Goodbye, Mr Corgi?

Hello, everyone. Are you all well? I hope so.  Oh, don’t worry about the headline to this post! Cadwaladr and Graigcoch are safe and well! And even though they can be very naughty sometimes, I am not thinking of saying goodbye to them. Oh, I cannot even imagine life without my Corgi boys! No, this post is about the decline of the Corgi population in Britain.

As you all know, our family really enjoys hiking—especially Cadwaladr—and when we have spare time and good weather we always try to do lots of hiking. At the weekend we had a very nice time hiking in the Brecon Beacons. It was wonderful to walk on top of the mountains. There was snow at the top and it was misty; it almost seemed like another world. I felt very peaceful and serene.

 

We let Cadwaladr and Graigcoch off their leads as we walked back down and it was wonderful to see them both running down the mountain. They were having so much fun chasing each other. They seemed so happy and carefree. My Corgi boys looked so beautiful! I thought to myself, “Yes, this is where they belong!”

 

When we got home I kept thinking of them running down the mountain together. It is so nice to collect beautiful memories, isn’t it? You can play them back inside your mind like a favourite film. But later I began to think about other things. I thought about how rare it is to see a Corgi in Wales. I thought of all the hiking trips we have taken together around Wales, and I could not remember seeing any other Corgis during our hiking trips. There are always lots of dogs hiking with their owners: Labradors, Border Collies, Shelties, Westies, Huskies...but never Corgis.

 

Corgis, it seems, are a dying breed in their home country. The Kennel Club have been doing research into this and Cardiganshire Welsh Corgis and Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgis are now on a list of dog breeds whose numbers are in decline. The list consists of breeds which achieve 300 or fewer registrations every year in the UK.  The list can be viewed here:

(Link to Kennel Club Article: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog-or-puppy/finding-the-right-dog/vulnerable-native-breeds/)

It is very sad news for Wales as Welsh Terriers and Welsh Springer Spaniels are also on the list of vulnerable breeds, and Skye Terriers, Old English Sheepdogs, and Irish Wolfhounds are all in decline, too. It is very sad for the whole of the British Isles. I don’t know why these breeds are in decline. All I know is that I just feel so thankful that I have my Corgi boys and that I can look forward to collecting more beautiful memories of them.

 

 

For anyone reading this in other countries, how is the Corgi population where you are? Have you seen any of the other vulnerable breeds listed lately?

Whiteout

Hello, everyone.

 

This is Cadwaladr reporting from the rainy UK.

 

The weather has been so bad today! I could not go hiking! It is so annoying because I LOVE hiking! The weather is very bad in the UK at the moment. It just seems to rain all the time. I am looking forward to spring time when I can do lots of hiking! Yeah! Anyway, it was not possible to go hiking today, so I was very bored, but I cheered myself up by thinking about our hiking trip last Sunday.

 

Last Sunday, my family and I went to the Brecon Beacons which is my favourite place in the whole world! We decided that we would climb to the top of Corn Du to test Graigcoch’s hiking ability! As we began climbing I could see that my mum and dad seemed to be quite cold. They were wearing warm winter coats, wooly hats, scarves, and gloves, but they still seemed to be very cold! I am lucky because we Corgis have double coats which are water resistant. I felt quite cosy, and my brother Graigcoch looked very cosy, too!

 

As we looked to the top of Corn Du we could see that it was covered with snow and as we were climbing higher the weather seemed to be getting worse. At the bottom of the trail there was no snow at all, but as we climbed higher, the grass was slowly being covered by a blanket of snow. My daddy wanted to take some pictures, but when he got his camera out it was so cold that his hands were freezing and he could not take even one picture. As for me, I felt quite cosy and warm. Oh, I love my Corgi coat! Graigcoch was having a nice time, too! He could meet lots of nice hikers and he was enjoying saying hello to everyone he met.

 

As we reached the top the weather became quite bad. There was a snowstorm at the top of Corn Du!  My dad could not see the trail because of the snow storm, so he said we must turn back. But before we did, my daddy said he must take just one picture. Oh, my daddy is quite stubborn, I think, because it was not good weather for taking pictures. Anyway, after he took his picture we started back down the trail to the bottom. As we climbed lower the weather got much better. The snow slowly turned back to grass.

