Brexit Cymru – Rural Reflections

project

In 2019 I first met a group of photographers in Cymru/Wales; we were determined to try and document the effects Brexit would have on our small nation. Each of the four photographers chose a subject they felt passionate about and in 2020 work began. It was an ambitious self-funded project which inevitably experienced many difficulties, two of the photographers found that, for personal reasons, they couldn’t continue. However, on the 10^th anniversary of the referendum vote in June 2026 the project opened as an exhibition in Aberystwyth’s University Arts Centre.

My choice of subject was the effects of Brexit on rural communities. Although I have lived in Italy for many years, I still speak the Welsh language, which is still spoken by just over half a million people in a nation of about three million. Farmers, particularly those in the highlands of Cymru, are the living backbone of the Welsh language. If Brexit was to have a negative impact on these farmers and their close communities, it would inevitably have an effect on our language, one of the oldest still spoken in Europe. My approach to the subject was simple; I decided to follow a number of farmers in different areas of Cymru as they struggled with the inevitable changes that Brexit brought them. Here is a small selection.

I never asked the question: What did you vote for? It simply didn’t matter. However, more often than not, today I hear them say it was a big mistake. Whatever – I am just extremely grateful that the people who appear in these images afforded me the privilege of documenting snippets of their lives as ‘events’, in one way or another, beyond their control, cascaded upon them.

Obviously, BREXIT hasn’t been the only ‘event’ in our recent lives. Hard on its heels came COVID and yet more financial instabilities. The consequences of other events, including conflicts in distant lands, predictable or not, are unavoidably affecting us all. As we try to get on with our lives, it is practically impossible to distinguish what individual factors directly and/or separately influence our personal wellbeing. At best, trends, partially hidden in statistics, appear and reflect what might have been or, more importantly, might yet develop. I’m very grateful to several organisations which contributed to this project either by sharing contacts or by trying to make sense of those statistics. These include FUW, Hybu Cig Cymru and NFU Cymru.

COMING SOON

BC-001 cows

BC-001 New Zealand Cows

A large dairy farm Llangernyw, east of the Conwy valley above Llanrwst, my father’s hometown. The cows in this shed are from a New Zealand breed that have a high milk yield and are tougher than local breeds. Rhodri Jones©

BC-002 sheep farming

For centuries the highlands of Cymru/Wales, both its rural communities and landscape, were formed by sheep farming. The woollen industry in Wales was a major contributor to the national economy, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's exports in 1660. The peek population was 11.8 million in 1999. By 2024 there were 8.7 million sheep and lambs. Rhodri Jones©

BC-003 “hel defaid”

BC-003 Tradition of “hel defaid”

Alun Thomas (left) is a tenant farmer running the Hendre farm on the Penrhyn estate near Bangor, N. Wales. The tradition of “hel defaid” (sheep gathering) from the Eryri mountains is centuries-old and happens three or four times a year. Farmers, their family, labourers, and once even non-farming friends collectively herded the sheep down from the mountains and then separated them. Here they are above Aber falls. Rhodri Jones©

BC-004 quad and cross bikes

Quad and cross bikes

Today less people are needed as quad and cross bikes have taken over from men, women and large numbers of sheep-dogs. Rhodri Jones©

BC-005

BC-005 Calf birth

On his lower land, Alun breeds beef cattle. His wife runs a B+B business. “My generation of farmers have seen more changes than any previous one; change will be even faster for the next. My children won’t farm and it’s the kind of job you grow into as a child so my grandchildren probably won’t either.” Rhodri Jones©

BC-006 Alun Hendre

Alun in 2023, holding a historical photo of the previous tenant farmers at Hendre, he was recovering after a panicking cow had crushed his leg against a gate. After many operations, in January 2026, the leg was amputated just under the knee. Farming is a dangerous job. Rhodri Jones©

BC-007. Dyfed and Megan

Dyfed Davies and his partner (now wife), Megan Lewis holding historical family portraits outside their home in 2021. Dyfed’s family have been farming sheep and cattle on the Eisteddfa farm in the Preseli mountains near the Pentre Ifan burial chambers for ten generations and Megan’s family also have a long farming tradition in mid Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-008. Dyfed counting

Dyfed counting his flock. He feels that the farmer’s role as custodian of the land will have to be valued more in the future, but that farming will always continue here. Rhodri Jones©

BC-009. Dyfed June2026

Dyfed photographed in June 2026 in the abandoned farm house he wants to restore and move to with Megan and their 2-year-old son, Eurig. “It’s true that most of the smaller farms will have to sell up. Our biggest worry is that corporations will start buying up land to ‘re-wild’ it to offset their carbon footprint”. Rhodri Jones©

