Episode 4 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 unspoilt landscape.

So, how long do 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?"

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.

Welsh is the 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 a culture,

in one of Wales's truly Welsh heartlands?

2014 saw a bumper summer on Pen Llyn,

with record numbers of visitors flocking to the beaches.

For local businesses it's been a very busy year.

Boatman Colin Evans has ferried hundreds of visitors over to Bardsey,

whilst on dry land, Stuart Webley has pulled

thousands of pints at the Ty Coch pub.

Inland at Berth Aur Farm,

the Williams family have sold nearly 2,000 lambs.

But it's not this busy all year round.

Autumn in Pen Llyn, and only a trickle of tourists remain.

But as winter approaches, what do the locals get up to?

I wonder what they do in the winter.

I don't know, go to sleep I think, for the winter.

-Play bridge.

-Play bridge, yes.

But on Llyn, there's still work to be done.

It's the time of year to start putting things away.

On Nefyn beach, the sun is still shining

as Chris Dobson starts the annual task of dismantling the beach huts.

Just the one person who owns this.

It is a private shed that belongs to someone.

They haven't used it, only two days here.

I think it's worse taking them down.

At the Ty Coch pub, Porthdinllaen, landlord Stuart Webley

starts getting used to a more relaxing routine.

It's the polar opposite to what it was like the last time we saw you.

You know, you see, last time you were here,

there were 1,000 people on the beach and now there's me - one.

The beaches and campsites are almost empty

and, for caravan park warden Eifion Roberts,

it's now time for the people of Llyn to rediscover their own back yard.

It can be so busy in the season,

whereas we do get the place all back to ourselves in the winter.

I think it's absolutely brilliant that I get to come here every day.

Every day I come through this little gap and I just go, wow!

It really does something for the soul.

Whilst life in some parts of Llyn is dictated by the tourist season,

in other parts, away from sightseers' eyes,

life goes on as it has done for generations.

Glyn Roberts lives in Pen Cefn Fawr Farm,

deep in the heart of rural Llyn.

Born on the farm in 1922, Glyn has lived here for 92 years.

I've been bombed

I've been machine-gunned,

all sorts of efforts at killing me, but I'm still alive!

Glyn lives at the farm with wife Ebrillwen

and their only son, Heddwel, where one meal time tradition,

passed down through the generations, still continues.

I've been eating pennywort for about, well,

well over 60 years.

When I used to go out I used to pick the pennywort...

..straightaway on the wall

and eat them fresh from the walls.

THEY SPEAK WELSH

Pen Llyn was a long distance from everywhere...

..so the people had to find something

that they could use themselves,

or they would all die.

And what they used, of course, was the things they grew here,

and they found out, trying and testing, you see.

When I was a young boy we knew everyone.

But now I know only very few of the people there.

The whole peninsula has changed.

THEY SPEAK WELSH

And change is also something that Heddwel, Glyn's son,

has had to face.

Pen Cefn Fawr used to be a 500-acre farm,

but, with two thirds of the land now rented out to other farmers,

it's now a smallholding.

His father's age and health needs mean that Heddwel

has had to come to a decision about farming and family.

I was getting older and I had too much labour to contend with

and I value my father's health.

He has given me so much over the years

and I wish him to be around for as much as possible.

You begin to realise the value of the traditions

that used to be on the peninsula and it's important

that we do ask the older folk about how they lived in the past,

what food they ate, before these traditions are lost.

Striking the right balance between tradition,

culture and economy has always been a challenge on Llyn.

In the 1950s the quarrying village of Nant Gwrtheyrn,

emptied overnight after the quarry shut -

a deserted village.

Once a symbol of loss of community and culture, Nant Gwrtheyrn is now

a thriving Welsh Language Centre, that offers hope for the future.

And the latest recruit is on his way down to the Nant.

This is the language of this area, of this nation.

I'm from England, but I've moved to Wales, I've lived in Wales

nearly half my life now and just personally I think it's really

important to know the language of the nation you're living in.

And Richard Wood is learning Welsh for a very particular purpose.

As the newly appointed vicar of Bro Madryn, Richard is determined

to use the everyday language of his congregation.

I think it's important, because a lot of the stuff that

I want to talk about with people is more than just

whether we understand the words that we're using,

and the kind of things that I want to talk about with people,

things to do with faith, it really needs to be in your heart language.

