Open Days
2022 OPEN DAY
The 2022 Welsh Mountain Sheep Society Open Day will
be held under the auspices of the Meirion branch in Cae
Poeth, Cwm Cynllwyd, Llanuwchllyn, Bala, on Saturday
1st October 2022 at 1:00pm, courtesy of Glyn and
Awena.
The sharing of vehicles should be attempted where
appropriate as the road and access to the location is
very limited. To reach Cae Poeth you will have to pass
through the village of Llanuwchllyn, over a bridge
towards Dinas Mawddwy. There will be signs on the
road for you to follow and we ask everyone to park on
the Rhyd-y-Bod farm fields (with thanks for their
permission). You will have to walk down the field to the
small bridge over the river Twrch and walk up towards
the Cae Poeth yard. If this is a problem it will be
possible to get transport from the field to the yard
using an appropriate vehicle.
Cae Poeth is a 215 acer farm starting at 800ft above sea
level and rising to 2000 feet. There are 260 ewes and
80 yearlings. Lambing percentage was 150% for last
season. All ewes in the flock are put to a Welsh
Mountain ram and 50 acers is grassland and the rest is
unimproved habitat land. There are 6 rams in the flock
and the whole flock is part of the Hybu Cig Cymru EBV
scheme. The flock will be shown in the surrounding
fields and also in the sheds. Light refreshments will be
provided by Cig Oen Aran.
How to get there - download directions.
Due to Covid-19 unfortunately we were not able to
hold an open day in 2020 or 2021. We trust that we
would hold an open day in September 2022.
2019 OPEN DAY
The 2019 Welsh Mountain Sheep Society Open Day was
hosted by the Ceredigion County branch at Tynant,
Talybont, Aberystwyth, on Saturday 21st September
2019, courtesy of Dilwyn, Marion, Rhydian, Elgan and
their families.
The family farms 2,600 acres in total with the farmyard
measuring 650 feet above sea level and rising up to
1750 feet to the highest point of the Farm and on the
farm we saw Capel Bethesda, Tynant; a service is held
here once a month during the Summer season.
They won the All-Wales Big Bale Competition in 2014
from the Welsh Grassland Society and also received the
reserve prize in 2019. The flock includes 2000 ewes
plus 450 ewe lambs each year. 500 sheep are crossed
with Texel and Primera rams to produce fat lambs.
The sun was shining and a thorough organizing made
the day a great success. Mr Huw Davies, Llety Ifan Hen,
Chairman of the Ceredigion Branch, welcomed the
crowd of over one hundred and fifty and handed over to
Mr Elgan Evans Tynant. A 13-mile agricultural & cultural
tour of the farm and through the remote uplands of the
Talybont area in several tractors and trailers.
Firstly we saw the winter rootcrop fields where the
sheep are turned to after scanning, then on to Mynydd
Uchaf to see 450 ewe lambs. There we also saw
members of the Ceredigion branch working Welsh
Dogs. Then we went on and through the uplands of
Cwm Ceulan to Bwlchygarreg and saw Welsh Black
Cattle rearing Charolais calves and Welsh Mountain
Sheep in their natural habitat and past several ruins. We
drove via Nantycagl Lake, through Cyneiniog forest to
see the male lambs. It is customary to sell the fat lambs
grass-fed only to Dunbia through the Cambrian
Mountains Lamb scheme. This ensures delicious meat.
The small railway line of the Hafan was seen leading
down to the old Bwlch Glas lead mine before reaching
the Welsh Mountain Sheep at Bwlch Glas. We returned
to the yard around 4:30 for a feast of roast mountain
lamb, a cup of tea, cake and a chat. The day was
concluded by the Chairman of the five Counties, Mr
David Evans, Penyglog.
2018 OPEN DAY
The society’s Open Day for 2018 will be held under the
auspices of the Montgomery county branch on the farm
of G Roberts, Glanhafon Uchaf, Llangynog, Oswestry
SY10 0HL on Saturday 29th September 2018 at
1.00pm.
In contrast to our usual open days, three members will
hold this year’s event on the one farm. Mr Roberts and
his son Emrys will be joined at Glanhafon Uchaf by Phil
Morgan, Glanhafon Fach, Llangynog SY10 0EW and
Geraint Evans, Tŷ Mawr, Llangynog SY10 0HD.
Glanhafon Uchaf extends to some 300 acres and
supports a flock of 500 Welsh Mountain ewes with 60
being crossed with a Charollais ram. 20 Welsh
Mountain rams are retained with th emajority of
finished lambs being sold through the market at
Oswestry.
500 ewes are kept pure at Glanhafon Fach a farm that is
around 450 acres in size. A Charollais ram is crossed
with another 150 Welsh Mountain sheep that can be
sold as couples in Ruthin in May. Mr Morgan also keeps
a herd of 20 suckler cows that are crossed with a
Belgian Blue.
Ty Mawr supports a flock of 1,300 ewes with 700
maintained pure with the rest being crossed with a
Charollais ram.
The three will display a cross section of their flocks with
30 ewes, 30 yearlings and 30 ewe lambs on display,
together with stock rams, yearling rams and ram lambs.
2017 OPEN DAY
2016 SOCIETY OPEN DAY
This year’s Society Open Day will be held under the
auspices of the Denbighshire County Branch at
Cwmgeifr and Blaencwm, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog on
Saturday 1 October 2016, at 1.00pm by kind permission
of Glyn & Lynne Jones, Elgan & Cathy, Gethin & Sara
and their two daughters Annes & Glesni Mai.