BC-010. Dafydd Morris Jones

Dafydd Morris Jones, writer, translator and sheep-farmer, runs the family farm with his mother, Delyth, in Ysbyty Cynfun, Ceredigion. Rhodri Jones©

BC-011. Dafydd and Delyth

Dafydd and Delyth on the farm in Mid Wales. In, Dafydd had a bad accident on his quad bike and broke his spine in several places. Thanks to the Welsh Air Ambulance (with which his wife works) Dafydd luckily not only survived the terrible accident but was promptly taken to the university hospital in Cardiff and is slowly recovering. Rhodri Jones©

BC-012 Delyth

Delyth, who has spent all her life on farms in the area said: “friends and neighbours, that is our community, have been essential in keeping the farm together while Dafydd has been unable to work. This was true when I was a child and it is still true today and I’m 73 today”. Rhodri Jones©

The livestock market in Dolgellau with the Eurospar supermarket in the background. Today, all prices are dictated to the farmers by large corporations and/or supermarkets. Rhodri Jones©

BC-013. Livestock market Dolgellau

The livestock market in Dolgellau with the Eurospar supermarket in the background. Today, all prices are dictated to the farmers by large corporations and/or supermarkets. Rhodri Jones©

BC-014. Livestock market Crymych

Traditions, breeds, methods and technologies have changed over the millennia that livestock have been bought and sold at this market in Crymych in the Preseli hills where the rocks for Stonehenge were quarried. Rhodri Jones©

There is no longer a livestock market in Bethesda (my hometown), and the agricultural fair is largely frequented by ‘hobby farmers’ who keep a small number of animals, mainly to enter competitions.

BC-015. Bethesda

There is no longer a livestock market in Bethesda (my hometown), and the agricultural fair is largely frequented by ‘hobby farmers’ who keep a small number of animals, mainly to enter competitions. Rhodri Jones©

BC-016. Nant Ffrancon

Blaen Nant farm in Nant Ffrancon, just a few Kms away from Bethesda and is now owned by the National Trust. There used to be ten farms in Nant Ffrancon alone during my childhood. Now there are only two and I don’t know how long they will last. Tourism is taking over. Rhodri Jones©

BC-017 Llyn Mwyngil

A Hotel and restaurant, closed offseason, on the southern shore of Llyn Mwyngil in Mid Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-018. Clywedog reservoir

Tourists relax overlooking the Clywedog reservoir in Mid Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-019. Nant y Moch reservoir

BC-019. Cross motorcyclists on a short holiday from Leicester finish their grilled meal at the Nant y Moch reservoir, Ceredigion. Rhodri Jones©

BC-020. Glan Y Gors Karting

The Glan Y Gors Karting Park on the A5 near Cerrigydrudion, North Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-021. Pentre Ifan

Tourists have a picnic at the Pentre Ifan burial chambers in the Preseli mountains where the stones for Stonehenge were taken. Rhodri Jones©

BC-022. Seven Springs Holiday Homes

The Seven Springs Holiday homes park between Pennant and Llannon. Rhodri Jones©

BC-023. Llyn Peninsular

Homes for sale on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales. Ever more homes (including farms) are being sold as holiday homes throughout rural Cymru, meaning that the prices rise beyond the means of the local population. Rhodri Jones©

BC-024. Hari and Haf

Hari and Haf lived in a caravan on their farmyard in Rhiw on the Llyn Peninsula when I first met them in 2020. “Most of the local farmhouses have been bought up as second homes, we have no idea if we’ll ever be able to afford a real home here”. Rhodri Jones©

BC-025 Hari

Life for dairy farmers is hard; very early starts in all weathers and a relentless daily rhythm which needs to be repeated 365 days a year. Hari with his favourite cow in the cowshed he took over from his uncle, the farmhouse had been sold as a holiday home previously. Rhodri Jones©

BC-026. Haf dawn.

