Streets of Madrid rammed with thousands of sheep for ancient farming festival

Thousands flocked to the city centre to witness the shear volume of cattle.

Madrid’s streets were rammed today as huge flocks of sheep made their way through the city centre as part of the Fiesta de la Trashumancia.

Drivers in the area were force to make a ewe-turn as more than 1,800 merino sheep and 100 goats moved across the cobbled streets.

The festival celebrates an ancient agricultural tradition, in which shepherds would flock to the capital to guide their livestock from summer to winter pastures.

A symbolic amount of 50 coins per thousands of livestock wool then be delivered to the mayor at the Cibeles palace, representing the fee previously imposed on shepherds in 1418.

In the past, the event would involve tens of thousands of animals, easily bleating the 2,000 typically used now.

However the shear volume of cattle still brings the city to a standstill, with folk dancing and live music also accompanying the event.

Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture have been baacking the festival since 1994.

The day starts at 10.30am, when the cattle leave Casa de Campo and cross over the Puente del Rey, on their way to the city.

By 12.30, they arrive at the Plaza de Cibeles and a ceremony is then held outside the City Hall.

The flocks then turn around and head back towards the Casa del Campo by mid-afternoon.

The Fiesta de la Trashumancia is held in Madrid every year in October.