Sheep On The Road On Visit To The Highlands Of Scotland

Tour Scotland 4K travel video of sheep on the road by the West Highland Way on visit to the Scottish Highlands. When sheep are on the road, just be patient, as they will eventually move. In the Highlands of Scotland sheep rearing was only introduced on any significant scale in the late 18th or more usually the early 19th century, by the estate owners. The way this was carried out is often regarded as a dark chapter in Scotland’s history, as the highland social structure was destroyed in the process. This is what is known as the Highland Clearances, when the population of small farmers who used to raise black cattle and drive them in herds to the lowlands to sell were unable to produce enough rent to keep the estate owners satisfied. They were evicted from their homes, often with little regard for their well being, as their goods were thrown out of their small cottages which were then demolished. The people had to go to the cities, to emigrate or to live along the coasts while the whole of the interior of the Highlands was more or less depopulated and sheep flocks, managed by shepherds from the lowlands were brought in to provide a more profitable enterprise for the estates. In Bronze Age times sheep were widespread and took a role equal to that of pigs and cattle, while later on they were the dominant animal. Wool was one of the first textile materials to be spun and woven and formed the clothing of the people, especially when the wet and colder period of the Iron Age took place. In Roman times Britain was famous for producing high quality woollen products and while this declined to some degree in the post Roman Dark Ages, nevertheless it was important in AngloSaxon times and records show that woollen cloaks were desirable items and good for the climate. At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the Domesday survey that soon followed, sheep were recorded as the dominant farm animal by far and they continued to be so for the next several centuries.

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