So I need to be able to be thinking in Welsh and thinking, speaking

off-the-cuff in Welsh, that's really the target I want to get to.

SHE SPEAKS WELSH

And Richard's ambition is to conduct a church service in Welsh.

Whilst some are getting to know each other for the first time,

over in Chwilog, chief hen Alaw Jones, soon to be Roberts,

is keeping an old tradition alive,

with the help of a few childhood friends.

I'm getting married in three weeks and I thought,

"Well, the best thing is going around Pen Llyn,"

so I'm celebrating my hen night with the girls.

I come from Pen Llyn and my partner also comes from Pen Llyn

and we live there so I thought we might as well enjoy

what's around us instead of going away, so...

I think there's so many local pubs that you are not used to

going to because they are so far away from each other,

so I think when people get together it is the best, well,

excuse, really, to go around them, enough time through the day,

and enjoy places you don't see very often.

As the girls hit the road, in Pwllheli, caravan park warden

Eifion Roberts has swapped his red 4x4 for a motorbike.

It's the weekly ride-out of the Llyn Bikers,

today with an extra special guest!

-Morning! This is Ange, for the people that don't know Ange.

-Hi!

-Hi!

She helped us out this year on the fundraiser and she has had

a bit of a poorly spell so that's the reason for today,

to take her out for a spin,

so be kind, be gentle, but take the mick, yeah!

Well, today's run is to say a little thank you...

-HELMET CRASHES DOWN Oh!

-Great start!

You could say that.

Today's run WAS to say thank you!

-Sorry!

-It will be all right.

Shall I take it?

Today's run is to raise money for my new helmet.

This is my alter ego, this is what I like to do outside of work.

Beicwyr Llyn Bikers motorbike club are really what takes all my other time.

They're an absolutely magnificent bunch of people.

We do a charity run once a year

and Angie's helped us out this year and the year before.

She's had a spell of poor health herself, so we'd like to say

thank you and take you for a little spin around today.

Where are they taking you, Angie?

Around Pen Llyn, down to Aberdaron and up that way,

so it will be a good old spin. Looking forward to it.

Yes, good views.

Show off a bit of Pen Llyn as well, the beauty,

hopefully the sun stays with us today.

That would be an extra bonus.

And autumn is always the best time for the Llyn Bikers' charity ride.

With winter around the corner, and with fewer visitors about, there's

more space to enjoy the views others come to see in the summer,

whichever mode of transport you choose.

HEN PARTY SING

Autumn is the time to bring boats to sheltered waters,

away from winter storms that lash Llyn's coastline.

One man who makes a living from the sea is boatman Colin Evans,

but his journeys to Bardsey have pretty much stopped

now that the summer's gone.

But winter suits Colin just fine.

It is a different world in the winter.

You get to see the real Pen Llyn in the winter.

CAMERA WOMAN:

It's an engine I've rebuilt, well, I'm rebuilding still.

It is a tractor that I'm hoping to use just for ferrying stuff

up and down to the boat.

We've got to have the summer and I'm happy to see the summer come,

but I always think the winter's a bit too short for me.

I know that's not a common view.

But, I'm happiest pottering around here with engines

and fiddling like that.

I'm not naturally sociable.

Like the old monks, I'm a bit of a recluse.

And being holed up in his workshop means

this reclusive entrepreneur's got a new project on the go.

This is a man who's building a boat!

Whoops-a-daisy.

I'd be no good on these DIY programmes, you know the ones where

people make things that fit together first time perfectly?

Colin is building a fibre glass mould,

a prototype for a new design of boat that he hopes

one day will ferry people over to Bardsey.

It's a new design, it's not...

I don't think there's anything quite like it in the world -

-that

-I

-know of, anyway.

It's been designed... It's got a few design features which,

to my knowledge, have never been tried before.

She should be better at load carrying, she won't bounce as much.

Normal catamarans, they bounce up and down in the waves

and this should stop that, or certainly reduce it.

It might work, in which case I've got a fair chance of selling it.

Or it might not work, in which case I'll look like a bloody idiot.

Do we have to go through... SHE QUACKS LIKE A DUCK

-SHE LAUGHS

-Pwllheli, I think.

Well, what if we get home and I start trying to roll my Ls...

SHE QUACKS LIKE A DUCK

-Pwllheli.

-Pwllheli. I can't do it...however.

