Flock around fun: there’s nothing sheepish about this event at the Royal Highland Show
The Golden Shears World Sheep Shearing & Woolhandling Championships is returning to the Royal Highland Show in June after 20 years.
Held in the MacRobert Theatre, more than 35 countries from across the world will battle it out to see who is the fastest sheep shearer and who has the best woolhandling technique.
The highly-anticipated event will feature 39 decorated sheep sculptures that are currently on tour across Scotland in the Flock to the Show public art trail.
The Scotsman is the media partner for both events and the Royal Highland Show is held from 22 to 25 June.
Visit the website at royalhighlandshow.org
Meet the artist
Lynne Fleming is a Scottish Artist who loves to paint. After a Foundation Year at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, she went to the Edinburgh College of Art and specialised in glass design and stained glass.
On graduating, she worked for Caithness Glass, designing and copper wheel engraving, before moving to a farm in Strathmore.
Her paintings are of local landscapes, recalling and recording beloved images, also flowers and seascapes from the West Coast.
She says: "Strathmore Summer was inspired by my love of where we farm in Strathmore.
"The rivers Ericht and isla run through-and sometimes over the land. Sheep are an important part of riverbank maintenance eating ragwort before it flowers and treading in wildflower seeds to promote regeneration.
"The sheep have little cloven hooves which compact the flood banks, unlike larger herbivores which impact it negatively.
"Summer is standing in the river with the Sidlaw Hills in the distance, surrounded by wildflowers, ladybirds and bees."
Strathmore Summer
Strathmore Summer by Lynne Fleming highlights The Outdoor Access Code, a set of guidelines in Scotland. that allows the public to access most land for outdoor recreation, while respecting the rights of landowners. The code has had both positive and negative impacts on rural communities. Positive impacts include increased tourism and economic benefits for rural communities, as visitors spend money on accommodation, food, and local activities.
However, the Outdoor Access Code has also had some negative impacts on rural life. The increased number of visitors has put a strain on some local resources, such as parking, toilets, and waste disposal facilities. Some visitors have also damaged property, disturbed wildlife, or caused erosion through their activities.
Such unthinking activity can impact the local environment and cause conflict with landowners or other nearby residents.
Meet the sponsor
The James Hutton Institute is a globally-recognised independent research institute dating back to 1930 and delivering fundamental and applied science to drive the sustainable use of land and natural resources.
Its research farms have long been at the forefront of innovation in land and agricultural practices, trailing and testing new farm methods, livestock and crops whilst supporting sustainable and resilient communities through social, economic and technological innovations.
Commenting on what they liked most about Strathmore Summer, they said: "The sense of space devoted to sky and land which felt like it captured the ethos of our climate positive farming to achieve net zeroand even negative carbon emissions, whilst also protecting and enhancing the natural assets of a farm."
Find your fleece
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