THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA
When Dan Jones was awarded the tenancy of Parc Farm on the Great Orme by the National Trust, he won the chance to tend one of the most remarkable headlands in the country
On the Great Orme, Dan Jones tends one of the most remarkable headlands in the country
f adjusting to farming on a clifftop has been a learning curve for Dan Jones, it’s been an even steeper one for his sheepdogs. “A few months after we moved in, one of my Border collies, Tian, had to be rescued after a stubborn sheep barged him over the edge,” Dan says. “He fell more than 50ft into the sea and had to be winched back up by climbers.” Fortunately, Tian escaped completely unscathed (“I think I was more stressed about the whole thing than he was”) and today, undeterred from his duties, he is quietly watching over a small flock of grazing sheep. In fact, it’s partly thanks to Tian that Dan is farming on this spectacular headland at all. In 2015, the National Trust advertised for a farmer to take on the tenancy of the £1 million Parc Farm, on the exposed peninsula of the Great Orme, north Wales, for just £1 a year. As a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and one of the top five spots for rare plants in the UK, the National Trust offered the nominal rent to encourage someone to farm it non-intensively and with conservation in mind. Dan applied – along with thousands of others from all around the world.
“I got a call asking me to come in for an interview the following week,” explains Dan, who was working as a tenant sheep farmer in Anglesey at the time. “Then, a couple of days later, they phoned again to say I’d need to bring my dog, too. I presumed they just wanted to do a quick dog-handling test, which didn’t worry me – I was more bothered about the Powerpoint presentation. I was expecting to round up half a dozen sheep in a small field, so took Tian, who was just a year old at the time, as I thought it would be good experience for him.”
They were taken to a mountainside in Snowdonia and asked to move 100 sheep and 100 lambs up to the top of one huge hill, then to the top of another before bringing them back to the pen. “At this point I was really regretting not bringing Nel, my experienced dog. Worse still, I was wearing a microphone so the interviewers could listen in, so I was very conscious about what I was shouting!” Dan says. “Fortunately, Tian did a really good job. After that, I did a walk and talk with an ecologist, then the presentation to a panel on my vision for a farming system. It was one of the most exhausting days I’ve ever had.”
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
But Dan, it seems, ticked all the right boxes for the job, combining farming expertise with a sensitivity to wildlife (he had previously worked part-time as a conservation shepherd in Snowdonia), the ability to engage the public, and, of course, dog-handling skills. Two days later, he received a call to say he was the successful candidate. “I just couldn’t believe it at first. I phoned my wife Ceri straightaway to tell her, but it took a while for it to sink in.”
Along with the National Trust, Parc Farm has also been supported by the wild-plant conservation charity Plantlife, which funded Dan’s flock of native-breed Lleyn and Herdwick sheep. For the past decade, sheep have been mostly kept within the walls of the farm because grazing large flocks near the edges of the headland was more challenging. As a result, many of the rare flowers, including goldilocks aster and basil thyme, have disappeared under a blanket of rough grass and gorse.
“I farm the whole of the Great Orme – there are 145 acres of Parc Farm at the top, but the really important bit is the 720 acres outside the farm walls. This is where all the rare plants and wildlife are. I’ve been brought in to make sure the sheep graze on certain areas to open them up for the wild flowers to thrive
again,” explains Dan, who currently has around 340 Lleyns and 70 Herdwicks. “The Lleyn is a local breed from the Lleyn Peninsula, so they thrive in these conditions. They’re sturdy but still produce really good-quality products – both lamb and wool. Herdwicks were chosen because they are a less specific grazer, so they’ll eat the tough grasses better than modern breeds.”
FINE-TUNED FARMING
It’s not just the breeds of sheep that are integral to the conservation efforts but also how they are shepherded. While the larger flock of Lleyns roams more widely on the Orme, Dan uses a smaller group of Herdwicks to graze specific areas more intensively, using a traditional method called ‘close shepherding’: “These sheep live inside the farm, but every day I take them out to an area I’ve agreed with the ecologists. I use the dogs to keep them in the right spot. It’s different to a lowland intensive sheep farm, where you just go to a field and round them up. When you’re close shepherding, getting the sheep to settle in an area is the biggest challenge, so the dogs have to work very calmly and quietly.”
There’s a fine balance between removing the tough grasses and over-grazing, so Dan works closely with experts, including Dr Trevor Dines, botanical specialist at Plantlife. “My plant knowledge is slowly growing. Every time I see Trevor, he points at something to test me! My Mastermind subject would still be Welsh rugby, though,” says Dan, who has been surprised at how interesting he finds the plants. “Spiked speedwell is my favourite (not that I’m sure a farmer should have a favourite flower) – we get areas where they’re everywhere, even though they’re rare. The most important plant here is the Great Orme berry, which is a type of cotoneaster. There are only five in the world and they’re all on the Orme – but, to be honest, I was pretty disappointed when I saw them. They’re not the most impressive-looking plants!”
As well as rare flowers, the Orme is also a top spot for birds, including the rare foraging chough. So, with guidance from the RSPB, Dan’s flock also grazes areas of short grass to provide the perfect conditions for these avian visitors. With involvement from so many organisations, one of Dan’s main challenges is meeting all their requirements while staying true to his farming ethos. “What I’m keen to prove here is that modern farming practices and conservation can work together successfully, both financially and for the benefit of the environment. You can manage areas like this in a way that is good for the land, good for nature and good for visitors, while being productive, too.”
A POPULAR DESTINATION
It’s a message he’s keen to pass on to the 600,000 visitors who come to the Orme each year, particularly in summer when the panoramic views from the top are enjoyed by those who use the vintage trams and cable cars to go to the summit. “They tend to congregate around the coffee shop, so we’ve created short networks of paths through the farm to encourage people to enjoy more of the Orme and see how we’re farming sustainably,” Dan explains.
At this time of year, the long days mean more time spent shepherding. “The weather can be very dramatic in winter, but nothing quite beats the lovely days of summer,” Dan says. “On a clear day, they say you can see England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. My passion has always been working sheepdogs, so it’s wonderful to see them at work up here, quietly keeping a small flock in place or rounding up strays on the cliffs.” And hopefully learning to keep a safe distance from the edge.