 

Me and Graigcoch at the top of Corn Du.

 

 

When we reached the bottom we looked back up to the top of Corn Du, but we could not see anything. Corn Du had disappeared underneath the snowstorm. I really enjoyed our hiking trip last Sunday, but I felt sorry for my mum and dad who do not have fur coats like me and my brother Graigcoch. They must have been so cold!  

Tara now!

Cadwaladr.

Ridge Walking 3 (Twin Peaks in the UK)

After Cadwaladr finished trying to play with his cute lamb friend, we followed the trail and we reached Fan y Big where pawsome scenery waited for us.

From left to right, Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Twin Peaks on Cadwaladr's head. Please feel free to climb up them.

'Don't make fun of my big ears!!!!!'

We walked for about 5 hours this time. We were thinking of climbing up to the top of Cribyn, but our little Corgi was getting grumpy--he gets VERY grumpy when he is too tired--, so we could not make it. Well, we will have another chance to go up there.

The Brecon Beacons is always there!

Had a wash in this puddle before getting in the car.

'See you, Brecon Beacons!'













P.S.
This is a video of a lamb having his lunch.
He or she has amazing tail movement.

Cadwaladr.

Ridge Walking 2 ( Ridge Bwlch & Puppy Play With A Lamb)

After we reached the top of Craig y Fan Ddu, we started some LOVELY ridge walking! It is called Ridge Bwlch. Cadwaladr told us to upload the video saying that he'd like to share his wonderful experience with you. The white spots you see in this video are sheep beneath the ridge.

Quiz Time !

Can you tell the difference betweent these 2 pictures?

Yes.
In the second picture, you see Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr. This natural stream with cubic rocks caught our eyes. It suddenly appeared after quite a long ridge walk. It seemed Cadwaladr enjoyed this stream, so he kept going back and forward a lot.

We must not forget that Cadwaladr is a Welsh Corgi and this breed is for herding--herding sheep. Corgis drive the herd forward by nipping at their heels and working them from behind in semicircles. This time, we could see that he is for sure a Corgi. As you saw the pictures in the article 'Dear Insomniacs', we have quite many sheep here. Cadwaladr didn't care about them so much; however, this time, he met some sheep on the ridge and his natral instinct made him follow them!

Let me enlarge this picture a little....
We may find something.

 



















!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cadwaladr is trying to play with a lamb!!!!!!!

Lamb : 'Mummy, what is this fox like creature?'
Mummy Sheep : 'Stay away from this!'
                             'This is called Corgi! Our arch enemy!!'

Cadwaladr: 'Daaaaaad! Mummy sheep tried to kick me!'
Mummy Sheep: 'Go away, Corgi! '
Cadwaladr: 'I just wanted to have some puppy play with your cute little lamb!'

(To be continued...) Cadwaladr.

Ridge Walking 1 (Craig y Fan Ddu)

Every Saturday we try to go hiking because Cadwaladr is a born hiker and he belongs to nature. On last Saturday, we did some lovely ridge walking from Craig y Fan Ddu to Bwlch y Ddwyallt to Fan y Big, in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

This map shows the course we took this time.


View Larger Map

This is Craig y Fan Ddu.

















The trail to Craig y Fan Ddu was a paradise for Cadwaladr--fresh sheep poop paradise--. The more we go hiking, the more we realize that there is nothing we can do about his poop eating problem.

'I am having fun! My treats are everywhere!'

'Cadchelin Guide gives...
 3 stars for sheep poop, 2 stars for horse poop...'
For people who don't know what the "Cadchelin Guide" is, it is the "Michelin Guide" for Corgis.

















To be continued... Cadwaladr.

Pen y Fan

Last Monday, we went to the highest mountain in southern UK. It is called "Pen y Fan". The sky was very clear. Not like the weather this past week!

We parked our car near the Neuadd Reservoir and started our hike. We walked on the well-made track that leads up the mountain. As it was a bank holiday, we could meet many hikers there.

'Welcome to the Brecon Beacons!'

Usually, when we go hiking, we do the full course which includes Cribyn (795m), Pen y Fan (886m) and Corn Du (873m). However, this time, we had someone with short legs and he is still very young, so we picked an easier course. We skipped Cribyn and Corn Du.

