National Trust officials have ordered a farmer to take his horses off a stunning hilltop overlooking one of Britain’s best beaches – even though it has been used for grazing for a century.
Farmer Nick Beynon, 62, has been ordered to remove his animals over ‘health and safety’ concerns.
The grazing spot has been used by horses for over 100 years on the cliffs of Rhossili in Swansea, South Wales, which is regularly listed as one of the best coastal spots in the UK.
And generations have thrilled at the sight of the ponies grazing on the plush grass on the beauty spot.
But Nick was contacted by heritage body National Trust Cymru ‘following complaints’ about a stallion and numbers exceeding ‘the agreed limit’ in the commoner’s right to graze.
Nick said: ‘It was quite a nasty letter. It’s just come out of the blue.
‘They’re trying to say I have to provide information that I have grazing rights.
‘The main problem is that the boundaries are not fenced and the animals are escaping.’
Horses have been grazing for over a hundred years on the Rhossili coast (pictured) in Swansea, South Wales (horses pictured not Nick Benyon’s)
The dedicated farmer said his family had grazing rights in the area after generations of farming and that removing the animals would be a loss for the community.
He has now been given a deadline of December 1 to reduce the number of herd on the hilltop.
Nick said his horses had been escaping from the field due to a foot gate that was ‘not suitable.’
He said: ‘I’ve asked them to try and fix it. They can’t be bothered to spend some money and fix a gate which would cost a couple of hundred pounds.’
The farmer said the horses will have to be sold if he is asked to reduce the number grazing on the land.
But he added he was ‘hellbent’ on keeping the horses there as it was a ‘family tradition.’
Nick said: ‘I’ve got better things to do in life than chasing round solicitors and digging out facts.
‘My family has had the horses for years and we own the land joining the cliff.’
Fellow farmer Rob Morgan said it was ‘impossible’ and ‘insensitive’ to ask Nick to sell the horses during the winter.
He said: ‘The horses are special and they’ve been there for over 100 years.’
Grazing rights are a legal entitlement to allow livestock to feed in a specific area.
The National Trust said the number of horses needs to be reduced in line with the grazing limit.
In a statement, the National Trust said there had been issues with a stallion on the cliffs who had repeatedly escaped through a pedestrian gate.
It said: ‘He pushes his way through visitors on to the road, car park and into the village.
‘This is why we are concerned about not only public safety but the horses’ welfare.’
The statement said there was ‘already a secure boundary’ in place at Rhossili and that fencing was not required.
The National Trust said moving the horses was the best way to ensure the ‘safety of visitors, the welfare of the grazing animals and the ecological health of Rhossili’.
