The photographer's original notes read 'Bath Night for Thousands of Moorland Sheep' and 'Under a new Government order, thousands of Derbyshire Moorland sheep are to take a bath. Hope valley being chosen for the operations. Photo taken today shows the start of the work, but this sheep, like the bad boy, objects to the water, and shows his dislike in a rough way.' While the location is said to be the Hope Valley, this merely indicates it could be anywhere between Bamford and Castleton or even on the River Noe between Hope and Edale.