Wensleydale

The Wensleydale is a large English longwool sheep from the Yorkshire Dales, strongly associated with Wensleydale and the old Teeswater and Leicester longwool types. It is easy to recognize by its blue-gray bare face, long ears, polled head, and heavy fleece that falls in lustrous ringlets rather than a close, crimpy staple. White Wensleydales are best known, but colored Wensleydales also occur in specialist flocks, producing gray, black, brown, and silver longwool fleeces prized by handspinners.

Historically the breed was important as a crossing sire, especially over hill ewes to produce Masham and other productive crossbred females. Today it is kept by pedigree breeders, fiber farms, smallholders, and rare-breed conservation flocks. The fleece is the main management feature: it needs clean pasture, timely shearing, and attention to flystrike in damp weather. Wensleydales are big sheep, so good handling facilities, sound feet, and steady nutrition are important for breeding ewes and growing lambs.