Fell farming

Fell farming is the farming of Fells, i.e. areas of uncultivated high ground used as common grazing. It is a term commonly used in Northern England, especially in the Lake District and the Pennine Dales. Elsewhere, the terms hill farming or pastoral farming are more commonly used.


Animals
Animals native to fells, or bred for fell farming, include:

Fell pony
Rough Fell (sheep)
Herdwick (sheep)
Swaledale (sheep)




Problems
As discussed in an article on the Carnegie UK Trust Rural Community Development Programme site: [1]

"The Foot and Mouth outbreak in Cumbria in 2001 led to the culling of over a million sheep. It also showed that the hill (fell) farming communities were as vulnerable as the pastoral system they have created over many generations."






Beatrix Potter
In the latter stages of Beatrix Potter's life, she purchased property in the Lake District (bequeathed to the National Trust and now comprising a portion of the Lake District National Park) for the purposes of conservation and historical preservation. Her efforts helped to ensure "the practice of fell farming remain unspoiled to this day."