This is the sound of Herdwick Sheep in the Lake District in the UK, galloping from one field into another, herded and rounded up by trusty sheepdog, Moss.
These Herdwicks live on Pam Hall’s farm in St John’s in the Vale. Herdwick sheep are particular to the Lake District; the breed are strong and hardy, with thick legs and fleeces, well suited to the damp and windy conditions of life on the open fells of Cumbria.
This is a group of ewes (although one ram has somehow made it into the field as you can hear from the recording!) who were taken to the lower fields to get the better grass over Winter. You can hear their hooves on the earth as they round the corner from one field to another.
This is one of the sounds which will feature in the late-night Counting Sheep performance taking place at Ptarmigan in the wee hours of 5th May, 2012, Estonia.