For the first time since the Covid pandemic, sheep have been grazing on Hampstead Heath - and are helping to bring anthills "back to life".

A flock of five rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down ewes have been grazing on grass covered anthills at the top of the Heath Extension from 8am to 7pm.

The project is a partnership between the City of London Corporation (CoLC), the Heath & Hampstead Society, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and Heath Hands.

They arrived on September 11 from Mudchute Farm on the Isle of Dogs and every morning volunteers help coax the sheep from their paddock and onto a designated patch of land.

Ham & High: Rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down rest in a covered paddock after nibbling grass on Hampstead Heath from 8am to 7pm every day Rare-breed Norfolk Horn and Oxford Down rest in a covered paddock after nibbling grass on Hampstead Heath from 8am to 7pm every day (Image: Nathalie Raffray)

John Beyer, vice chair of the Heath & Hampstead Society, said the Heath Extension was picked because anthills in the area were "scruffy and overgrown".

He added: "The idea is to get the sheep up here and doing a nice bit of nibbling and get them back to life. Once they are done, the anthills will thrive."

He said if the Yellow Meadow ants are left to thrive, the area will see different plants growing, different insects coming, "maybe grasshoppers will come here and woodpeckers, it's their favourite food".

"It will restore the lifecycle of the Heath," he added.

The original idea to reintroduce sheep in the area came following a Heath & Hampstead Society talk on John Constable's painting of sheep on the Heath.

"People said 'Wouldn't it be lovely to have sheep on the Heath again?'," he said. "In the past they came down from Norfolk to the City and Hampstead Heath was on their route where they would feed their bellies."

The idea found favour with CoLC and in 2019 sheep were bought to the Tumulus, on the other side of the 11,000-acre Heath, to restart a tradition popular in the 1930s and 1940s.

Unfortunately the pandemic put any future plans on hold.

"We've found a lot of enthusiasm for it from people coming here and the sheep aren't troubled by barking dogs," John added. 

He said members of the National History Museum were doing a survey and collecting "raw data" which may be useful in the future.

Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee, William Upton KC, said: “Reintroduction of grazing like this has been an aspiration for many years, as it could play a key role in creating new rich and diverse habitats for the Heath’s wildlife."