The area I cycled through from Stockton and Broadwell is the flat land forming the valley of the River Leam, arriving at the village of Grandborough.
The photograph shows the church spire in the background and the Shoulder of Mutton pub in the foreground.
Whilst most of the land around here is now used for arable farming formerly much of it was grazing land probably for sheep, and presumably giving rise to the name of the pub.
If you cycle through nearby Grandborough Fields key an eye out and there is a chance that you’ll spot some very unusual looking sheep. These are reared by the owners of ‘The Lost Farm’ (http://www.thelostfarm.com/index.html).
It is great that thay are keeping the sheep farming tradition going and even more positive that they are using different and historical breeds to do so.