All Hail The Orchard Pig

If you asked a random group of people ot name any breed of pig, the immediate response from most would be the Gloucestershire Old Spot.

- Adam Henson

This summer, everyone in Gloucestershire is getting to know one of our native livestock breeds just a little bit better. It’s thanks to a new visitor trail from June through to August with 40 sculptures of Old Spot pigs being placed all over the county; 20 are in prominent locations in the city of Gloucester and a further 20 can be found throughout the surrounding area, including one here at the Cotswold Farm Park.

For a rare breed farmer and enthusiast like me, you can imagine how exciting this is, but what is especially humbling is that the sculptures have been named Henson Pig. It’s in recognition of the work done by our family, and in particular my late Dad, Joe, to protect and promote Old Spots and the other county breeds. What an honour. He would have been so proud.

Anything that sparked interest in these fascinating animals and made people curious to find out more was always good news in his book. It’s something that I’ve always tried to do too and keen-eyed TV viewers will know that Old Spots regularly feature on Countryfile.