Whilst a few late visitors may still be getting to grips with pronouncing

Pwllheli, for vicar Richard Wood, the Welsh he's learnt whilst

at Nant Gwrtheyrn comes into good use as he goes about his daily life.

THEY SPEAK WELSH

SHE SPEAKS WELSH

Sorry?

What did you think of Nant Gwrtheyrn itself?

CAMARA WOMAN:

Most people do.

But we are terrible, as Welsh people,

we don't speak with our friends

because it's quicker to do it in English,

so I have a few friends that are learning

and have done the courses and now when we go out socially

we make an effort to speak Welsh to each other.

It might take us a bit longer to have a conversation,

but it works, you know?

It is our own fault because we're going for an easier option

and speaking English

because we've all been raised from the grave really being bilingual.

At Berth Aur Farm, it's been a busy year -

and autumn is no different.

For Robat Williams and son Dafydd, it's feeding time,

with the silage gathered during summer.

Well, farming in the autumn and in the winter, especially the autumn,

it's just about repairing and taking repairs up.

If you need a new gate somewhere, you go and hang that, or

if you need a new fence, you go and fence it.

It's also the end of the calving season.

She's going to calve in a minute. Let's go there.

She's more interested in eating now than calving anyway.

She's been a very good cow, she's probably just given us

12 cows, 12 calves. I would think so, she's very old anyway.

Over 70 calves are born each year at Berth Aur,

and this birth needs a little extra help.

Thank God it's alive.

That's the first thing, that's the first thing.

When you see a calf that has got its head up, you think, "Oh,"

it makes the job worthwhile, you know?

But that's just the beginning, it's got to live two years before I get

anything off it, so it's a fight for two years to keep it alive.

I'll get it ready for market, you know?

Whilst Robat and Dafydd keep things going at the cow shed,

back at the farmhouse, Margiad is busy in a routine

that's familiar no matter what the season.

Flipping heck, they've eaten the eggs! Look you, I've one left.

They do what I do all year round -

they carry food to feed people.

They feed the cattle and the sheep and I feed the humans all year round,

so they only do it for a couple of months, but I do it all year round.

It's been a busy year on the farm in more ways than one.

With the arrival of little Elgan,

Margiad's now a grandmother for the very first time.

THEY SPEAK WELSH

Gwawr, and Margiad's eldest son, Tomos,

are starting life on their own farm,

but Margiad has mixed feelings about the future of farming on Llyn.

A lot in Llyn, they have diversified

and a lot are keeping visitors one way or the other -

caravan sites or self catering or whatever,

B&Bs as well, but I don't know.

I'm a bit hesitant.

And despite the thousands of seasonal holiday makers

who boost the Llyn economy, Margiad has a very clear opinion

on the effect of tourism and the way forward.

People should try and find a better answer than tourism,

cos, my view, we're being drowned here, language-wise anyway,

with the incomers and I don't know how long that will last, you know,

how long the Welsh language will last here.

Alaw's hen night is in full swing

and everyone's joining in the colour code -

to some extent, at least.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Just a little bit.

Just the nail varnish and the bracelet, that's about all,

to be honest. Feeling a bit old.

-Yes.

-Yes.

We're in the back of the bus, they are in the front.

So we're in the back.

-We're having a good time.

-Yes.

-Yes.

THEY SPEAK WELSH

For this bride-to-be, Pen Llyn is where she'll celebrate

her hen night and Pen Llyn is where she'll stay.

I would never want to leave -

that's my opinion, but you get some,

they want to see the world, they want to travel, experience

different kinds, but they always come back to home in the end.

If they are in their 30s, 40s or 50s,

they will always come back to home and I think that's quite nice.

Out on a run with Llyn Bikers, pillion passenger Angela

is one of those people who decided to come home.

After living in London for five years, she's back in Llyn,

and seeing it with new eyes.

Standing here saying I've never been to Bardsey,

and I'm quite ashamed to say.

Living so near and being on my own doorstep and I've never been there.

I know I say, "I'll go next year, I'll go next year," every year comes

and every year I still haven't been, and I'm quite ashamed to say it.

And for Angela, today's journey is extra special.

Basically I had 12 months of dialysis for kidney failure,

and then three years ago I had a kidney transplant,

so basically this has been an extra bonus for me today.

When you see it like this, how beautiful it is,

it just makes you appreciate it even more.

