North Wales farmers to show Londoners why farming matters

Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb producers and a group of north Wales farmers are heading to London to take part in a special event to meet the public, for an educational, fun and tasty Day at the Spaniards Inn, Hampstead Heath on 9th April. The farmers are taking a live cow, sheep, lambs, sheep dogs and a mountain pony to London in a bid to highlight to the public why farming matters.

Joining Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb at this unique event will be Williams Butchers of Denbigh and the award winning North Wales Village Dairy. Visitors to this historic drovers inn on the edge of Hampstead Heath can take home a taste of Wales, as cuts of Welsh Lamb, beef and pork, and a wide variety of yogurts, welsh cakes and dairy produce are being sold. Visitors will also be able to enjoy roast pork cooked on a spit and other barbecue faire.

Daphne Tilley of Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb hopes that the event will help promote the importance of farming, We are keen to back the NFUs Why Farming Matters campaign and hope that the event will give those who dont get the chance to visit the countryside a real insight into farming. Its astonishing that some people dont even realise that milk comes from a cow, or eggs come from hens, so were hoping to encourage them to think about where their food has come from, as well as champion the importance of the British farming industry.

Anyone who comes along on the day will have the opportunity to get close to the animals and well be running a range of fun activities such as sheep dog demonstrations, and will give the public the chance to feed the pet lambs, milk a simulated cow, play ferret roulette or take photos with the pony.

Daphne and her husband William are senior partners in Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb, which supplies premium quality meat directly to over 70 top London restaurants, including the Spaniards Inn. Their sons David and John have 3,000 ewes on two farms near Denbigh, and all their meat is slaughtered and prepared locally.

Daphne adds, We have long established connections with the Spaniards Inn, going back generations to when our familys ancestors from the Llŷn Peninsula used to rest there, after driving their cattle on the long journey from Wales to Smithfield.

Were looking forward to getting out and meeting the London public to let them know about the fantastic Welsh produce available, and also to impress on them the value of supporting British farming.