a barn where two or three cows were kept, a pigstry and a garden for vegetables to be grown in. The sheep, Cheviot sheep, roamed the hills. Cheviot sheep were the lifeblood of the valley. In the 1950s there were 20 shepherds, in the 1990s that figure was down to 12. Today there are only 2 farmer-shepherds left.
And this beautiful valley is College Valley within the Northumberland National Park.
The white painted houses in this valley were originally the homes of the shepherds and their families. Traditionally a simple cottage with two bedrooms and a living room with a range fire to cook on. They had a barn where two or three cows were kept, a pigstry and a garden for vegetables to be grown in. The sheep, Cheviot sheep, roamed the hills. Cheviot sheep were the lifeblood of the valley. In the 1950s there were 20 shepherds, in the 1990s that figure was down to 12. Today there are only 2 farmer-shepherds left.
