Livin' In A Barn...

As we left Ireland, we were treated to a spectacular rainbow over the fields of sheep. Although we didn't find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we certainly felt that we had found as much of a treasure in good friends and sheepdog knowledge.

We headed to Thomas Longton's farm and his spectacular Shepherd's Barn, a five star self-catering accommodation that is second to none. It is a renovated barn that makes you shake your head about what is possible if you have vision!

There are eight gorgeous kennels for dogs, and fantastic fields to train on. Thomas kindly showed us around, and there was a variety of sheep from Herdswick and Hebridean to Mule sheep.

Our luck with the weather seems to have run out temporarily, as there was severe flooding at the bottom of the drive when the creek overflowed its banks with the driving rain and a neighbour's drive shed was partially underwater. On the other hand, perhaps our luck is still holding as we are on higher ground!

 Thomas showed us a couple of his dogs...he has a quiet calm about him, so much so that I had to strain to hear him in the high winds and driving rain. Both his whistling and his speech were almost inaudible to me but the dogs never missed a beat... mind you my hearing is questionable at the best of times!

The only glitch is access to wireless, so we are sitting in the Yummy Cupcake Company at the moment to get online (free wifi is common here). This might become a regular stop!