Come-bye

Today's the day ........................ for one man and his dog

So lovely to have a visit from niece Elizabeth (see below) and Alex en route for a few days holiday in the Lake District.

We took them for a walk on Scout Scar this afternoon - and were delighted to find that it was the venue for the Windermere Open Sheep Dog Trials which were in full flow.  Although an avid fan of the TV series 'One Man and his Dog' , I've never actually been to a Sheep Dog Trial - so it was particularly exciting. 

And those dogs were just incredible.  With a bit of help (I suppose) from their trainer, they had to run in a huge circle to pick up their five black Hebridean sheep from the far end of the field.  They had to manoeuvre them through impossibly small gaps in fencing several times - and eventually bring them to the trainer so he could open the gate into a small pen and neatly trap them inside. 

Of course, some dogs were better than others - or was it just that the sheep were more accommodating?  But when it was done right, it was spell-binding......................