Tom Lloyd, Longmynd Commoner

Farmer, and Secretary of the Longmynd Commoners Association

Tom welcomes us to his farm in Minton on a morning of drizzling rain. The weather gives the landscape a softness, something that’s not uncommon here. The farm sits on a rise nestling against the eastern flanks of the Longmynd, and within a few minutes walking we’ve arrived at a vantage point a little higher up the hill, on Longmynd Common. On one side, the Mynd stretches away and upwards, an expanse of grass, gorse and bracken, with deep folds and gullies; on the other, the land falls to the valley below, and the view takes in fields where some of the farm’s cows are grazing, and patches of woodland. As with so many hill farms, this feels bedded into the land. And it has been doing just that for a very long time.

View across the wintry land from our temporary lookout on the eastern flanks of Longmynd,

Tom was born on this farm and is now in his mid thirties. He tells us he always wanted to farm. He looks after a herd of Limousin cattle and a flock of Welsh Mountain sheep – a hardy breed that’s well suited to life on the uplands. Tom is one of a group of Longmynd commoners who exercise their rights to graze sheep on the common: 10-12 farmers who turn sheep out onto the unfenced hill. He is secretary of the Commoners Association and is enthusiastic about the group, who work together on larger tasks such as gathering and shearing. This task sharing is, he says, a fundamental part of being a commoner.

“There's a definite community feel, and it's nice to be part of that.” Tom talks about the way each farm’s flock of sheep tends to stick to their heft (or area of grazing), but because a common is unfenced, there is some crossover and it’s easier to work together. “You’re almost forced to work well with your neighbours,’ he says, ‘and you get a genuine reception back – you find that everyone's out there to help each other.”

Looking down over Church Stretton from the Longmynd

Welsh mountain ponies on Longmynd

The heritage of commons, and caring for the land

The practice of keeping sheep and ponies on the Mynd goes back a long way, and Tom shares a view that we’ve heard from other commoners in other parts of England: that apart from the use of quads, if they were to visit now, early settlers would recognise much of what happens, including where animals graze, and the seasonal patterns of gathering, shearing and lambing. It’s a system that is fit for the place, born from a responsiveness to land and weather. Within this framework, farmers have always needed to remain agile and over the decades there have been changes in stocking numbers and other elements of the farm businesses.

The focus of current environmental schemes and government-funded grants is to support practices that are most likely to help the natural environment to thrive, including practices that help to maintain vegetation and associated wildlife that are already in good condition, and help recovery or improvement where its needed.

“There’s not one farmer that doesn’t want to see nature and wildlife here. There’s a willingness from the commoners to deliver that, with or without the environmental schemes. The schemes provide the resources to keep it sustainable and achievable, but the willingness is already here.”

Keeping the land healthy, with its many species of birds, insects and other wildlife, is really important to Tom and his fellow commoners. “There's not one farmer that doesn't want to see nature and wildlife here,” he says. “There's a willingness from the commoners to deliver that, with or without the environmental schemes. The schemes provide the resources to keep it sustainable and achievable, but the willingness is already here.” Tom and other commoners feel that this commitment has not been recognized as part of a wider discussion about caring for the land.  “It's something we felt quite disillusioned with.”

Tom goes on to talk about headage payments of the past, which encouraged farmers to put high numbers of sheep on the commons, in Shropshire and across England. These have long since been replaced with agreements to graze far fewer sheep. On the Longmynd, numbers have been falling, with specific agreements continuing to bring these down (such as restrictions outlined in 2000, and further changes with the introduction of Higher Level Stewardship agreements in 2010). Tom feels that the majority of people still associate upland farmers with past practices, instead of acknowledging that things have changed, and goes so far to say that commoners are even viewed as spoilers of the landscape. “We've been used as sort of a scapegoat. So we're trying to raise a bit of awareness, and to be honest, I'm hoping that will help.”

