Hay Days

Memoirs of well-known Welsh Black cattle breeder John Beynon 'Penlan', written before his death in 2021.The Beynon family has been farming in the St Davids area of Pembrokeshire since at least 1326, as an entry in the 'Llyfr Du Tyddewi' shows. However, the joy of this book is its vivid recollections about the author's own experiences in farming over the second half of the twentieth century, with his Tyddewi Herd of Welsh Black cattle winning Breed Champion at the Royal Show and Royal Welsh Show, as well as Herd of the Year on many occasions.From his 1930s childhood on the family farm to marrying and setting up his own farm and multi-award-winning herd, to retirement and beyond, Beynon provides a wealth of detail about agricultural practices in the mid to late twentieth century in west Wales, writing always with a warmth and a sense of humour that is a delight to read.Includes beautiful foreword by Adam Henson of the BBC's Countryfile programme, and colour farming photographs throughout.