A Walk in Lion Country

The Lion and the Lambs

Suzanne and I headed for the Cotswolds on Wednesday to put together and produce route descriptions for a new walk for our Cotswold self-guided walking itinerary. So why lion country?

Many of the beautiful buildings and spectacular churches in the Cotswolds date back to medieval times when the Cotswolds enjoyed a period of incredible prosperity. This wealth was generated by the demand, throughout Europe, for English wool. The old saying went 'the finest wool in Europe is English and the finest wool in England is Cotswold'. The Cotswold hills were absolutely covered in flocks of a distinctive long wooled sheep. Because of the thick mane of wool around the shoulders and the face, the breed became known as the Cotswold Lion - hence 'lion country'.

Our walk visited the villages of Guiting Power, Temple Guiting, Snowshill and Broadway. The pastures, at present, are full of newborn lambs. A lovely time to be in the countryside.

I was lucky enough to get some photographs of some Cotswold Longwool ewes with their newborn lambs in the fields near Snowshill.