Whinberry (bilberry) plants on Longmynd in late summer

A much loved place

The Longmynd is the most visited upland area of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape (formerly known as the Shropshire Hills AONB) – not surprising, as it is a stunning place. The ‘long hill’ runs north-south for about 7 miles to the west of Church Stretton. It stretches like a broad backbone that rises to just over 500 metres at its highest point and falls away to lower ground in a series of valleys, clefts and steep drops. The commoners’ ponies and sheep that graze on the Mynd are as much a part of this place as its wildlife: the butterflies including the green hairstreak (you can read more about that here), and birds that find food in wooded gullies and on the open tops. For much of the year, the delicate song of skylarks can be heard blending with the wind. The vegetation is predominantly upland heath, with whinberry (bilberry) and cotton grass, and wide expanses of heather turn the hill purple in late summer.

This dramatic hill is owned by the National Trust, and the commoners are increasingly working with the Trust to find ways of getting messages out that more accurately represent what the commoners do, and how their farming practices are bound up with caring for the Mynd. It’s an ongoing process, but an important one. And while the public eye may be focused on the environmental benefits (or ‘public goods’) Tom stresses that culture and community should not be overlooked. He emphasizes that on Longmynd, and other upland areas that are enjoyed by so many people, the value of commoners is frequently underestimated.

Company while we chat: the Longmynd is loved and used by many: farmers, horse riders, walkers, bikers and the many species of wildlife who call the place home.

Finding Balance

“I think there needs to be a slight shift from a 100% environmental-outcome-driven view. I think what is needed is support for communities and the heritage of practices that have been here and created the landscape - and for people to have faith, that as long as the balance is maintained and monitored, keeping farmers here will deliver a lot of the environmental outcomes that we all want to see. I'd like to see as a scheme that helps to keep a baseline of sustainability, and has faith in that balance.”

“I think what is needed is support for communities and the heritage of practices that have been here and created the landscape - and for people to have faith, that as long as the balance is maintained and monitored, keeping farmers here will deliver a lot of the environmental outcomes that we all want to see. ”

There will be many elements influencing a shift in perspective, but messaging at a local level, as well as nationally, is a critical part of this. “I have a mountain bike,” Tom tells me, “and I use it for recreational purposes. Those people who come here only for recreation, yes the common will mean something to them, but not the same as it does to us. Unfortunately, it can be easy for people to visit the area for recreation, read some of the messaging, and go away without knowing the full picture, or with some of the wrong impressions.”

There’s work to be done and Tom helps where he can, including giving talks, working through the Commons Association, and liaising with the National Trust, and finding ways for commoners to be included in local campaigns focused on environmental conservation which otherwise would not include the knowledge and ideas from the commoning community. Among this community, people know parcels of land intimately and across all types of weather, and are increasing their knowledge all the time (for instance, by monitoring and recording vegetation condition using the Land App).

Welsh mountain ewes on Longmynd

Making plans, looking forwards

Tom has also been involved in developing a vegetation management plan in partnership with other commoners and with the National Trust. ‘We now have an interactive map of Longmynd within an app, which overlays many layers of data onto a digital/satellite map.’ So far, this includes detail of areas of bracken and gorse, some of which need to be managed (which might involve cutting with the robocutter, crushing, or spraying), as well as nesting sites of whinchat, which have been identified through recent surveys. The interactive map allows users to add comments about action or guidance, so it continues to be a useful tool with information that accrues over time in response to what’s happening at specific locations on the ground.

Refining plans for managing vegetation is as important as refining practices to nurture strong animals, and keep a farm going; and adaptability is key. But some things can’t change that much, especially when they’re governed by the seasons. As we look across the clouded land, we all turn our thoughts to the summer, and how different the place will seem. And Tom looks forward to bringing the sheep off the hill with his neighbours, ready for shearing. When I ask Tom to pick out one thing that’s the high point of the farming year, I’m not sure he’ll be able to isolate one thing, but he tells me it’s shearing. ‘Because it’s community orientated. There are lots of people around, you see people you haven’t seen for a while, and it's enjoyable. It’s tiring, but it’s a good atmosphere. And the weather’s nice! Definitely the highlight of the year.’

Walking down towards Minton, after our stroll on the Longmynd