Episode 2 Welsh Heartland: The Llŷn Peninsula

Jutting majestically into the Irish Sea,

on the tip of the north-west Wales coast,

Pen Llyn, the Llyn Peninsula.

Attracting thousands of visitors every year, families have

been coming for generations to enjoy its unspoiled landscape.

-So how long d'you think we've been coming here now?

-40 years?

40 years, something like that, yeah.

But there's also another Llyn not all the visitors get to know.

A stronghold of Welsh culture and language...

They ask you, "What, do you speak it every day?"

And I think, "This is our language, this is what we speak,

"this is who we are, you know."

..where old traditions are still part of life.

The Welsh-est Welsh bit of Wales there ever has been.

In this series,

we follow the lives of the people who call Pen Llyn home,

and reveal what it means to try

and guard the Welsh way of life through the changing seasons.

Can they try and make a living

and safeguard the culture in one of Wales' truly Welsh heartlands?

On Llyn, summer has arrived, and that means one thing -

the tourists are here.

Of the seven million visitors that come to Gwynedd each year,

tens of thousands head for its breathtaking headland

in this corner of Welsh-speaking Wales.

-What does that word, erm, slow, mean?

-Araf.

-Araf.

-A-R-A-F, and they write it on the road,

and as you're getting up to the bends,

-they put it, "A-R-A-F." Araf.

-Yeah, yeah.

-What else do you know in Welsh?

-I don't know anything!

But this is a peninsula under pressure.

Tourism is what keeps this place going,

keeping a fifth of its workforce in jobs.

But can Llyn keep its language strong as well as keep a welcome?

Tourists are part of working life for Colin Evans, the boatman.

All aboard!

In summer, his main job involves ferrying visitors over to the

island of Bardsey.

This ancient holy island lies two miles offshore from the tiny

harbour of Porth Meudwy on Llyn's south-westerly tip.

Because it's not going to be very rough but it is going to be

blowing quite strongly from the north,

so it's going to be quite splashy over the side of the boat, so we'll

only be going at about eight knots maybe, just to keep you all dry.

On the way back we might go a bit faster this afternoon just, er...

Cos at least you're coming home... PASSENGERS LAUGH

No, it'd be miserable for you to be wet all day.

The tourist business is key to Colin's livelihood,

so it's all about customer feedback.

I don't want my passengers to get wet.

Not because I really care about them,

because I care about my Trip Advisor rating.

But really I do care about them, obviously.

And I care very deeply about their money.

And you can put that in.

What is your name and how many people will you have?

And as a one-man operation, he's also a bookings clerk on the move.

I've got a master list for tomorrow, let me have a look at that.

Can you, erm, hang on for a second please?

Two, four, eight, nine, ten.

Yeah, we could just fit you on tomorrow at 10.30.

Yes.

But for Colin, tourism is a means to

safeguard the way of life for the future.

Cheerie-bye. Ta-ra, ta-ra.

I think it is a necessary evil.

Bardsey is a place to be treasured.

I think it's quite dependent on tourism.

Maybe that won't be the case in 200 years,

but if tourism helps it survive as a living community for...

into the future, then...

Then I think it has to be sold as...

Parts of it, or parts of the idea of Bardsey

have to be sold as a commodity.

Up on the side there you can see the puffins coming in to land.

They only nest in this little bit here.

If you look at the other birds, there's guillemots and razorbills

and things like that, there's probably 1,000 pairs of each of them.

Colin has made a living on home ground,

but with Llyn's weekly wage nearly 20% less than

the average for Wales, staying here isn't always an option for all.

When you get young people deserting their area,

you lose a lot of culture, the language suffers.

Erm, and there's a general great loss.

On Llyn, summer's just arrived, bringing jobs for over 3,000 locals.

It's just as popular as ever.

If I could move all my English mates here, I'd definitely live here.

I mean, it's like, so nice.

-It is nice.

-Even when the weather's not nice it's even good.

I know, everyone's all friendly and stuff.

With all its holiday accommodation full,

Llyn's population of 16,000 doubles on an average day

in July and August.

For some, moving to live here is only a holiday pipe dream.

For others, those holidays meant that Llyn became home.

We're going out wakeboarding.

Johnny Robinson is one who's made his home here.

After holidaying on Llyn all his life,

Ipswich-born Johnny settled in the area 17 years ago.

Just spotted the dolphins.

Whoo!

It is coming underneath, coming underneath, round the back.

I love this place for a number of reasons.

It's been a part of my family summer holiday tradition

since I've grown up.

We've got gorgeous sandy beaches and clear water, dolphins,

erm, you know, it really does...

