Dafydd Morris-Jones, Cambrian Mountains, Wales

“I walk 12 miles a day during lambing, and lose all the Christmas weight. On a wiggly route it’s two miles from the bottom of my farm to the top, then two back, and I do that three times a day, four at the very height of lambing. If I go by quad the sheep think I’m there to feed them and run towards me; if I walk I get to concentrate, observe their behaviour, listen. If they’re able, they have their lambs in the same spot that they were born in – upland sheep are obsessed and wilful about their little place. But there are other spaces – little hollows, root cellars – that they’ll choose if they’re having trouble with labour, so I know to take extra care of the ewes who turn up there. I’ve got ankle trouble at the moment, which puts my back out, which makes my arm hurt. The doctor said it’s a classic farmer injury from doing big distances in wellies, day in, day out.

“From Easter to October I do Duke of Edinburgh award supervision too – shepherding children! The children plot a route to a wild camping spot, and I walk a parallel path which is probably twice their distance, keeping out of sight. We meet up once. From a distance I can see who is sitting a bit apart, trailing behind. Or who has weighted their bag badly and will be suffering. Then I can give them a little advice about how I pack my bag, for example, without giving specific support. They’re now asked to do a presentation on some observation – flora and fauna, infrastructure, which makes the walk more conscious, less mechanical.”