HUNDREDS OF sheep filled the streets of Madrid on Sunday, October 20, as they made their way south to new pastures.

The ancient farming festival saw over 2000 merino sheep and around 100 goats make the urban journey which is part of a 600-year-old agreement that allows farmers to pay a tiny fee to cut through the bustling city.

The impressive spectacle also served as part of an annual protest to call for the protection of ancient grazing routes threatened by urbanization. The route would have taken them through undeveloped countryside a few centuries ago, but today it cuts through Madrid’s bustling city centre and along some of its most famous streets.

Sheep farmers pay a nominal charge in symbolic acknowledgement of a 1418 agreement with the city council that set a fee of 50 maravedis - medieval coins - per 1,000 sheep brought through the central Sol square and Gran Via street.

The ‘Trashumancia’ sheep parade starts in the Casa de Campo, a former royal hunting ground that is now Madrid's largest park, then makes its way through the Puerta del Sol — the main square -— and finally past the Bank of Spain's headquarters.

The general public lined the streets to observe proceedings and were entertained by musicians and dancers dressed in regional costumes that have been worn by rural workers for centuries.