Bold And Beautiful

Meet the South Uist breeder who has spent years perfecting his flock of hardy, spirited Howmore River Hebridean sheep

- POLLY PULLAR

WHEN the weather is set fair in the Hebrides, can there be anywhere finer on Earth? A balmy early autumn and skies of cornflower blue brought a Mediterranean aura to our time in Barra and the Uists. We lost ourselves in the depths of rosily blushing sunsets, and as the rising moon silvered the sea, the cries of gulls and curlews and the melancholy Pibrochs of seals filled our nights.

Pedigree sheep breeders are passionate. They know what they like, and most have fixed ideas regarding the type they strive to breed.

On the morning of my visit to Donald Alick MacLeod's flock of Howmore River Hebridean (HRH) sheep in South Uist, dense sea mist hid the sweeping seascapes. According to the forecast, it would be clear by the time of our meeting. And on cue at midday, the craggy peaks of distant Ben Mòr, Corrodale and Hecla shyly appeared.

Donald Alick is undoubtedly passionate. A sheepman through and through, he had already gathered his flock into the fank beside the long, pot-holed track to his land. Sun pierced swathes of evaporating mist to reveal a glorious hilltop panorama, the sea glinting far below.

Packed together, his sheep took my breath away - a jostling of wool and horns, their ebony faces shining as if painted with gloss varnish. For sheep with the reputation of having the ability to gallop faster than the gales that buffet the islands, they seemed remarkably calm.

I met Donald Alick at the National Show and Sale of Hebrideans at Lanark Market in the autumn. Following an introduction by David Braithwaite, stalwart of the Hebridean Sheep Society, his vibrant, warm, and cheery personality and enthusiasm for the breed left me eager to accept his invitation to visit his flock.