by Angharad Evans, Welsh Language Communications Officer
Do you know where Llain Uchaf, Cae Bach, Banc, Cae Pant Bach and Cae Ffynnon are? You probably don't know the answer to that question, because these are the names of some of our fields here on the farm.
They don’t mean anything to anyone else, but to us these names are a natural part of the farm’s daily routine and conversation. Each small parcel of land has a specific name and meaning behind it. For example, cae Ffynnon - the answer is probably simple ... there is of course a water well at the bottom of that field. What about Llain Isaf and Llain Uchaf? The answer here is also simple, isn’t it?! Llain means a strip of land, so these fields are two long, thin strips of land that run parallel with the river running from the mountain down to the sea past the bottom of our farm lane.
A few years ago, I took ten minutes to record the field names on the Single Payment Form. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, it is now easier to tackle the form by seeing specific field names rather than a set of letters and numbers. Secondly, those names are now down on paper, and can be passed on to the next generation, just as the names were passed on to this generation.