From solitude to motherhood - the long journey of Britain's 'loneliest' sheep

It is a story which started at the foot of steep cliffs in the Scottish Highlands in 2023 when a passing kayaker spotted a stranded sheep.

Jill Turner, from Brora, was convinced it was the same ewe she had seen about two years before and its plight quickly captured the world's attention.

Dubbed Britain's loneliest sheep, it was rescued and made the long trip south to a farm park just outside Dumfries.

This week Fiona gave birth to twins in the latest step in a journey which has been followed by a global audience.

When first spotted in 2021, it was thought the sheep would be able to make its own way back to fields above the cliffs.

However, when Jill saw what she believed to be the same animal two years later, that was clearly not the case.

Despite the "ample grazing" in the area, plans were made to mount a rescue operation - but the difficult terrain meant that specialist equipment would be needed.

Cue Cammy Wilson, a sheep shearer from Ayrshire and presenter with BBC's Landward, stepping forward after seeing media coverage of the ewe's plight.

He organised the rescue along with four fellow farmers.

Two of them stayed at the top of the cliff to operate a winch while three others were lowered 250m (820ft) to reach the sheep.

By now they had named her Fiona - due to a similar story in New Zealand where the sheep became known as Shrek. In the film, Shrek falls in love in Princess Fiona.

The rescuers found the sheep in "incredible condition" but also considerably overweight.

"It was some job lifting her up that slope," said Cammy.

The Scottish SPCA was in attendance and its inspector examined the sheep after it was brought up the cliff.

A few days later, she arrived in her new "forever home" about 300 miles away (480km) at the other end of Scotland - at Dalscone Farm Park in Dumfries.

A protest was staged by an animal rights group over plans to move her to the site.

They said it was a "peaceful, non-violent demonstration" over concerns she would become a "spectacle".

But she arrived "under cover of darkness" and was said to be none the worse for her journey.

Farmer Ben Best said the whole experience had been a "bit surreal" but Fiona was "super chilled".

Her rescuer, Cammy, said he was sure she would be well looked after in her new surroundings.

"She will live out the rest of her life down there at Dalscone, probably being better looked after than I will be," he said.

Since then, they have been monitoring her progress and sharing it with the world via regular social media updates.

They removed her lengthy fleece and started to see her lose some weight but her interactions with other sheep remained a concern after so long on her own.

"She doesn't socialise very well with other sheep - I think it is just from being down by herself and isolated for over two years at the bottom of that cliff - she has kind of forgotten how to be a sheep," said Ben.

"We have tried her in with several different friends and we have had to take them back out because she really doesn't get on with them that well."

That led to the decision, last year, that she would be ready to have lambs of her own.

The feeling was that she would be too old if they waited another year to produce her first offspring.

So, after probably being more closely monitored than any other sheep in history, she gave birth to twins - one male, one female - on Tuesday night.

And, as any parent of a newborn will know, the chances of her being left in peace have disappeared for some time to come.