Gritstone / Lonk/ Rough Fell ....why aren't they more popular

MJT

Member
Was admiring the neighbours Gritstone x ewes with their lambs this morning The ewes are by Gritstone tup out of Suffolk x Welsh and pure Welsh ewes. And wondered why they aren't a more popular breed, they seem hardy thick good boned sheep, with nice tight skins and good bodies,almost the body of a cheviot but with a speckled face ! I imagine the mules out of them would be good sheep too! so why arent the Lonk and Gritstone or even the rough fell more popular ? Anyone on here have them ?
 

Dafydd

Member
Location
Mid Wales
Was admiring the neighbours Gritstone x ewes with their lambs this morning The ewes are by Gritstone tup out of Suffolk x Welsh and pure Welsh ewes. And wondered why they aren't a more popular breed, they seem hardy thick good boned sheep, with nice tight skins and good bodies,almost the body of a cheviot but with a speckled face ! I imagine the mules out of them would be good sheep too! so why arent the Lonk and Gritstone or even the rough fell more popular ? Anyone on here have them ?
Used a Gritstone over our Speckle ewes for a number of years, added body and size but felt the ewes were weak on their pasterns and too many with bad feet.
 

GTB

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
We used a Gritstone Ram on Welsh ewes many years ago. We did keep ewe lambs from him but I can't remember what they were like. Obviously not very remarkable because we never bought another Grit ram???
 

brigadoon

Member
Location
Galloway
Was admiring the neighbours Gritstone x ewes with their lambs this morning The ewes are by Gritstone tup out of Suffolk x Welsh and pure Welsh ewes. And wondered why they aren't a more popular breed, they seem hardy thick good boned sheep, with nice tight skins and good bodies,almost the body of a cheviot but with a speckled face ! I imagine the mules out of them would be good sheep too! so why arent the Lonk and Gritstone or even the rough fell more popular ? Anyone on here have them ?
We had 4 gritstone ewes since they looked a bit different - completely dopey and unable to count past zero - between the 4 they reared less than 10 lambs in 4 years I think - only one left now
 

MJT

Member
Used a Gritstone over our Speckle ewes for a number of years, added body and size but felt the ewes were weak on their pasterns and too many with bad feet.

Always thought they'd be a good sheep for improving the slight built speckled ewes !
 
White faced Woodlands are another hill breed found in reasonable numbers but only in the uplands of Yorkshire, Derbyshire & Cheshire. Not kept any myself because my is a decent farm, but one of my neighbours keeps Texel x Woodland ewes back to Texel or Charollais tups. They are very hardy (the crosses) but not as easy lambing as you might think & low lambing %, about 150% usually.
 
White faced Woodlands are another hill breed found in reasonable numbers but only in the uplands of Yorkshire, Derbyshire & Cheshire. Not kept any myself because my is a decent farm, but one of my neighbours keeps Texel x Woodland ewes back to Texel or Charollais tups. They are very hardy (the crosses) but not as easy lambing as you might think & low lambing %, about 150% usually.
Think of all three as a thinking man's cheviot! ;).....ie. they'll do all a cheviot will do without the pycho attitude, though with a slightly higher lambing percentage. Texel cross lonk or gritstone to stonking good "easycare" marginal ground sheep. Roughs tend to be over fat but cross well with charollais (just don't keep the gimmers ;):(o_O)
 
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Whitepeak

Member
Livestock Farmer
Grits aren't that popular around here, and I'm in the breeds home of Buxton! Most people run mainly Swales.
Reasons given, Grits aren't very prolific and they've been bred to be quite small in recent times. Their popularity did improve a few years ago when you could claim NE payments on them but not Swales.
 

Wids

Member
Location
Yorkshire
We've a fair few lonks, great sheep. Put to a texel for reasonable fat lambs, do keep some of the best gimmers for ourselves to put back to texel for abit more shape. Do well on our exposed upper ground.

Nothing more than half texel here as everything's lambed outside.
 

Top Tip.

Member
Location
highland
Back in the seventies there were quite a few gritstone tups found there way into blackface flocks to breed the horns of the blackface. The reason being that the export market's were threatening to refuse to take sheep with horns so a few boys thought they would get ahead of the curve.
 

reverand

Member
Location
East lancs hills
IMG_0221.JPG
I have 20 or so for old time sake. The lonk will throw cracking lambs to a terminal sire and they used to call them the haslingden improver as they put length and power in to the country bred's that were about over the Pennines at the time.
 

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read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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