When the weather plays ball it really takes some beating,

not just in the UK but on a global scale, in my opinion.

Water sports have played a big part in Johnny's life,

and today he's preparing for one of the area's biggest events -

Llyn's Wakestock Festival is only a day away.

Johnny's in charge of the boats that tow this year's professional riders.

Today in Pwllheli Bay,

he's on a test run with champion rider Megan Barker.

Er, wakeboarding's good here cos it's different.

Erm, you meet more people, you've got a festival,

you're challenging your own...

..skills, like, on the water.

Er, I won Wakestock last year, but it's anybody's game, really.

It's just about having fun.

-Megs, that dolphin's behind you!

-Good!

JOHNNY LAUGHS

Hold tight.

Yee-ee-ee...!

Over a three-day event, Llyn's main town of Pwllheli welcomes

competing wakeboarders from all over the world.

15 years after it first began,

Wakestock is still one of the area's biggest tourist attractions,

bringing an income of between one and two million to Llyn,

and Johnny's been there from the beginning.

That's a little bit of wakeboarding, couple of tricks from Meg there.

One of the main industries in the area is tourism,

and people need a reason to come to this destination.

There are many other options.

Erm, yeah, I think if we can...

Erm, such events as Wakestock,

and puts the place on the map and people come,

then I think that's a positive thing, not just for my personal industry

but, er, you know, all the way down to the builders' yards to...

It benefits everybody.

Oh, Megs!

We better call it a wrap.

Makes it home, er, wherever you lay your hat.

I don't know, you just feel kind of relaxed and happy,

it's a great place, you know.

For Johnny Robinson, living on Llyn is a family affair.

Like Johnny, his wife Caroline also fell in love with the area.

I'm from Chester originally, but we always holidayed in Abersoch,

all of my childhood summer holidays,

and then Johnny and I met in '97 and we've been together ever since.

Formed the business and now family life is here, it's fantastic.

Couldn't think of anywhere better to live.

And their children, like all kids on Llyn,

will be educated through the medium of Welsh.

Just go and get her, cos... that's my only set of car keys!

Can you come and finish your dinner, please? Two more spoons.

I think he should be taught Welsh. I think he should learn it.

Personally, I...

would like if he was taught in English

and learned Welsh as a language.

I do think it's important that he learns Welsh,

this is where he was born, it's where he's being brought up,

and he should respect, appreciate and understand

his heritage and culture.

But, er, English is a more widely spoken,

worldly widely spoken language,

that, erm, he can then take that out,

you know, into the world, into the...!

She's having a fight with the sound.

No, I don't.

To be brutally honest, it hasn't hindered me to date

but I'm going to have to have a greater awareness of it

cos my son's going to be brought up learning Welsh,

so I can't have him back-chatting me

and not understand what he's going on about, can I?

SHE LAUGHS

Erm...

I'm, erm, standing... I'm reserving my judgment on that one.

On the language. I don't speak Welsh.

Erm, I understand the reasons that they want the children to

learn Welsh, but I think they should learn it as a language

and be taught in English because it's the international language,

and it does strike me as slightly barking mad to have a

language that you can only speak in Patagonia.

But, you know, I do understand and respect the Welsh attitude to

having Welsh, er, reserved, and people pursuing it.

Thousands of visitors across the years have made Pen Llyn their home.

Nearly a third of its population today were born outside Wales.

# Mae'n amser tacluso... #

This has brought the modern

and traditional way of life to live side-by-side.

For some of Llyn's new arrivals, this gentler pace of life is part

of the appeal, where old traditions become a part of their new home.

I think it was like living a dream when we first came up,

cos it was just like being on holiday at first,

cos when we first moved up we lived in a static caravan.

So it was just like being at the seaside, sort of thing.

And then when we did get a house then reality set in,

"Oh, actually we do live...

"We live here." It was a big shock, a very big culture shock,

when I first came up here, cos where we came from, it was very busy,

very noisy, very loud, and we came here,

everybody was really laid back.

Slower than a snail, that's how you can put it.

But it's a lovely way of life, I would never, ever move back now.

Never.

Tina Rudd, her family, and extended family,

all moved to Llyn ten years ago from Wolverhampton.

They settled in the tiny hamlet of Rhoshirwaun,

in the heart of Llyn's countryside, a world away from city life.

Rhoshirwaun's population is only around 100 people,

but today's a big day in their summer calendar,

the 50th celebration of an old Pen Llyn ritual -

the crowning of the Heather Queen.

Keep still, Georgina.

It is important,

it's the 50-year anniversary special for the Brenhines y Grug.

Ow, ow.

