Each summer I organise a day out for my students and any family members that wish to come along. For some of the years I have used a company called Great Days to provide the itinerary and guide. This year we went with one of their new events – One Man and his Dog. I thought this was appropriate given that it is the Chinese Year of the Dog.
Our coach was a bit late arriving in the morning so at one of the pick up points we decided some qigong in the early morning sunshine would be a good thing to pass the time. We were soon on our way and we picked up our guide on the way (along with Jessie the dog) and our first stop was Ponderosa Cafe at the top of the Horseshoe Pass. The views were stunning and after a quick drink we headed off to the farm to meet Gwyn and his sheep dogs. As well as training sheep dogs he also breeds them and he had one puppy left out of a litter of five. Throughout our stay at the farm the puppy was passed around and was so well behaved.
Gwyn gave us a talk about the dogs and life on the farm; days goneby and where things are at. We watched a number of sheep dog demonstrations with different dogs and he provided some interesting information about their personalities. It was easy to see what he was talking about once the dogs were out and about. After being in the fresh air for some time we had built up an appetite and headed off for our pre-booked lunch at the Hand Hotel, Llangollen. After lunch we had free time in the town before boarding our coach for our journey home.
On the way back we stopped off at the Grovesnor Garden Centre near Chester for a quick break and refreshments and some buying time too! Then it was back on the coach for our final journey home. A very full day which seemed to be enjoyed by everyone. We were also lucky with the weather – glorious sunshine all day.
Photographs from the day can be viewed in the gallery.