Haf preparing feed for the calves before dawn. Rhodri Jones©

BC-027. Hari dusk

Hari bringing in his cattle for the evening milking at dusk. Rhodri Jones©

BC-028. Dragon

Hari and Haf produce milk for the South Caernarfon Creamery Cooperative, the oldest farmers’ cooperative in Wales (makers of the popular Dragon Cheese). Rhodri Jones©

BC-029. Hari and Haf 2026

In 2026 they still have approximately a hundred cows but have managed to “up-scale” the caravan into a “chalet” and now have even more busy lives thanks to their two children Lilwen and Orig: “For a few years we got good money for milk but the prices are dropping again as our costs are rising. Without family support our lives would be impossible. Even though Brexit hasn’t affected our business directly, it is having a very disruptive effect on our lives already. We live, work and survive day to day”. Rhodri Jones©

BC-030. Edward and Ellis Griffiths

Edward and Ellis Griffiths’ family have been raising beef cattle on the Llyn for generations. One generation gradually takes over from the previous one as they learn old skills. However, Ellis says there are no guarantees that either of his two young sons will want to take over the farm or whether farming will be a viable business by the time they are of an age to do so. “Farmers need to take long-term investment decisions and Brexit didn’t help. I have two young sons, obviously I think about their future – sure, I’m worried about cheap imports from Australia and, God help us, the US!” Rhodri Jones©

BC-031. Edward

Edward on one of the three farms he runs with his father. Rhodri Jones©

BC-032 Edward and chip

Many younger farmers study in agricultural colleges where they learn and introduce new methods and technology. Here he is seen giving a calf a ‘chip’. Rhodri Jones©

BC-033. Llŷr Jones

Llŷr Jones is a mover and shaker and has introduced many new projects on his farm Derwydd near Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, Corwen. These include tourism and rapeseed oil production as well as beef and lamb. Rhodri Jones©

BC-034. Llŷr Oct 2021

When I first met Llŷr (Oct 2021) he told me “I’ve always been careful to run this farm with the highest environmental standards possible; we’re even self-sufficient in electricity and water and I’m developing ground-air-source heating to make us 100% renewable.” Rhodri Jones©

BC-035 New Egg Shed

He described opening a new egg producing plant as “My Brexit insurance policy; eggs are unlikely to be affected by future trade deals - you can’t import eggs from Australia or New Zealand. This type of farming isn’t good for the environment; but do I have a choice? At the end of the day I’m dependent on supermarkets and banks, I have a family; I can’t run on a loss: Diwedd y cân ydi’r ceiniog” (an old Welsh saying: “the end of the song is the penny”). Rhodri Jones©

BC-036 New hens

The new purpose-built sheds for 32 000 chickens, designed to produce 10.5 million eggs per year for Tesco, are a huge investment but also give part-time employment to local labourers and technical engineers. However, by June 2022 Llŷr was worried: “Despite using state of the art technology to reduce ammonia emissions by 90% by drying the muck and cleaning the air coming out of the shed, this type of farming still isn’t great for the environment and our costs are rising.” Due to many factors, costs continue to rise in 2026. Rhodri Jones©

BC-037. Haye on Wye.

Waiting for the tourists in Haye on Wye. Over the last few years the Wye has become increasingly polluted by industrial, human and farm sewage being dumped illegally into the river, this has a knock-on effect on the local tourist industry as well as the environment. Rhodri Jones©

BC-038. Keith Powell Ceiniogi’r Coed

Keith Powell started the Ceiniogi’r Coed / Stump Up for Trees rewilding project on Bryn Arw farm in the Black Mountains where his family has been farming for several generations in 2017. Initially Keith planted 135 000 native broadleaf trees on bracken-covered common land. Rhodri Jones©

BC-039. ‘Mad-Max’ Keith

Keith with his ‘Mad-Max’ machine which keeps the bracken down so that the newly planted trees can grow. In recent years, there has been a surge in large corporate companies buying up farmland in Cymru for afforestation and carbon offsetting. Keith’s charity aims to give farmers and other landowners a choice: to keep their family farm in hand, and make a small economic return by re-purposing their marginal agricultural land to native woodland creation or wood pasture with grant funding. Rhodri Jones©

BC-040. Tree nursery

The project has since expanded and includes a nursery, largely run by volunteers, and an education department. Rhodri Jones©

BC-041. Larch plantation

Many farmers regard afforestation and rewilding with deep suspicion. In 1919 The Forestry Commission was established to rebuild a strategic timber reserve. Taking advantage of depressed agriculture, the commission bought cheap, marginal hill land in Wales. During the 1930s, production prioritized conifer plantations to supply pit props for the booming coal mining industry. The Forestry Commission was closed in 2013 but huge damage had already been done to the land in Cymru. A plantation of Larch trees dying with “larch disease”, Phytophthora ramorum, a highly destructive, fungus-like pathogen in central Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-042. Abandoned chapel

Many smallholding farms were destroyed when the Forestry Commission took over the land from the 1930s to 1950s and their communities slowly died in the following years, never to recover. An abandoned chapel above Llanuwchllyn in Central Wales. Rhodri Jones©