'How dare you call my legs short!'
'They are longer than yours! Lol!'

As it was a hot day, our little Corgi kept panting. He usually enjoys his lunch--sheep poop--on the trail, but they looked quite dry and they weren't attractive enough for Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr. Good for us, but no good for him!

Well, walking up to Pen y Fan was not easy for him. A rocky path stood in his way. He took some steps walking up and he took some rest. It seems we chose a quite difficult course for him. We had to carry him just before we reached the top of Pen y Fan.

The view from the top of Pen y Fan.

'Daddy, quick! There's a big queue behind us!'
'Everyone wants to do some photo shooting!'

After we left Pen y Fan, we enjoyed walking on high ridges.

'Daddy...I can't walk any more! I'm tired!'
'Will you carry me to our car?'

Cadwaladr.

Llangorse Lake

We love walking up the mountains; however, sometimes, it is nice to just stay among the valleys and fields.

Yesterday, the weather was not so good in the morning as Cadwaladr, the Corgi weather reporter told you. Perhaps, somebody heard his little prayer that he wished to go hiking. The weather  became much nicer after 10:00am. Lucky for him, we could go hiking to walk around Llangorse Lake in the Brecon Beacons National Park. This lake is the largest natural lake in South Wales and it is well known for its birdlife.

Before we started walking the trail, we looked around the area. There were many people enjoying camping and sailing. They all looked relaxed in this beautiful natural environment. The most beautiful thing that caught our puppy's eyes were beautiful swans. They looked very friendly and not scared of people.

If you would like to visit this nice lake for hiking, we must warn you that finding the path to the trail was quite difficult for us as there was no sign. We should have brought our hiking guide with us, but we forgot, so we looked for the map on our phone; it was quite difficult to find it. We got lost for 30 minutes wandering in Llangors. Thanks to the fact that we got lost, we could walk in the pretty village of Llangors. You could easily imagine how happy we were when we found the entrance to the trail. In case anyone reading this blog would like to visit there, the entrance is right opposite the public toilets and parking area. You must walk on a grassy track until you cross a bridge over a stream. From there the trail is signposted very well. :)

Finally we could start our hiking! Yes! Although someone with short legs already had had enough fun walking in the pretty village. I wonder why this little shaggy creature has such energy! He never gets tired.

As we followed the trail, Mr. Shorty Legs went off the trail and he went to somewhere...somewhere that caught his eye! Unfortunately, it was where we did not want him to go ever! Actually, we would not imagine someone would want to go there!

Our little Corgi jumped into a slurry pit. This pit was full of farm animals' poop.

'Oh, I think I have nice smell on me! Is it a brand new perfume? Corgi Numero 5 by Coco Corgi?'

Oh, dear! No, dear! OMG!

After this accident, we had to walk with Mr. Stinky Happy Corgi. Despite the fact that his family were quite annoyed by his smell, Cadwaladr looked really happy walking in the fields. Here is some evidence...

The trail leads to a bird watching house on the south shore of the lake. We did not realize how much we stank until we entered the lovely bird watching house. There was a couple just before us who were enjoying the view. We did not disturb them, but they left the house right after we--him, maybe--entered. Well, we did not notice because we were in the field, but once we entered the house, we recongnized his stinkyness.

This is the view from the bird watching house.

'I'm very sorry for the nice hikers.'
Yes! You should feel sorry for them! You stink, Cadwaladr!

Well, except for his naughtiness, we enjoyed our hiking.
Yes. Very much.

'Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!'

P.S. We must tell you that the most horrible event was waiting for us. I'm sure you can guess.
Yes! Driving home with him on the back seat of our car. He smelled so bad!!! The drive home seemed endless. But cadwaladr slept like an angel all the way home--a smelly angel.

Boring!

Bore da! Good morning!

This is Cadwaladr.

Daddy planned to go hiking to Llangorse lake today. I was SO looking forward to it; however, when I woke up this morning--I'm the early bird in this family--I found it was raining quite heavily. It seems I must stay home the whole day! No fun for me!! Boring! I hope the weather will be better in the afternoon.

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!