We left Llanddewi-Brefi and drove the three hours back to Llanarmon-D.C. because we were supposed to on a gather with Glyn, Elgan, and Gethin. We made it back in time...whew! And thankfully, they were running a little late with their preparations. The sunset was so late, that we still had plenty of daylight.They were bringing in yearling Welsh Mountain ewes off the mountain for a sheepdog trial that they were hosting the following weekend (and also for tick treatment on the ewes).
Amazing work by the men and their dogs! Wow! Steep hillsides with gorse; the Welsh Mountain sheep can run so fast even straight downhill. I kept thinking that my dogs at home would have been seriously unfit, outclassed, and not too useful...I'm afraid. What an experience. I was unfit too. I ended up staying back, near the pickup. The hillsides were steep with running water all throughout and I was afraid I'd fall. Gloria did well and kept up with Glyn and his dogs on the steep hillside, and got a lot of stunning photography and video. The landscape was so huge, however, that Claire and I had a panorama view of the whole operation. It was for me at least, out of this world...
Glyn had previously taken Elgan and his dogs around to the back side of the mountain and dropped him off, and then he came back for us. Gethin and his dogs had gone to the other back side of the mountain with a quad and the two of them were marching over the top of the crest, with dozens (hundreds? ) of young ewes bleating and running ahead of them in streams of white. It was both thrilling and breathtaking. These little phone pictures do not do it justice, at all. This was the real deal.
Gethin and Sara asked us to stop in for tea afterwards in the old house Blaen y Cwm, which is a listed building, where no one had lived for 20 years and they have restored. Low ceilings, huge exposed wood beams, thick whitewashed walls etc...amazing, and a view that is incredible of the Berwyn Mountains. They're all so nice. We loved how they handled their dogs in mostly soft voices. Many of them had two sets of whistles on the dogs so that they could take out two dogs and work them separately on the hill. This night Glyn was laughing because he had brought out two dogs to work that evening, who are on the same set of whistles, which didn't help him at all. And no leash either, to hold one while he worked the other...so his belt came off and was used as a leash in the emergency. I think we had distracted him (yikes)... but I was so grateful that they set this up for us to see.
Wales is both beautiful and rugged...I loved it. Best day ever.........
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