Members should first meet at Blaencwm at 1.00pm
promptly please before moving on to Cwmgeifr at
2.30pm. Blaencwm is some three and a half miles up
from the village of Llanarmon DC. Turn left in the
village square by the Hand Public House if coming down
from the direction of Llanrhaeadr YM along a narrow
and windy road, or turn to the right at the square if
coming up the B4500 from the direction of Chirk and
carry on along another narrow road, Swch Cae Rhiw.
There will be direction signs to help you but do not stop
at Cwmgeifr, but carry on for a further mile before
turning to the left after passing an old chapel on your
right to go to Blaencwm which is another mile up the
valley. Blaencwm is the last farm along that road. The
road will still be narrow and you should be careful to
avoid accidents.
Blaencwm’s yard is some 1,300 feet above sea-level in
Cwm Llawenog, Dyffryn Ceiriog. The farm rises to
2,600 feet to the top of Cader Bronweh, which is on
the Berwyn range. It extends to 1,500 acres with a
further 200 acres of grazing land on Blaenglyn
Mountain. A flock of 1,200 ewes is kept with 250 of
them crossed with Texel rams: a herd of some 20 Welsh
Black Cattle is managed there as well. Ewes, yearling
ewes and ewe lambs as well as stock rams will be shown
at Blaencwm.
In Cwmgeifr, the yard is about 1,200 feet above sea-
level and a flock of some 1,000 Welsh ewes are kept
with 300 cross-bred breeding ewes. The Welsh
Mountain flock grazes on the mountain at Tarw ar
Swch, which between them extend to 1,500 acres and
rise to 2,200 feet. Another 200 acres of improved land
and 600 acres of rented land at Pentre Pant are used to
produce silage and cross bred ewes and younger cattle
are managed there. 350 of the Welsh Mountain ewes at
Cwmgeifr are crossed with Charollais and Cheviot
rams. At Cwm Geifr, we will be able to view the stock
rams, yearling rams and rams lambs as well as the un-
weaned ewe lambs and their mothers, as well as
yearling and other ewes. The ewe lambs will be sorted
in a way that will enable identification of their sire.
Some of the finished lambs from both farms are sold
dead-weight, either to Randall Parker at Llanidloes or
to Dunbia at Llanybyther but the majority are sold
through the auction mart at Oswestry and Ruthin or as
store lambs at Ruthin or St Asaph.
Light refreshments will be prepared at Cwmgeifr. We
would urge you to be prompt and to be careful when
travelling to Blaencwm and then back to Cwmgeifr
otherwise there may be problems on the narrow roads.
THE SOCIETY’S OPEN DAY FOR 2014
The society’s Open Day for 2014 will be held under the
auspices of the Meirioneth branch at Maesypandy,
Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd LL36 9AQ at 1.00pm on
Saturday 27th September 2014 with the kind
permission of the owner,Ruth Tudor and the farm
manager, Dylan Davies and family, his wife Alison and
children Bedwyr and Erin.
Maesypandy lies on the B4405 between Bryncrug and
the junction on the A487 in Tal-y-Llyn, near the
Minffordd Hotel. The farm extends to over 2,000 acres
as well as a further 70 acres in Bryncrug and another
160 acres in Dolgellau. Some 200 acres of the land is
found around the farm buildings on the floor of the
Dysynni Valley with the rest rising steeply up the slopes
of the narrow valley to the top of Graig Goch, Corris
behind the farmhouse and Mynydd Bwlch in front. The
farmhouse itself is very old with an inscription 1637
carved into one of stones used to build it and a further
one indicating that it used to be part of Nanau Estates
at one time.
The flock of Welsh Mountain ewes numbers 1,300
including some 300 ewe lambs. Nearly 1,000 ewes are
turned to the rams at the end of October annually and
in 2014, a scanning average of 169% was achieved with
600 ewes carrying twins. Only a small number of ewes
are crossed with other breeds. Lambs are born outside
from 25th March onwards.
Finished lambs are sold teither through Farmers’ Marts
in Dolgellau or directly to Dunbia’s abattoir. 30 ram
lambs are retained annually with 5 kept as
replacements with the other replacements being
bought in as the need arises and the supply is available.
Rams are normally bought from the same sources at
the society’s sales in Dolgellau.A herd of 20 Welsh Black
suckler cows are also kept with the offspring sold as
stores. The farm is also part of the Glastir scheme.
OPEN DAY 2012
The 2012 Society open day was held in association with
the Montgomery branch on the family farm of Mr
Glynne Jones Cwm Rhayader, Glaspwll, Machynlleth on
Saturday, September 29th.
Cwm Rhayader Farm is approximately four miles from
the main road on the borders of Ceredigion and lies in
the shadow of Montgomeryshire with the river Llyfnant
flowing past the boundary between the two counties.
The farm is around 920 acres in size with the yard
located at over 700 feet above sea level. The land is
largely upland and rises from the yard to 2,000 feet at
the top of the mountain.
The flock of Welsh mountain sheep includes 800
breeding ewes, between 180 and 200 female lambs, up
to 20 ram lambs and 9 rams. The lambs are sold as
store or fat lambs. The flock is kept as a closed flock
with one or two rams purchased each year and five or
six ram lambs are reared annually.
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