They survived on St Kilda, the remnants of an ancient flock from a far time, and their future was unclear. Then Jane Cooper’s interest in knitting led to her awareness of their uniqueness; and she uprooted from Newcastle to come to Orkney and set up a Boreray flock with the last few sheep from the Highlands – known by lovers of this rarest of sheep breeds as ‘The Lost Flock’.

She was astonished to discover that she was the sole custodian of this flock in the world – and so she began tracking down the origins of the Boreray breed and piecing together its onward history, through Norse times and Highland crofts.

Now she has written a book, The Lost Flock – published on 14 September; and tonight she tells of the sheep themselves and her search for their story.