Got it

Comments

Comments

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Anonymous

That llama might be there to protect the sheep from from predators as they are sometimes used as guard animals. You could find out more on the web. Thank you for sharing, I had never heard of water meadows before and came across the term in a 1911 book on agriculture in Asia. The animation really helped me to visualize the concept. It's amazing to think of the innovation that helped to power societies before our reliance on fossil fuels for pumping, etc. Thanks again.

Hadrian Cook

Thanks for mentioning the Harnham Water Meadows Trust and our work. There are two points that need clarification: The grazing is let out to a tenant who also owns the Llama. There is a small flock of black sheep owned by another person close to the Trust, but no Wiltshire Horn Sheep. However, the Trust believes that one day it would be desirable to have such a thing as they were traditional on some watermeadows. Second, the meadows are most probably mid-sixteenth centuary in their date of construction, as far as we can all tell. The city, cathedral and some mills date from the thirteenth century, certain mills from before. Meadow irrigation was known about in the middle ages, but became widespread in the Wessex region only after 1600.

Strolling Guide

Thanks Diane. You learn something new every day!

DIANE STURGESS

Regarding the comment, "Elsewhere on the meadows the Trust have introduced a small flock of the rare breed traditional Wiltshire Horn sheep, and a solitary llama (for no particular reason that I could fathom)." - it is believed that putting a Llama with sheep deters foxes as the Llama will "see them off".

Many Thanks.

Anthony Houghton

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