51AVÊÓƵ

I often consider the unique challenges of farming the Great Orme.

One such challenge is the cable-hauled tramway running through the middle of the grazing area, transporting over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudnos Victoria Station to the summit.

Its popularity has continued since it opened in 1902, and it is Great Britains only remaining cable-operated street tramway, not dissimilar to the famous San Francisco cable cars.

Daily through March - October, I am seen herding sheep back up through the open tram gate as they try to make a dash for freshly mowed lawns on the edge of town.

But I am hoping this continuous game of cat and mouse is coming to an end, with the installation of new access gates, cattle grids and 800 metres of fencing.

While 800m of fencing might not sound much, the rock beneath the inch of soil, coupled with the inaccessibility for machines, is certainly proving to be slow work and I am sleeping well at night.

Getting the sheep to heft to the Orme is an agreed objective since I took on the tenancy in 2016.

To establish a heft, the sheep are kept in place by shepherding, rather than the usual physical fence boundaries.

How long will establishing a new hefted flock take? No-one can answer me. Adding dog walkers and the generally busy nature of the area to the process certainly ups the challenge and while the new tramway fencing layout will make traditional shepherding redundant in this area, it gives a much needed practical solution enabling me to concentrate on other areas of the mountain.

Recently, one morning, while knee deep in rock and not so much soil, I received a phone call from the local primary school, Ysgol San Sior. Pupils from Ysgol San Sior often visit Parc 51AVÊÓƵto learn about the conservation work and to share their enthusiasm for nature.

The school is also known for having an array of 140 egg laying hens. The general gist of the conversation went Dan, one of your sheep is in the hen house.

I have learnt to expect the unexpected here, but even so, a sheep in a hen house?

Not totally convinced that this was not a wind up, I sent my trainee shepherd (my wife), with her sheepdog, Mask, to inspect the situation. Sure enough, there among the chickens, having fallen a good 50 feet off the edge of the Orme, through brambles and landing on netting to keep bird flu at bay, a rather bemused, but unharmed ewe had rolled down inside the chicken coop.

Stopping for a social media photo opportunity, while carefully coaxing the bramble-covered ewe back across the school yard while surrounded by excited children and into the front of the truck, the head teacher commented I have a secure harness for the school reading dog to travel in the car.

So off my wife went, with the retrieved ewe sitting front seat around Llandudnos one way system. Every day is a school day.