And the beauty of Llyn's landscape is something that

Heddwel Roberts at Pen Cefn Fawr Farm thinks that everyone -

visitors and locals alike - should enjoy.

We don't fully appreciate it. When the visitors do come,

they appreciate it more than we do because we live here

and we don't realise how fortunate we are, you know,

that we are living in such a beautiful place.

HE SPEAKS WELSH

CAMERA WOMAN:

Oh, my father is better.

Yes.

Yes, his legs are better, thank you.

As you become older, you appreciate this life more.

You see the best aspects of it

and that it's a loving life.

And wherever there's love, that special.

No, no, I'm single. Yes.

Well, I take every day as it comes.

Today is important, this day is important

and do the best that you can for this day, today, now, this time.

None of us knows the future.

At St Cwyfan's Church in Tudweiliog,

it's the moment of truth for vicar and Welsh-learner Richard Wood,

who's about to take his first ever service in Welsh.

CHILDREN SING

I am feeling quite, quite nervous.

We've been through what I'm going to be saying in Welsh

a couple of times and I think I've got my head,

although it's rapidly disappearing.

Can we just have five minutes? Thank you.

On hand to help is his wife - and fluent Welsh speaker - Naomi.

THEY WHISPER IN WELSH

HE SPEAKS WELSH

-I think that was OK. I didn't get too lost.

-No, you didn't at all!

-I was all right.

-There was a few times I wanted to...

-But you got there.

-I got there.

For Richard, a big hurdle has been successfully negotiated.

But the Welsh language on Llyn faces tougher challenges.

For Colin, the matters of language and economy go hand in hand.

I think that for our language and culture, our way of life,

business is going to be increasingly important,

because I think it is the only way in which we can actually keep pace

with the remainder of the world.

If we've got to compete with those people with all kinds of firms

that would like to buy holiday homes here,

we've got to compete with those.

If we can do that, then we can remain here

and by definition it will mean that the local people

are doing as well as they could be if they went away.

Preservation kills.

It's the difference between preservation and conservation.

I know a lot of people get confused - even conservationists do, I think.

If you want to preserve something, it's like pickling it

or stuffing it and putting it in a glass case, it's no good.

It means it's dead.

Whereas if you conserve something,

then you have got to accept that it's got to have to change

and develop to a certain extent in order to stay alive.

I might just move down here.

-Look, win the lottery and might just move down here.

-Mmm.

Well, the people are certainly...

-They are fantastic.

-I've found them terrific.

Winter is one of the few times that Margiad Williams

can get away from the demands of the farm.

A time to reflect on landscape, people and a sense of belonging.

We're only a field away from the yard and I come down as often

as I can, especially if it's nice weather, like this.

If you've got any problems, the sea sort of takes them out,

you know, and then

carries them back and drops them on the beach and, you know,

you pick them up on your way home, sort of.

It's a nice way of turning things in your mind

and sorting them out, of course, yes.

It's very beautiful, isn't it? You know.

But it's people that makes places, really, you know.

These headlands sticking out here, without names,

they wouldn't mean a thing, would they?

But the names that the people have given them -

the Welsh, of course - have given these bits of...

Porth Colmon, named after a saint from Ireland.

This is Penrhyn Melyn

I think it might be Perrin Melyn and that was

one of the Celtic gods, you know, with the sun.

And so they are special places then and they mean something.

To me, without those Welsh names, it wouldn't mean the same,

there wouldn't be the same thing, really.

They wouldn't mean anything to me.

All the people coming here to live, anyway,

they should appreciate the language and the culture, otherwise,

to be true, they're not getting anything back from Llyn, really,

if they're not learning the language.

If they don't know the names of places around here

and they can't pronounce them

and they don't know the meaning of them, you know,

they're living a very superficial life and

they are not getting anything back from this beautiful area, really.

Another year comes to a close on Llyn.

Next spring, the tourist season will start all over again,

and whilst the future may be uncertain

for the culture and language of Pen Llyn,

it's a future that the local people feel that they should help shape.

I don't see them building skyscrapers in Morfa Nefyn,

you know, I don't see it becoming the Costa Del Llyn.

Isn't it up to us to keep it real, like this?

It's up to us now to keep the language going, really, isn't it?

It is up to us, really.

I think we've done bloody well to remain as long as we have,

but the challenge is yet to come.

But as the year draws to a close,

for Chris Dobson, one thing's for certain.

Come next May, we'll start building beach huts again!