Sheep grazing on Great Orme headland at sunset, traditional Welsh dry stone wall in background. Conservation grazing on National Trust owned Parc Farm

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For thousands of years, shepherds tended flocks of hardy native sheep across the Great Orme. This age-old way of life, combined with the geology and extreme climate, created the wonderful wildlife that makes this place special. But modern farming has resulted in the loss of two things on which the wildlife depended: the hardy sheep and the shepherd. As a result, coarse grass, thorny gorse and non-native plants threaten to upset the delicate balance of nature. Parc Farm was carved out of the mountain in the 1800s and enclosed by a stone wall. Within the wall, the farm has been improved for modern farming, but around it lies some of the best wildlife habitats in Wales. The National Trust purchased Parc Farm in 2015, and with it the rights to graze sheep over the whole headland, protecting the delicate environment by bringing back traditional shepherded flocks

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Size: 3900px × 2925px
Location: Great Orme headland, Llandudno, Wales
Photo credit: © Paula Hammond / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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