Norfolk shepherdess Hannah Murrell is gearing up for a very busy lambing season.

The 24-year-old shepherdess is expecting up to 300 Rare & Native Breed lambs to be born in the next few weeks at Gawdy Hall Estate in Harleston.

Hannah, who joined the Estate in October, looks after a flock of 400 sheep with the help of her three-year-old sheepdog Roo.

Gawdy Hall, which is the sister estate to Courteenhall Farm in Northamptonshire, reintroduced Rare Breed sheep in 2023 starting with 50 Llanwenog sheep. They were soon joined by another 350 as well as 27 Norfolk Horn Shearling ewes, an amber listed rare breed, 100 Lleyn ewes, 3 pedigree rams and 200 Lleyn ewe lambs.

The flock are reared entirely outside on grass and herbal leys in the 16^th century Estate’s parkland and graze cover crops such as radish grown over the winter months. The introduction of cover cropping and livestock is part of the Estate’s change to a more regenerative way of farming to improve soil health.

Hannah grew up on her family cattle farm in Great Yarmouth and before she was a shepherdess worked for six years with cattle at Pulham Herefords in South Norfolk.

She said: “I’m really excited about my first lambing season at Gawdy Hall, as it’s the busiest time of year for a shepherdess.

“At the moment, while it’s still very dark in the mornings I get up at 6am and come into work at 8am. This will change when the lambs start coming. Then we’ll be checking the ewes through the night and catching up on a couple of hours sleep here and there when we can get it.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve been busy getting everything ready including moving fences in blocks around new grazing areas so there’s fresh food for the sheep; dipping any lame sheep in a footbath with an antibacterial solution; and doing some worming.

“My lovable sheepdog Roo is my absolute right hand and is brilliant in the field, and so quick that the sheep don’t see her coming.

“My partner Matt is the drill man for AJ Alexander & Son who are the farming contractors on the arable part of the Estate and it’s quite nice that the sheep I look after are currently grazing the cover crops that he put in last year.

“You don’t meet many shepherdesses in Norfolk because it’s not really sheep country. There are more of us in the North of England but it’s still very much a male dominated profession.

“I was at an agricultural store recently in the Estate’s truck to get some oil for the Gator I drive around the fields. I was in waterproofs and a jacket, covered in mud, and someone asked me what I did.

“This question always amuses me because the answer surprises them every time. You wouldn’t expect little old me to do a job like this, but women are more than capable of it.

“I come from a farming family. My grandad was a pig farmer. My mum and dad ran a cattle farm and farm shop near Norwich and had a 70 head suckler herd. They gave up cattle in 2007 because it was so tough and just have nine cows today which we hand-reared as a family. My sister Lizzie is a pig farmer.

“After school, I studied agriculture at Easton College and also did a year of animal health and husbandry.

“I love sheep and the set up at Gawdy is brilliant. I check in with the Estate Manager Mark Mayhew every morning and then head out in the Gator with Roo on board to check on all the sheep. I make sure they’ve got enough food, their water troughs are full, the electric fences are all working and all the sheep look healthy with no problems.

“At this time of year, you can find a few pregnant ewes lying on their backs. If they get cast like this you’ve got to get them back on their feet quickly or they can suffocate due to gas build up in the stomach.

“Sometimes you get a few cheeky sheep who like to go for a bit of a wander. One morning a few of the Norfolk Horns had escaped out of the park and I found them a mile away on some of our cover crops with our third-party grazier’s lambs. We rounded them up and took them back to the herd.

“Working outside with Roo and the sheep is a perfect job. I love lambing time because it’s such a happy time. Watching newborn lambs spring around makes you feel very bubbly inside. Each lamb has its own personality. There are some awkward ones and others that are willing to do anything.

“I never feel lonely because I’ve got Roo with me 24/7. She comes home with me, she’s with me all day and she adores me. We have a very special relationship. Not surprisingly, it’s not unusual for me to dream about sheep at night!”