things to do

One of the things that struck me whilst talking to holidaymakers as they visited the Tourist Information Centre in Brecon this week, was how many of them were returning to the area, in some cases after several years.

The Australian couple who had just arrived after a gap of thirty years wanted to recapture their memory of a place that was beautiful and unspoilt by lots of development. Others too found the ‘shabby chic’ qualities of the town somehow “more real “than more showy and face lifted shopping areas. The high numbers of independent establishments that have kept their personal identities intact mean that the town is not dominated by chain stores. I wondered how this aspect,whilst valued by the visitor, was seen by the local inhabitants especially the young people of Brecon.

The majority of the people I spoke to had come for the hills and the chance to be outside. Using the landscape as a recreational facility, one family said more could be done to give ease of access from camp site to biking or trekking facilities would be a great improvement.

from Industry to amenity

Talking to the National Park’s ecologist about the poor state of the peat bogs and the uplands in general, the acid rains that came with the onslaught of the industrialisation of South Wales; air pollution and periods of overgrazing, a result of a past misguided agricultural policy, have all helped bring about the current state of affairs. We discussed the importance of the farming and grazing communities, their state of decline and the fragile balance between the activities of the farmers and the health of the hills.
This enmeshed conundrum continues, the human impact on the land and wider environment driven by human needs and concerns, and the slow but emphatic responses of the land and wider environment to these activities.

On Waun Figen Felen gorse and heather bails delivered to the peat bog, lay like bandages on the surface of this scared landscape. Unfurled they are used as a lint dressing that try to stem the flow of erosion leaking through the deep gullies, the slashed surface of the peat beds.

Trying to walk lightly over the land is difficult and is not what everyone is trying to do, but it might be something we all need to consider seriously.

As I got near to the farm I was visiting at Talybont-on-Usk, I stopped at a pink corrugated chapel struck by its quiet beauty and maintained dignity.

A woman walking a small dog approached who told me the building had been used as a school for children who were evacuated from London during the 2nd World War. Her sister had been placed with a family in the area, attended the school and learnt the Welsh National Anthem. Being in the countryside had not really left a mark on her sister, but she had had a happy stay, and held happy memories. 70 years later the younger sister who had not been so fortunate had been placed with a different family in another place, with no happy memories, returns every year to visit the family home of the “aunt” and “uncle” who had looked after her older sister. She loves the place even though it has changed, as there is more traffic and strangers.

PwllyrhwyaidI is a farm where keeping abreast of new ideas and new thinking is encouraged and nurtured. Where working with others, allowing new approaches to be considered rather than dismissed out of hand is the order of the day. Inviting people in from other cultures and farming communities has allowed this farm to grow and remain healthy. The importance of soil and the need to give back as well as take is clearly understood.

 

However this is still a family farm with family values and a clear understanding of the importance of lineage and the privilege of being able to pass things on.

Shed

Fleet

sheep sheering

sheering shed

waiting

returning to the field

I think sheering sheep may be the reason the phrase "backbreaking work" came into being, Last week I filmed three men who worked for a whole morning dragging sheep from the pens,calmly turning them onto their backs to sheer them before moving onto the next. In a morning they sheered 300 animals, they had another 300 to do in the afternoon. This was their third day on the farm; they were paid approximately 70p per sheep. I was struck by the shear physical qualities of their work, in a time when it is quite rare to see such hard labour being carried out with such purpose. The dogs were also incredible, they managed to be with the sheep without causing panic or distress, but at the same time to keep the sheep moving in the right direction. The large barn was arranged so that the sheep were coming in from the field driven by one woman and her dog, two men got the sheep into a large pen before driving them into two smaller pens that served the sheep shearers. After sheering the sheep they were released back into the yard to be collected by the woman and her dog to return to the field. Two other women collected rolled and packed the fleeces into big canvas sacks. The barn was noisy but calm and the sheep did not seem at all distressed, but as they went from the sheerer to return to the flock they all gave a leap that seemed to be both of joy and relief.

