Fell ponies

Fell ponies on Birkbeck Common, Cumbria.

Fell ponies are an ancient breed of hardy ponies found in the mountains and moorlands of Northern England. The breed is thought to date back to Roman times. The Vikings used them for ploughing, and much later they were put to work as packhorses in the copper, lead and other mining industries of the North Pennines and Lake District. Today they are mainly used for driving and showing.

They are small animals, most commonly this blackish colour with long manes. These ponies will spend the winter out on the fell. This is a cold place, even in summer, so these are seriously hardy ponies.

A chance to get out of the office this morning and visit a site I hadn't been to before. We didn't get away from the teleconferences, though, and the derelict barn shown here provided shelter for one of these. This is a remote place with a bleak beauty with many abandoned farmsteads and barns.

This is best viewed large.