ADAM’S ANIMALS
Sheep have been farmed and fleeced across the British Isles for centuries. Countryfile presenter Adam Henson explores how the wide variety of species reared in the UK produce a vital commodity that is multipurpose, recyclable and biodegradable
Adam celebrates wool – our most useful natural material.
Here’s a fact that never fails to amaze me: the UK has more breeds of native sheep than any other country.
From the Devon and Cornwall Longwool in the south-west to the Shetland sheep of the Northern Isles, there are more than 60 pure breeds and numerous cross and half-bred variations roaming the nation’s fields, valleys, hills and mountain slopes. Of course, they vary enormously in shape, size and character. But what they all have in common is the ability to provide us with one of the most versatile and sustainable natural materials known to mankind: wool.
The list of uses for wool is almost endless: bedding, blankets, carpets, clothes, cushions, sound-proofing and upholstery. It’s even used as insulation in walls and ceilings, and as lagging around pipes and boilers.
We’ve been raising sheep and harvesting their fleeces for thousands of years, but anyone who thinks wool is a material of the past is sorely mistaken. Thanks in large part to the BBC series
Blue Planet II, the world has woken up to the dangers of plastic pollution. So the time is right to remind people about the eco-benefits of using and wearing wool. For a start, it’s all-natural and totally renewable. What’s more, the life of woollen clothes can be three times longer than that of cotton or man-made garments, with figures from the International Wool Textile Organisation suggesting that pure-wool sweaters, dresses and scarves can be worn for up to 10 years. Wool also stores carbon from the environment, and is both recyclable and biodegradable.
BRITISH WOOL’S RENAISSANCE
Autumn is a season of celebration for the wool industry and now sees not one but two awareness-raising events. Shetland Wool Week (28 September – 6 October) was launched 10 years ago as a way of spreading the word about Britain’s most northerly native sheep and the textile heritage it has inspired, including the world-famous Fair Isle sweater. This year there will be 400 talks, tours, workshops and shows taking place throughout Shetland, attracting an international audience. The second event is UK Wool Week (7–20 October), a nationwide campaign that, this year, will highlight how using wool can help us reduce the pollution caused by many synthetic fibres. It’s no secret that I have been a proud and vocal supporter of British wool for a long time; in fact, it’s almost nine years since I expounded the joys of this marvellous material to Countryfile viewers in a film that turned heads and stopped traffic. The world-renowned tailors of London’s Savile Row created a suit for me made from the wool of British rare-breed sheep. I wore it while parading through the ancient streets of Stow-on-the Wold, accompanied by a spinner, a weaver, a tailor and a flock of traditional breeds. Our intention was to cause a bit of a spectacle and to get people talking about the choices they make when they buy clothes. In the years since then, public taste and opinion have changed markedly, so perhaps now could be time for our home-grown planet-friendly fibre to enjoy a renaissance. Ask Adam: What topic would you like to know more about? Email your suggestions to editor@ countryfile.com