This week I attended the DDNPA Agricultural Stakeholders Meeting held at the National Park Visitor Centre , Libanus. If I was not already aware that all issues connected with this particular landscape where nothing but complex, this meeting re-enforced the point most succinctly. The farmers attending the meeting were treated to a power point presentation of the new land management scheme. Glastir replaces the existing agri-environment scheme, and will try to encourage more bio diversity on farms , whilst at the same time make farms seem more viable and attractive as a career (life style) choice of occupation.
It was obvious from the many farmers who contributed to the discussion, that they had serious concerns about their ability to fulfil these tasks, working with an ageing and diminishing population(within the farming community).

On Friday I spent time with groups of young people who live , work or study in the area around Brecon. These young people were learning useful trades such as building and carpentry. I also spoke to young car mechanics and hair and beauty therapists ,all from Coleg Powys. Australia was a frequently mentioned destination to emigrate to once they had qualified. Many of these young people had never walked on the hills, for many the natural landscape that surrounds them is irrelevant.

Large areas of bracken push grazing animals into smaller more concentrated areas to feed , this can lead to land poaching. Nardus and Molinea grass also have the same effect on grazing stock, these grasses are also very flamable. Common fires cause soil erosion allowing heavy rain fall to wash unprotected top soil away. Bracken, molinea and Nardus grass establish themselves in these burnt areas, thus reducing the biodiversity of the area.

On Thursday I met someone from the Welsh Water Drinking Water Safety Plan. We talked about particular difficulties that have been highlighted over the past 2 to 3 years, concerning the area of land around the Cantref Reservoir and its feeder rivers. An increase in the occurrence of very high rain fall over comparative short periods of time  since 2008, have resulted in the filtration systems at Cantref shutting down as they struggle to cope with the increased sedimentation in the water arriving at the plant. The Nant Crew and the Afon Taff Fawr are significant contributors to the high colour and sediment content of the reservoir. Land slippage has also occurred resulting in the loss of farmland. Farming practice and land management will play an important role if these problems are to be at least limited if not completely eradicated.


A Catchment Management Strategy is being put forward to try and build a unified approach to tackling the problem. I would like to hear from anyone who has anecdotal evidence of land loss due to slippage. Or have you been caught up on the hills walking or working, during one of these heavy rainfall events? Maybe you lost your water supply or received discoloured water over several days? Simply click the comments button to add you contribution to this blog.

Today, Sunday I went out with the Honddu Dippers, a group of people who give freely their own time to clear up the litter and rubbish of others. This group focuses on the canal and the Rivers Usk and Honddu that run through the town of Brecon. In two hours the group collected 6 bags of rubbish, consisting mostly of drinks containers and take away food packaging. They also collected a skate board, a bike, a 5 litre plastic container full of paint and a range of metal objects. Asked if they felt the community at large were either shamed by their activities, of at least showed some level of gratitude, the group consensus was no. The general public where more likely to see them as people carrying out some sort of community service, or simply council workers who were, after all, paid to clear up after them.




Last Friday I met Susan, a farmer living and working a small farm just outside of Brecon. Susan is at the beginning of her 8th  decade and now only runs a small flock of sheep, each of whom has a name and a character known and understood by Susan. Her oldest ewe Daisy May is still enjoying life at 17 years of age. Alongside this small flock of sheep are ducks, geese, dogs, cats and horses. In addition there is a garden area containing a very wide variety of trees and shrubs including two red woods and Panda quality Bamboo . At the top of her farm land is a mixed wood containing some very fine Oaks, Water Alder, and Silver Birch. Susan has rights to run her sheep on the hills but says lack of grass means that the sheep ware down their teeth and this shortens there life expectancy to around 7 years of age.

Susan has applied for a preservation order to be placed on her barns and oak trees but this request has been declined because amongst other things, she is there to look after them. Susan is 80 and wants to know that after she has gone the trees won’t be grubbed up and the barns turned into a holiday home complex. She wants some form of assurance that the fine oaks will be allowed to stay and the, barns will be allowed to stay keeping their welsh barn -ness, something that is rapidly disappearing from the countryside.

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