Diane Hannah

"I’m Diane Hannah, co-founder and Director of the Herdy Company. Myself and my husband Spencer set up Herdy in 2007.

We live near Windermere. Having two dogs, we are always out and about, craving a great walk with amazing views, usually followed by a visit to a pub with local food and beer.

There are so many special days here, with clear blue skies, but even when it’s raining it’s so beautiful and atmospheric. Certain times of year are fantastic, like when the bluebells are out, or early autumn: being close to nature is key for us.

We travel to London a lot with our work, and there is something special about arriving back in Oxenholme, when the doors open on the train, you smell that fresh crisp air, and shake the city out of your shoes. It’s such a great place to come home to.

Where we live is a great location - you can be up on the fells in the evening after work, it really blows the cobwebs away and allows you time to think. Favourite spots are Buttermere and the Langdales, but we love to take friends over some of the high passes, just for adventure value!

We love art and design and will often head to Blackwell for a visit. It was moving to Cumbria, which gave us the idea for the Herdy Company, and to develop the brand based on the iconic face of the herdwick sheep. It’s very much the herdwick sheep which creates the Lakeland landscape, and that’s the basis on which the bid is going forward this time – that of an ancient farmed, cultural landscape.

The herdwick is inextricably linked to the landscape and we’ve created the brand to make people think about how important the breed is to the Lake District.

With every herdy purchase people make, we communicate how important the Herdwick is to the area, effectively sculpting the Lake District landscape we all know and love.

It’s really important for us to tell people about the amazing job the farmers do too, and we support this with the unique herdy fund – where we fund and sponsor projects, spend time working with rural community initiatives and upland fell farmers who care for this very special sheep.

We recently created the Herdwick ‘quality mark’ branding, which is being managed by the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association and integrated across the Herdwick supply chain to support the PDO status of the meat. We continue to work on a knowledge share basis with the HBSA.

Conservation here should be about preserving the beauty of the place, but allowing it to develop and move on – it’s not just about wild landscapes.

The Lake District is a place in which people live and work and that is part and parcel of its charm. I’d hope that World Heritage Site status would give the National Park more recognition around the world and enhance the ability to promote this very special place to visitors here in the UK and overseas."

Diane Hannah