Yesterday we enjoyed welcoming a happy group of Beardies and their owners, who were staying at nearby Nawton with the "Camp Beardie" organised by the Bearded Collie Club (Northern Branch). Despite heavy overnight rain, and a morning which broke with ominously heavy grey clouds, the day continued dry though cool, perfect weather for the dogs - and the sheep, who proved nice and lively, if not always co-operative!

Beardies Cawley, Blaze, Diva and of course Mirk, were useful "demo dogs" showing various aspects and stages of training, while resident Border Collies Jenny, Ben, Belle and Joss, gave us insights into the similarities and differences between when training and working with the two breeds.

The round pen, as previously, proved an invaluable training aid, giving all the dogs and handlers the opportunity to safely and constructively interact with the sheep. The majority were meeting sheep for the first time, and we were all interested to observe their reactions.  Even the dogs who found sheep not terribly exciting enjoyed stretching their legs in a "group gallop" in the large field at The Glebe, so all had plenty of Beardie fun. Cameras were clicking furiously and in due course we hope to have some photos as a reminder of an enjoyable day.

Many thanks to the hardworking committee of the BCC (Northern Branch) for taking on the challenge of co-ordinating this weekend's events, and especially to Colleen who organised the herding "taster" which everyone seemed to appreciate so much, well done.