At Udale Speciality Foods we are extremely proud to be working with Yew Tree Farm to provide the very best award winning Cumbrian Lamb to the hospitality industry.

The farm was once owned by Beatrix Potter and starred in the feature film ‘Miss Potter’. A working hill farm, Yew Tree comprises of over 700 acres of fell and field in the Yewdale Valley near Coniston, home to a flock of Herdwick ewes and a herd of Belted Galloway Cattle.

Yewtree specialise in Herdwick Hogget, Herdwick Mutton and Belted Galloway Beef, their animals roam freely over, herb rich pastures and fells.

Known as Cumbria’s own sheep Herwicks are widely considered the hardiest of all Britain’s hill sheep. They are perfectly designed to withstand the wet westerly winds and harsh conditions found on high Lakeland fells.

A distinctive breed, the lambs are black in colour fading to chocolate brown, they greying as they age. The fleece is coarse and waxy and covers the face and legs for all weather protection.

Herdwicks are slow to mature and survive off a sparse diet of mixed leaves, grasses and berries. Lambs leanr from their mothers the area of the fell they should be grazing. Most ewes are not bred from until three years old and often only have one lamb. Lambs are usually over a year old before being mature enough for meat, this growing time makes them relatively expensive to produce.

Herdwicks’ mixed diet and long natural lifestyle produces meat so rich and tender that it has become a national delicacy. Although the cuts are smaller than cross bred lambs, the meat has superb depth of flavour and is high in beneficial Omega 3 fat.

It is important to support the Herdwick breed as they are part of our Heritage and play an essential role in the maintaining the magnificent Lakeland Fells for us all to enjoy.

Michel Roux Jr. (le Gavroche)
Cooks with Udale Herdwick Lamb