And Georgina's being crowned by the queen that was queen 50 years ago.

So, she's very excited, and up very early this morning, she was.

How long have you been coming down now, anyway?

-14 years.

-14 years?

-You're longer than me, babe.

I started coming down when I was...

-..11.

-Yeah?

Used to camp in that field up there.

Childhood visits to Llyn have brought summer tourists back

year after year.

But far from the beaches there's work to be done.

For farmers, early summer is about silage.

At Berth Aur Farm in Llangwnadl, it's all hands on deck to cut

and gather summer grass to feed the animals over winter.

But there's change at Berth Aur this summer.

Eldest son Tomos is going to work on his own farm

and is leaving the family home.

I wouldn't think of doing anything else, I don't think so, no.

If I can make a living out of farming, all the better,

but that's the first thing I want to do, yeah.

ENGINE STARTS

I'm quite motivated.

I know what I want to do, I know where I want to reach, and, er...

..I'm aiming for that at the moment, yeah.

Tomos and partner Gwawr are setting up home in time for a new arrival.

Their baby's due in a few weeks' time.

Tomos will carry on the family farming tradition

in a new farm bought for him by his parents.

'It will be a nice place to bring up a child, I think, yeah.'

I don't know if it's any different to anywhere else, is it?

Well, he'll be more...

He'll speak Welsh and probably nothing but Welsh

for the few years...you know, the first few years and, um...

Yeah, it'll be a change for him to going to school and stuff like that,

because he'll start to learn English then.

But Welsh is the first language here anyway. Everyone speaks it.

I don't know when was the last time I spoke English, tell the truth, no.

We don't speak it ...very, um...

Be di'r gair 'na? Erm...!

Yeah, very often's the word.

Yeah, don't speak it very often, no.

SHE SPEAKS QUIETLY IN WELSH

Looking forward now to finally move here.

We've been doing the house up for quite a while, so yes.

No, it definitely wouldn't be easy.

No, I think we're very lucky to be offered such an opportunity

in such a nice area as well, so, um, very, very grateful for that.

For Margiad Williams,

soon there'll be one man less about the house.

Two different generations...

SHE LAUGHS

..to be seen in underpants, yes.

It's nice to see that you'll be moving along and, um...

torri cwys eu hunan, making their own mark on the world,

or whatever you say, um... and, er, you know, he might, um...

he might want to diversify, whatever, but, um...

you know, that's up to him. It's hard to make a living, isn't it?

You know, and, um, people have got to make it

whichever way they can, really, yes.

Farming, due to its nature, it runs in families, really, you know,

then the farm passes down to the next one, so they keep the Welsh language,

because the families are all Welsh speakers, you know.

Husband Robert's main income on Berth Aur's 240 acres

comes from rearing sheep and cattle for market.

But a new addition to the farm has been keeping him up late hours.

Hey!

Yes, a Caesarean, er, last night, or the night before. Night before, yeah.

Hopefully, it'll be OK.

She won't eat, so I'll have to leave her in for a bit.

Yeah.

Hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey!

He should be OK in a few days' time.

It's a good sign the cow's eating, though.

While Tomos is leaving for his own farm,

brother Dafydd will stay to run the family's tenanted farm at Berth Aur.

My grandfather was the first generation

and my father's the second and hopefully I'll be the third.

Tomos is lucky, but, um, he's worked for it.

Um, that was the plan all along, really, for everybody to go,

like, his own way and, um, make a start on his own, um,

start farming his way and...

Yeah, hopefully, he'll be successful at it.

Um, yeah, I'll just stay with my dad for a while, keep learning.

So, in a way, I don't want to see them go, but...

And then...and then, another way, you're glad to see them go,

to start life on their own.

Keeping going for the Williams family has meant

investing in land to offer both their sons a future.

You can only channel them. It's the same as...

..giving that grass there now, if she doesn't eat it,

it's the same if...if your... your sons start up on their own,

you give them a farm then it's up to them.

Instead of settling for good, most holiday-makers on Llyn can settle

for buying their two weeks in the sun

to get a taste of truly Welsh Wales.

I think it's a bit friendlier around here, in terms of they don't

all of a sudden switch to Welsh

-just so you can't understand what they're saying.

-No.

-And they are very friendly, aren't they?

-Yeah.

Many of the traditions that help keep the language alive

still manage to keep going on Llyn.

In Rhoshirwaun village hall, the final preparations are underway.

Heather has been gathered for the ceremony for generations.

Well, it's been going now nonstop for 50 years.

-It started in the beginning of 1937.

-1937.

And there's a break been, and there's another break been,

um, between '59 and '64.

