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Westray Farming

farming on Westray

Ewedini - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Ewedini

While waiting for a Hen Harrier, which never arrives, I see a distant sheep, which I assume is in a bit of …

Working Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Working Westray #3

It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for my series on Working Westray. Cass, the vet, has come out to the island to scan …

Working Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Working Westray

It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for the first in my series on Working Westray. Here’s my good neighbour Alistair sharpening one of …

Hay - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Fields like corduroy

I love the hay and silage fields on Westray. From above they look just like corduroy, with their parallel cords of cut …

Flying - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

A flying visit

Our friend is coming out to Westray for a visit today. He’s flying his light aircraft over from the Orkney Mainland. I …

Calf - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Chin scratching

It’s a real talent to be able to scratch your chin with your foot. It’s fascinating to see this youngster’s dewclaw on …

Ebony and Ivory - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Ebony and ivory

There are 33,000,000 sheep in the UK. Not all of them are in Wales; 15,000,000 are in England. That means 300,000 tonnes …

Common Seal - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Seals and Salmon

It’s siesta time for the Common Seals at Broughton on Westray. It’s a time to let their food go down, let their …

The Derby Ram - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Orkney Ram

The three rams at Backarass are in a huddle. They are all fine, big boys but not quite yet of Derby Ram …

Curious Cattle - The Hall of Einar

Curious cattle

It’s ten years since I took this photograph of cattle on Westray in the field next to Einar: Curiosity Cow The cattle …

Steer - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Tentative

Arriving at Einar, the cattle are always keen to see what’s happening. They approach me with tentative noses:

Cow - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Curious wet nose

Westray is a farming and fishing island, with wildlife largely confined to the edges and margins. It is a very productive island with green fields and very healthy-looking cattle.

Here’s a curious wet nose:

Chewing Sheep - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Cud

The sheep on Westray are hardy beasts. Here’s one with a white face doing what a sheep does best; chew:

Greylag Geese - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Greylag Geese

Greylag Geese are all over Westray at the moment because the farmers have created the perfect habitat for them: acres and acres of fresh green grass. It must be like waking up and seeing delicious breakfast as far as your eyes can see.

Curious Steers - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Curious Beef Steers

They always say you can judge a man by the quality of his shoes. You can also identify the type of an …

Yoghurt - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Guess the Yoghurt Flavour

Over the past decade on Westray one thing has struck me very forcefully: the ability of the shops to stock a single flavour of yoghurt in curious and slightly obsessive depth…

Risso's Dolphins - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Never a dull day

The weather on Westray may be dull, but there’s never a dull day on Westray.

A white blanket of cloud shrouds the island but life continues as normal for the incredible menagerie which inhabits the shores of Westray.