BC-043. Abandoned School

Many smallholding farms were destroyed when the Forestry Commission took over the land from the 1930s to 1950s and their communities slowly died in the following years, never to recover. An abandoned school playground with a Welsh language compass rose in Brithdir near Dolgellau. The school, one of several in the area was shut down in 2017 as part of a wider local education reorganization plan by Gwynedd Council to establish a new "all-through" catchment school called Ysgol Bro Idris. Rhodri Jones©

BC-044. Epynt

In 1940 the Epynt military training ground, covering about 30,000 to 36,000 acres (roughly 12,000 to 14,500 hectares) was established. There were 54 farms located on the Mynydd Epynt community area before it was cleared including a local pub, a school and chapel with its cemetery. Many other rural Welsh-speaking communities were lost to reservoirs. This is one of the reasons that large corporate companies buying up farmland in Cymru for afforestation and carbon offsetting is seen with deep distrust. Rhodri Jones©

BC-045. Wyn Evans

Wyn Evans, thanks also to a popular campsite on his farm, Caerfai Farm south of Ty Dewi (St. Davids), has been able to invest in technological and environmental improvements on his organic farm. Rhodri Jones©

BC-046. Organic cheese

His daughter also produces organic cheese which is sold on the campsite and beyond. Rhodri Jones©

BC-047. Gerald Miles

Wyn and Gerald Miles (seen here in the kitchen with his wife) have been good friends for decades, experimenting with traditional and new farming methods near Ty Dewi. Gerald specializes in traditional crops and growing methods and has volunteers from all over the UK and EU working on the farm. “I’m sorry that it will become more difficult for EU volunteers to work here, it has been great to see the youngsters get on so well”. Rhodri Jones©

BC-048. Volunteers

A mix of UK and EU volunteers working on Gerald Miles’ farm. Rhodri Jones©

BC-049. Peni Ediker

Peni Ediker on her small-holding, “Swn y Coed” (The wood’s sounds) near Llanboidy, South Wales. “Swn y Coed” is a One Planet Development project which Peni and her partner, Stef started a few years before the Brexit vote. She originally produced “veg boxes” (a mix of seasonable vegetables) for the local area. However, in 2026 she told me selling her organic vegetable products was becoming increasingly difficult as prices are beyond most local customers means, so she had begun growing flowers for weddings and other events. Rhodri Jones©

BC-050. Stef

Stef keeping the grass in the orchard down. There are four smallholding farms in the community. Rhodri Jones©

BC-051. Peni with Lynn Davies

Peni with her neighbour, Lynn Davies and her home built by her and Stef in the background. As a local councillor Lynn was originally against the One Planet Development getting planning permission for the four small-holdings on this site as he didn’t think they could be viable. Over the Covid period Peni took Lynn produce from her polytunnels and they became friends. This was Lynn’s first visit to “Swn y Coed” and he was genuinely impressed how a grazing field had been converted into a self-sufficient orchard and vegetable garden. However, he said that people like Peni were living the harsh lifestyle of his grandparent’s era and he didn’t see this as progress. He also argued that it was difficult for livestock farmers (as himself) to get planning permission and resented it been given to people who had moved into the area recently; “I respect you for what you have achieved here, but if I was still a councillor and the vote came up again; I’d still vote against you getting planning permission”.

BC-052. Maypole dance

BC-053. Carrie Rimes

Carrie Rimes in the old Catholic church of Bethesda which she converted into her cheese making laboratory in 2020. She originally learnt her skills in France where she lived for several years and thinks it is sad that youngsters from Cymru won’t have the same opportunities after Brexit. Rhodri Jones©

BC-054. Cosyn yogurt.

Carrie checks up on the yogurt she makes with Welsh ewe milk provided by local farmers who are looking for an alternative source of income. Rhodri Jones©

BC-055. Cosyn Cymru shop

Carrie set up her business, Cosyn Cymru in 2008 and it is thriving despite the increased costs of importing essential products from the EU without being able to export her own products there as it would involve loads of paperwork and unaffordable tariffs. Rhodri Jones©

BC-056 Ioan Doyle

I went to school with his father and remember babysitting for Ioan Doyle. Although he had sheep and now cattle of his own, he still has no farm and his main income is from his successful fencing and walling business. Here he’s working on one of the last re-wilding projects financed by the E.U. on the island of Môn in North Wales: “We contract workers are the last in a long chain, we have no contractual power. Now that I have two young children, I’m not sure I want to have my own farm. Even if I could afford one without a massive mortgage and prices here have gone crazy; I’d potentially be compromising their future choices and burdening them with debt.” Rhodri Jones©

