UNUSUAL looking Herdwick sheep have been popping up all over the county.

The latest colourful additions to Cumbria have taken up residence at Carlisle’s Borderway Mart.

The life-size brightly-painted models have been commissioned by livestock auctioneers H&H Group as part of a new public art trail which county-based artists have flocked to support.

Aptly named Harrison and Hetherington, the colourful fibreglass masterpieces have been unveiled by well-known Northumberland artist Mary Ann Rogers as part of the Go Herdwick charity project.

Go Herdwick has been launched by the Keswick-based outdoors charity the Calvert Trust to highlight its 40th birthday and help pay for an ambitious new project. 

Brian Richardson, chief executive of the H&H Group, said: “From seeing the two sculptures from their blank original form to their now beautifully decorated forms, the transformation has indeed been great.”

Harrison features Mary Ann’s famous hounds, as both hounds and Herdwicks are often seen in the Lakeland fells, while Hetherington is covered in tulips.

Mary Ann said: “I associate Cumbria with the strongly-held passion for hounds – both hunting and trail – so one sheep has hounds bursting out of cover.

“The idea was to avoid too much detail, and concentrate on the energy and movement, along with a background that works.”

She added: “The art trail will take place during Easter so the idea of the ‘Tulip Ewe’ was born.

“I am delighted to have been able to contribute to the Go Herdwick flock and have enjoyed the opportunity to work on a three-dimensional canvas for the first time.”

The Harrison & Hetherington sheep will be on show at various H&H locations during the coming weeks, before joining the remaining flock at Easter for the Herdwick Trail.

The art trail follows in the footsteps of national and international successes including Shaun in the City, which delighted visitors to London and Bristol earlier this year, and Cow Parade, seen recently in France and Japan.

The aim is to have 60 life-size models of Herdwick ewes sponsored by businesses. The firms then team up with an artist who, in turn, transforms the fibreglass model into a colourful masterpiece.

Once the flock’s makeover is complete, they will take up residence along the Keswick to Windermere 555 bus route from April.

They’ll be rounded up for a public viewing in September before a public auction in October.

And all the money raised will go towards a £1.3 million renovation of Calvert Trust’s Old Windebrowe site in Keswick.