Hillcrest Holiday Cottage - Late availability

Due to an unexpected cancellation Hillcrest is available for up to 10 nights 

commencing Saturday 5th May

7 nights at £400 or any 3 or 4 night break at £250

Visit the website at www.upperswaledaleholidays.co.uk for full details and lots more photos.

It certainly is the perfect time to visit Swaledale. The blossom is out, the daffodils are at their best and there are blankets of wild anenomes and banks of primroses up and down the dale.

And the garden at Hillcrest is looking more colourful every day.

 

What better time to give yourself a well earned break?

Jumping for Joy

The sun has been shining and everywhere you look there is evidence 

that spring is in the air.

Our lambs are just about old enough to gambol & play.

From Reeth to Keld daffodils dance by the roadside ....

and at the water's edge marsh marigold begin to flower.

 

and in every field and pasture lambs, lambs, lambs!

Baby Bonding

All is calm, all is well in the lambing pens today

You can't cosy-up much closer to mum than this pair of twins!

Successfully mothered on.  If you look carefully you can see that this lamb is wearing an extra skin.

The ewe lost her lamb and has been fooled into thinking this lamb (whose natural mother didn't have enough milk) is her own.  She has taken it straight away.  The extra skin will be taken off very soon and the ewe will rear this lamb as her own.

Swaledales are such good mothers, protective and attentive.  

No parenting classes required here!

Lambing time is under way at Pry House Farm

 We are a few days later than usual with our starting date for lambing this year.

Today is our due date for the Pry House lambers and we are out of the starting blocks!

 

 The special care baby unit is already half full although no complications 

just a bit of extra monitoring and lots of TLC.

Another set of twins again born in the building.  As soon as possible we safely pop them into a pen (with their mother) to keep them away from all the other ewes that are still waiting to lamb.

This year we seem to have more sheep than ever in the building - its a bit crowded.  

The weather has been so wet and cold we are trying to keep them inside as long as possible.

Nice for them particularly as there is so little grass this year.

 A single lamb can manage in amongst the sheep. This one has tucked herself under the hay rack!
Showered with hay seeds but safe.