On all points bar one, I too would suggest Jacobs. But they aren't a rare breed - and in fact aren't native to the UK either.
If you could be bothered with the amount of wool and the work it entails, Teeswaters are striking-looking sheep from the NE of England. Or there are Wensleydales with their blue faces, or you could get the black Wensleydales which are super-cute. Both these breeds are good size animals, so you'd have plenty of meat.
For visually appealing rare breed sheep which would be less work, options would include North Ronaldsay - small but very cute, and come in lots of different colours. They are famously the sheep which live on seaweed on their home islands. Kerry Hill have striking facial markings not dissimilar to the Teeswater, but they aren't longwools so their wool doesn't need any particular care. Border Leicester are longwools but their fleeces aren't as long and curly as Teeswater or Wensleydale, and their bunny rabbit ears are always popular. The Lonk is another decent-sized rare breed from your local area, I think they are beautiful to look at.
Have a look at the
RBST Watchlist for more info and other ideas.
If using the fleeces and / or sheepskins is of interest, then all of the breeds I've mentioned have fleece of interest to spinners, with the exception (in my experience) of the Kerry Hill. North Ronaldsay is double-coated and not the softest, but the colours make it interesting.
Castlemilk Moorits are very elegant little sheep, look like a cross between a deer and a sheep. The meat is dark and lean, with a very distinctive taste - many people who don't like lamb to eat do like Castlemilk Moorit. The fleece is short and a challenge to spin, but very very fine and should be soft - select your ewes with care if you want to use the fleece. Like the North Ronaldsay, these are a small primitive type, slower-growing, and the lambs usually benefit from going into a second spring.
I could write something positive about most of the rare breeds (sheep / fleece nerd? me?!
) but I will stop after just a few more mentions.
Norfolk Horns are the precursor of the Suffolk, one of the traditional meat breeds. Attractive sheep - a bit like Aardman Animations' Shaun the Sheep, but with the addition of attractive horns. One of the most enjoyable fleeces to spin, and their lambs are born blotchy spotty grey/black and are super cute. If your ground isn't too rushy / muddy, they could be a lovely choice.
Portlands are medium-sized sheep with tan faces, attractive horns, nice fleece, good meat. They tend to have single lambs, which are born fox red and are again, super cute.
Llanwenog are medium-sized, would do well in that locale (I have friends who keep them in north Cumbria), lovely fleece for spinners, cute looking fluffy sheep with darker faces.
Topic: Which Sheep Breed? (Read 3683 times)