BC-057. Ioan portrait

Ioan is a celebrity climber in his spare-time, several TV documentaries have been made on his climbing and mountaineering adventures in different countries from Pakistan to the USA. Rhodri Jones©

BC-058. William Lloyd Williams

William Lloyd Williams ran the Dovey Valley District Meats abattoir and Butchers in Machynlleth until 2022, one of the last independent slaughter houses in mid Wales. “With all the rules and regulations, we can’t compete with the large companies and it’s only got worse since Brexit.” Rhodri Jones©

BC-059. Market day in Machynlleth

Market day in Machynlleth, once an agricultural market town. Now the only butchers’ is in the Coop supermarket and this truck is selling meat from England. Rhodri Jones©

BC-060. Celtic pride

There are four large distribution meat companies in Cymru, all four are owned and run by parent companies in Eire. Rhodri Jones©

BC-061. Rhodri Jones

Rhodri Jones (yes, the same, very common, name) who farms near Llanuwchllyn in Mid Wales believes that the future is in quality. He has some top-quality restaurants buying his pure Welsh Black beef: “This breed has been here since before the Romans arrived. We’re lucky, I have good customers who will hopefully bounce back once the pandemic eases and my wife has a successful veterinary practice, but most of the farms around here are totally dependent on (EU) subsidies.” Rhodri Jones©

BC-062. Rhodri with family

Rhodri on the farm near Llanuwchllyn in Mid Wales with his father and son. I’m not sure whether my son will want to become a farmer, I’m not even sure whether it would be a viable option for him”. Rhodri Jones©

BC-063. Farm auction

A farm auction at the Penllwyn farm near Bethesda, Llawhaden, sir Benfro. With no family members interested in continuing working on the farm all the farm equipment is being sold off. Eventually, also the land and the farmhouse and its buildings will be sold. Many Family farms are being bought up by corporations (some even offshore) who see them as an investment to offset their carbon footprint which helps their PR campaigns in claiming they are carbon neutral. Rhodri Jones©

BC-064. Penllwyn farm auction

A farm auction at the Penllwyn farm near Bethesda, Llawhaden, sir Benfro. With no family members interested in continuing working on the farm all the farm equipment is being sold off. Eventually, also the land and the farmhouse and its buildings will be sold. Many Family farms are being bought up by corporations (some even offshore) who see them as an investment to offset their carbon footprint which helps their PR campaigns in claiming they are carbon neutral. Rhodri Jones©

BC-065. Alun Davies

Alun Davies holding a portrait of his great-grandparents on a plot of land near Llanfair Clydogau where he has an off-grid cabin in order to plant trees and “let nature take over again”. Alun was brought up on a small farm just outside Llanbedr Pont Steffan. Rhodri Jones©

BC-066. Alun and Arwel

Both Alun and his brother, Arwel have different jobs and neither want to continue working on the family farm, however, until recently, they would both enjoy helping their mother and farther (previously also a school bus driver) gather the hay every year. Rhodri Jones©

BC-067. Nant y Maen

A double blow-out in Nant y Maen, one of the most isolated places in Central Wales. Rural poverty has increased noticeably in the over twenty years I have been photographing Wales. Work and cash are scarcer than ever before and the phone box no longer works. Rhodri Jones©

BC-068. General Stores Mathri

The old General Stores and post office in Mathri, a historical hilltop village in Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire), West Wales which is on the site of an Iron Age defensive fort. Rhodri Jones©

BC-069. Llanybydder

A trailer with an automatic milk vending machine in Llanybydder, a once thriving agricultural market town. Now the largest employer is the Dunbia red-meat processing factory – owned by a company from Eire. Rhodri Jones©

BC-070. Pontrhydfendigaid

BC-071 Chapel North Wales

BC-072. Leigh at Capel Soar-y-Mynydd

Leigh, the bride and her bridesmaids arrive at Capel Soar-y-Mynydd, near Tregaron, on the eve of the chapel’s two hundredth anniversary for her wedding to Gwyn Jones, a local farmer. Rhodri Jones©

BC-073. Wedding guests Capel Soar-y-Mynydd

Guests leave a wedding between Leigh and Gwyn Jones at Capel Soar-y-Mynydd, near Tregaron, on the eve of the chapel’s two hundredth anniversary. Rhodri Jones©

BC-074. Ffair Llanllechid

Once an agricultural fair, Ffair Llanllechid has been little more than a fair with amusement rides since my distant youth. Thankfully the predominant language still spoken is Cymraeg (Welsh). Rhodri Jones©

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