Woolfest - meet the sheep

A wet and wooly weekend

I went up to Woolfest, the celebration of natural fibres that takes place every year in Cockermouth, for my first time this year. First time at Woolfest, and only my second time in the Lake District. Woolfest did not disappoint, and the Lake District lived up to its reputation as well - I've never see so much concentrated rainfall in my life!

But never mind, there was plenty of wool at the festival to keep us warm. I stocked up on yarn and discovered some new fibre suppliers, but the highlight of the festival was definitely the animals. Now that I have met some fibre sheep (and friends), I have a renewed interest in knitting with wool, particularly wool from British rare breeds. And I guess it doesn't hurt that this summer continues to offer plenty of wool-wearing opportunities.

And now for the animals...

coquettish Alpaca

noble Manx

classic sheepy pose from the Shropshire

long-haired Wensleydale

devilish Hebridean

I'm looking forward to finding out more about the fibre properties of the British rare breeds, but I already know that in terms of colour, the bitter chocolate Hebrideans are my definite favourite.

• A selection of Hebridean wool products are available from the Hebridean Woolhouse.
• More information on some of the British rare breeds can be found at the Nude Ewe website.

And to give you a final impression of the weather we endured, I'll leave you with this image.

boats pulled up out of the lake to protect them from the flooding