Gathering Sheep

On a hill farm in the Western Lake District

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In the hills of northern England, gathering sheep is still much as it has been for generations. Across vast stretches of rugged, unfenced fell, shepherds and their dogs work as one, gathering sheep scattered across the hillsides. Curious to see this remarkable partnership at work, I travel to the Lake District.

Along narrow country lanes, I wind right through the English Lake District. I am on my way to meet Sam Roper. He is a shepherd and farmer in Ennerdale, a valley in the far west of the Lake District. A gravel track takes me to the farm where Sam lives and works. ‘Welcome to the most unspoilt part of the Lake District!’ he welcomes me. He is standing beside his pick-up, with several dogs waiting patiently in the back. ‘I've brought a nice team of dogs for you, so you can see them in action with the sheep in a moment.'

‘I rent Mireside Farm from the National Trust, a heritage and conservation organisation,' Sam explains, 'there are 1,400 acres and a large flock of Herdwick sheep that belong to the farm. You can't keep such a large flock of Herdwicks in unfenced, rugged terrain if you don't work with dogs.’

'The dogs are indispensable, we're a close team and completely in tune with one another.'

Shepherding

Besides working on his own farm, Sam works as a contract shepherd. ‘I hire myself and my dogs out to other farms. The sheep here in the Lake District live in large flocks on vast stretches of rugged fell with no fences. A few times a year they are gathered from the fells, at lambing and shearing time, for example. These are times when I am sent onto the fells with my dogs, often together with other shepherds. The dogs are indispensable, together we're a close team and completely in tune with one another.’

Britt

“When did you first start working with sheepdogs?” I ask Sam.

'My father has a farm with cattle and sheep. There was always a dog to herd the sheep and cattle. At one point, Britt, a Border Collie, came to the farm.

I loved dogs as a child and Britt and I really clicked, she went everywhere with me. One day, when my father asked Britt to move some sheep, Britt stayed by my side. "Well," my father said, "you took my dog so you’d better go and get those sheep."

'Then he bought me a videotape on how to train a sheep dog, which I watched and then started practising right away. It was trial and error, but eventually we got better and better.'

'When I left school at 15, I went for an admissions interview at an agricultural college. There I met a farmer who kept sheep on the fells. I mentioned that I had a dog and he asked if I'd like to come and help gather his sheep off the fell the following day. Of course I said yes. The next morning he picked Britt and me up.

That morning, one of the shepherds watched Britt gather a few sheep and was impressed. He took me under his wing, and from then on I went out with him regularly.

About a year later he said, ‘I'm not going back and forth through the valley to gather sheep any more. You can do it now.’ I was only 15 when I started working as a shepherd in my own right, I taught myself a lot.'

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Collies and Fell Dogs

Meanwhile, Sam gets the five dogs he brought out of the pick-up. There are three black-and-white Border Collies, and two leaner, athletic dogs with sable coats and white markings. With a whistle, Sam deftly steers the dogs around a flock of Herdwick sheep. They need little to understand exactly what Sam means.

‘Roughly speaking, I work with two types of dogs that we call Fell dogs and Collies here. The Fell dogs are strong, fast dogs with enormous stamina. They drive the herd by really running along the edges and they cut off sheep where they might otherwise escape. Fell dogs are driven and super-smart dogs that can make their own decisions. The (Border) Collies are dogs that you keep closer to hand and that can be directed with great precision, they do exactly what you say and you can steer them left or right, make them lie down, go forwards or backwards.

"You need a team, and every dog has to do its bit. Every dog is an individual, with its own strengths and talents."

The (Border) Collies, are also used at sheepdog trials, competitions held for herding dogs where dogs are judged on guiding sheep around a set course. Some people really breed for that.

I work and breed mainly for use here on the fells, they have to be good at that and have the stamina for it. I compete in sheepdog trials sometimes, that's the icing on the cake, but daily use is the most important thing, that's where I make my living, that's what they have to be the best at.’

‘Within those types of dogs, again, I need different dogs, dogs that can run fast and dogs that are good at barking to really move a flock forward, dogs that get sheep or lambs back to the flock and dogs that are good at working in the sheep pens, all different qualities that are all indispensable. You need a team and each dog has to do its bit. I have a team of dogs, but each dog is an individual and each dog has its own strengths and talents, and that's what makes a good team.’

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'My dog Roo fell 140 feet into a river. I thought he was dead, but against all odds he made it.'

Long Days on the Fells

‘Days can be long gathering on the fells. We often spend around six to seven hours. And for the dogs, that is not taking a leisurely walk, they are running long distances on rough terrain full of stones and rocks and sometimes, in summer, it is very hot. It often seems rough, imprecise work to outsiders, but it is very precise and sometimes dangerous work. Dogs have to hold difficult positions to turn the sheep so they don't escape. These can be high and dangerous places.

For example, my main dog Roo was once pushed down by a sheep that insisted on passing. He fell 140 feet down into a river, I thought he was dead, but he was alive and in the end, with a lot of patience and love, he made it, against all odds. Since then, he always goes back up on the fells with me, on every job.

I now have 14 dogs, so I can put together the best team for each job while making sure the dogs get a day of rest in between.’

Meanwhile, the dogs are still running around the flock full of energy. ‘Just say where you want them, the best picture I think you'll make with Ennerdale Water in the background.' Moments later they're exactly where I'd hoped they would be. ‘A bit more to the right, is that possible?’ I ask. ‘Yes, no problem!’

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'These dogs love the work, the action, just like me.'

‘They are real working dogs, that's what they are bred for. They would be very miserable if they had to lie in a basket at home all day, they love the work, the action, just like me. But when we get home after a long day's work, they do love to put their heads down. My main dog Roo sleeps on our bed at night. I just love my dogs.’

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First published in Seasons magazine (Spring 2026). Revised for Sketches of Light & Land.
Photography and words © Anna Rubingh