Monster burn

There's been outrage locally about a huge gorse fire that was allowed to rage unchecked for several days last week across a wide area of the Preseli hills.
We went up to see the damage and in particular to pay a visit to Bedd yr Afanc/Grave of the water monster, a very unusual passage grave set in an expanse of moorland (and famously hard to find).

I'd heard a report that it was spared by the flames, perhaps because the upright stones are set on a slightly elevated patch of shortcropped turf but all around was a blackened expanse of charred gorse, grass and scrub.

The practice of burning off the gorse is one that's set in tradition and done to encourage a crop of new grass to flourish and provide rich grazing for sheep. Normally it's done by "controlled burning" which restricts it to certain pre-ordained areas but this particular fire seems to have been left to its own devices and burnt for several days, visible on the skyline from miles away. Very many people have been outraged especially as April is the breeding season for moorland birds which nest at ground level, and also the time when bees and other insects are emerging and reproducing.

Not all traditions are ones we wish to cherish and in this time of habitat loss and wildlife deficit it's upsetting to see so much destruction, albeit  temporary. (The plant life should regenerate but I'm not sure about lichens.)

However, hill farmers are a dying breed too and they argue that they have every right to do what their forefathers did. So some sort of compromise needs to be reached (and enforced by law).

 A few extras