Ty’n-y-Mynydd is a small, traditional, family run hill farm, on the northern coast of the Llyn peninsular. In addition to our wonderful Welsh sheep, we have a small herd of cattle and rare breed pigs.

Home to the prize winning “Cerniog” flock of purebred Welsh Mountain sheep.  The type of land we farm is largely heather covered uplands, with picturesque rocky outcrops, old quarry workings and scree. The rather harsh nature of the terrain makes the indigenous Welsh Mountain sheep an obvious choice of breed. What they lack in size they more than make up for in quality and flavour!

The shortage of lowland pasture at Ty’n-y-Mynydd means that most of our lamb and mutton is sold straight off the mountain, and we believe that the delicate, yet complex flavours of our home produced meat reflect the outstanding beauty of the natural environment in which our animals are reared.

Tim was brought up on a productive smallholding in North East Essex, where his family consistently achieved a high level of self sufficiency.

Having gained additional valuable practical experience on a number of other farms and smallholdings in East Anglia, he then went on to study at the Welsh Agricultural College, which is where we met.

At the end of our studies we moved to the small offshore island of Bardsey, North West Wales. Our geographical location, together with the fact that our primary role of shepherding the island’s sheep flock gave us an income of only £2,000/year, meant that a high level of self sufficiency was not only desirable, but essential.

I think we came as near to total self sufficiency as is practical in this day and age.

During the years we spent on Bardsey, we produced all our own meat (including bacon, ham, and sausages), all veg and soft fruit, all milk, yogurt and some cheese, all eggs, fish, jams, chutneys, wines and beers. All bread, cakes, biscuits etc were home baked on a driftwood fired Rayburn. We managed our own water supply, had a generator for electricity and composted all our waste.

We had no toilet so that was composted too!  We learnt very quickly not only how to do these things, but perhaps more importantly, what was worth doing and what was not. We aim for a similar level of self sufficiency on our current holding.

 

The Autumn of 1998 saw us move back to the mainland to take on our own smallholding, Ty’n-Y-Mynydd Farm, on the Llyn Peninsula. Since then we have expanded our farmed area, whilst remaining true to our ideals of self sufficiency and sustainability. 

We now find ourselves bridging the divide between the smallholder and farmer, which has enabled us to take sound commercial farming practices and adapt them to suit a smaller scale enterprise.

We are particularly proud of our flock of Welsh Mountain sheep, that we have selectively bred from the descendants of ewes we brought with us from Bardsey Island. We are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to experience the unbeatable quality of purebred Welsh Mountain lamb and mutton.