So we've started from 1964, nonstop.

If we wouldn't do the carnival, well, there'd be nothing here,

really, in the village, everything would have gone dead,

because the school has closed as well, so we've got nothing here,

really, so we hope that it'll carry on for many years again.

BOY SQUEALS AND LAUGHS

Tonight, Georgina's cousin Rhiannon, as last year's Heather Queen,

will be handing over her crown.

'All my children are fluent Welsh, apart from the little one,

'who will learn it when he starts school, so...'

they do really well with their talking. Really well.

We didn't have anything like this where we used to live before.

We was lucky if we had a school disco,

never mind Carnival Queen or anything like that.

So it is a lot different.

-So, can you believe...

-What?

-..that I used to come here... What?

-How old am I now?

-Er, 48.

-48!

So, 30-40 years ago or something.

And the whole area hasn't changed at all.

You're seeing it exactly how I saw it when I was your age.

Can you believe that? Nothing's changed.

But things have changed.

Experts believe that a language needs 70% of speakers

to make it a living community language that can survive.

Whilst 72% overall speak the language on Llyn, in Abersoch,

only just over half the population now speak Welsh.

The Welsh language on Llyn is balancing on the brink.

There used to be Welsh speakers more or less in every...

-Every smallholding.

-..every small... in every house more or less...

-Yeah.

..when I was ten years old, from here to Tudweiliog along the bottom here.

There were just one or two holiday cottages, but it's changed a lot now.

-They're holiday cottages...

-Today, yeah.

..or less, you know, people come here to live in them, you know.

But, er, I don't know what's going to happen to them.

If they weren't living in them, maybe they'd be derelict, I don't know.

Cos, er...there isn't the work locally. You'd have to travel

to Pwllheli or Porthmadog or Caernarfon, I don't know.

-Watch out here.

-SHE LAUGHS

A lot of the young people, they go off, you know, to college and...

You can't blame them and, er, to look for better lives

and they don't come back, they settle down and don't come back.

We do live in a nice place

and people love to come here for holidays and that's great.

They come and they go, and they go somewhere else the following year

and that's what holidays is about.

Gwell rhoi rhywbath i'w ddal o lawr, ia?

'The only issue I have with...'

visitors, you know, but visitors who come here to live,

after being visitors here for a long time, they don't assimilate,

um, into our society and the first thing, if you want to assimilate

into a Welsh-speaking society is that you learn Welsh, of course.

And, because of that, we have to be bilingual to communicate with them.

So they're affecting our communities

and they're turning them to be bilingual.

Well, we want them to be Welsh, of course.

I want to live my life through the medium of Welsh,

as I am Welsh speaking.

You know, there won't be a heartland,

there won't be a Welsh heartland in Llyn.

It is happening very quietly.

Yeah, let it cook now, hopefully.

When we open it October time, it will be of interest.

-Yeah.

-Hopefully. Hopefully. SHE LAUGHS

-You can come around for a slice.

-You can come here and taste it!

Right.

On Llyn, another summer's day comes to a close.

In Rhoshirwaun village hall,

it's time to celebrate the crowning of the Heather Queen.

Elsewhere, in Pwllheli, Wakestock finals are reaching their climax.

OVER TANNOY: So, next on the moor now,

we have Megan Barker going out for a little play.

'The tourism industry, which is evident in the area,

'is, um, you know, being catered for'

by everybody who lives in the area.

It generates people to come down and spend money in the economy

and also generates an industry in its own right and employment and jobs.

And the Wakestock champion, retaining her title...

Megan Barker! CHEERING

A round of applause for our champion!

Like Johnny, for Tina and her family,

Llyn is now where they belong.

I couldn't actually imagine living anywhere else now.

I think we'll be here now until we're old and wrinkly and...

in our grave, sort of thing! SHE LAUGHS

APPLAUSE

Making a living on Llyn, and safeguarding its language,

is part of life's dilemma, in the hands of the next generation.

Perhaps the language isn't as strong as it used to be.

But the majority of people, Welsh people living in the Llyn Peninsula,

will still bring up their children in Welsh, no matter...

You know, no matter what happens to the language, because that's

-the way of life here...

-Yeah.

-..and how it's always going to be.

APPLAUSE

Next time...

Bank Holiday crowds hit the beaches.

Busy, busy, busy.

This is the make or break of the season.

This is what tides you over for the winter.

But it's standing room only as high summer,

and high prices, hit Abersoch.

I think this is one of the best things of living in this house

is definitely that view and knowing that there's no chance in hell...

SHE LAUGHS: ..I could ever afford a house down there!