Clarkson talks about certain portions of land on his farm that are intentionally not used for farming, stating it is "good for global warming". He then proceeds to talk about a subsidy scheme provided by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for these fields that requires these fields to be mown annually, which gave him the idea of using sheep to mow the crops as opposed to using his tractor, thinking it would be a good business idea.
Clarkson sets off to buy sheep at an auction for this endeavor but is overwhelmed by the amount of sheep on offer, not knowing how to differentiate the different types of sheep. He speaks to Kevin Harrison of the National Sheep Association to aid him in the purchase of sheep; Kevin advises Clarkson to purchase North Country Mules for their traits and temperament. At the end of the auction, Clarkson spends £11,000 to purchase seventy-eight North Country Mules.
Having been forewarned by Kevin that sheep can jump walls, Clarkson spends another £2,700 to set up an electric fence system around the field he intended to keep the sheep in. He tries to test the fence to see if it works and ends up electrocuting himself using the battery. Soon after, his sheep arrive and are led into the field; they are subsequently wormed off-screen. After a few days of work, Clarkson returns to the field with sheep and attempts to relocate the sheep to another field for their current field "is full of diseased feces".
Admitting that he would be unable to afford a sheep dog along with all the logistical issues behind owning a sheep dog, Clarkson seeks out an alternative method to herd the sheep; to do this, he spends £2,500 on a search-and-rescue drone, which he modifies with dog barking noises. The drone appears to work initially but once they pass through the field's gate they attempt to flee into the village; Jeremy ultimately gets the sheep into their new field "with no help from" Lisa and the filming crew, while admitting that he is unable to keep up with the speed of the sheep.
After a few days of work, Clarkson returns to see his sheep and discovers that some of his sheep are lame; he attempts to figure out why his sheep were lame but is turned off at the diseases sheep are able to catch. Admitting that he is unprepared for this situation, he contacts veterinarian Dilwyn Evans to aid in treating the sheep. Dilwyn breaks the news to Clarkson that there are four lame sheep in his herd as well as the treatments to be administered, to which Clarkson is a bit distraught.
Having eaten everything in their new field, Clarkson has to move the sheep again; much to his consternation, the sheep are significantly less obedient, with Clarkson using his barking drone to no avail. Shortly after, the sheep begin jumping the stone walls, destroying them as well; Clarkson ultimately spends the entire day sorting out the sheep and brings in Kaleb for assistance in reassembling the electric fence in the middle of the night.
The next day, Clarkson tries to coerce the sheep using food; this does not go as planned, with the sheep jumping more stone walls and destroying them again. Resigning to his fate, Clarkson exasperatedly gives up attempting to herd the sheep and goes on an expletive-filled rant regarding his newfound hatred for sheep and his anticipation to eat them. Further attempts at herding the sheep results in further destruction of the farm's walls, to which Clarkson calls upon Gerald Cooper, a specialist in dry stone walling, to mend.
Clarkson decides to reactivate the abandoned water troughs sitting around the farm as a permanent water source for the sheep; he finds that no water is coming through any of the stopcocks he attempts to open at any of the troughs. To aid in his reactivation of the troughs, Alex, a friend of Clarkson, gives him maps dating to 1922 detailing the layout of the water pipes in the area at the time. Clarkson sets out to find out if the water pipes still existed, with crew photographer Ellis O'Brien suggesting water divining to detect for pipes; Clarkson is initially skeptical of the effectiveness of this method but is astonished when it appears to work.
Having established the existence of the pipes, Clarkson deduces there would be a water tank somewhere that feeds the pipes likely on high ground, and sets out to find said tank. He discovers a tank under a manhole cover and is turned off by the rancid smell on the inside; he thereafter finds two men with a large liquid tank to attempt to see if the pipes are still connected by pumping water through the tank. Clarkson is delighted to find out that the pipes are connected and reports the good news to the two men, who then suggest Clarkson to find a way to fill the tank up with water via other means apart from a tanker truck.
Clarkson puts this task on the backburner as his rams have arrived and gets about preparing the rams for lambing; he affectionately names them Leonardo and Wayne. After leaving the rams to settle in for a few days, Clarkson returns to the sheep and prepares to lamb the sheep; to aid him with this, he brings in Kevin and Australian veterinarian Jenny Ryan. As they are preparing for the lambing, Kevin and Jenny discover that three of the lambs have problems with their udders and are not recommended for impregnation. Clarkson, Kevin and Jenny then prepare to fit some "bondage gear" to Leonardo and Wayne; as they do that, Kevin suggests to Clarkson to hire a shepherd.
As they let the sheep get about their business, Jenny and Kevin warn Clarkson about some concerns the sheep might have after their lambing process. This serves to affirm his decision to hire a shepherd. After deciding to hire a shepherd, Clarkson wonders what to do with the three ewes who have issues with their udders; he consults Jenny and Kevin, who note that the three ewes are likely headed for slaughter.
Three weeks pass. By this time, Clarkson has hired Ellen Helliwell to act as his shepherd; Ellen reports to Clarkson that he has 74 pregnant ewes. Both work together to separate Leonardo and Wayne from their "woolly harem", while Clarkson takes pot shots at Ellen's driving skills. Concerned about a lack of grass in the field where the sheep reside, Ellen suggests hay to supplement their diet; Clarkson notes that hay can be quite expensive.
Charlie drops by the next day, with Clarkson reporting on the situation of the sheep. Charlie brings the money situation regarding Clarkson's sheep into sharp focus, commenting that Clarkson will be making significant losses through rearing his sheep; it is at this point that Clarkson admits that buying sheep was a poor business choice, a point with which Charlie agrees. Clarkson then consults Gerald, who is maintaining his walls, for advice regarding a water source for his sheep.
After further searching, Clarkson finds a spring in one of the woods; Kaleb and Clarkson use a pump and numerous pipes to test the water source; water springs from the pipe, much to Clarkson's joy. Clarkson and Kaleb then use a mole attachment attached to Clarkson's tractor to run pipes from the spring to the tank; as they are preparing to lay pipe down, Kaleb gives Clarkson a reality check regarding sheep and his potential revenue from selling the sheep. As they change the hosereel, Kaleb tells Clarkson about the presence of the "accident book", baffling the latter to no end.
Clarkson and Kaleb work into the night to lay the pipe, with Clarkson checking to see if the water source is working; the taps at the troughs work, much to his delight. He is however baffled at the sheep not drinking from the source, before realizing that the trough is live due to its proximity to the electric fence. A few days later, Clarkson dejectedly sends the three ewes for slaughter. As he drives back, Clarkson reflects on three months of owning the sheep: being "a nightmare", "ruinously expensive", but they had brought lots of joy to the farm and that he had grown to love having the sheep around the farm. Clarkson reveals he had one more surprise in store: for dinner, he eats a lamb pie.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Black Comedy: Clarkson follows up his comments about the sheep bringing him lots of joy... with him eating a lamb pie.
- Drives Like Crazy: Ellen accidentally breaks through a wall as she reverses her truck into a parking space.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Clarkson seemed legitimately distraught when sending the three ewes for slaughter and was even further distraught when he had no opportunity to say his final goodbyes to them.
- Tempting Fate: Clarkson claims he had completely mastered sheep herding using just his barking drone. Shortly after, his sheep attempt to escape to the nearby villages.
- The Unintelligible: Gerald.
