Out on the pasture at six: reserve a shepherd's round in high Arcadia

Out before six, back by two

The van leaves at 06:00 because the flock does. You are at pasture height by first light, walking behind an animal that knows the ground better than anyone, on a round that takes in two water points and a stretch of high grass grazed in a fixed order through the summer. Around 09:00 the milking happens where the animals stand, and what comes out goes straight into a folding hut that is put up and taken down with the season: a curd is cut, drained and pressed while you watch. It is a small operation rather than a demonstration, and it is over quickly. The walk back down is slower and warmer than the walk up. You are off the hill by 14:00.

Altitude, distance and the dogs

About twelve kilometres, most of it between 1,100 and 1,400 metres, on sheep tracks and open grass with no marked path and nothing to hold onto. There is one steady climb of forty minutes early on, in the dark or close to it, so a head torch earns its place in your bag. Nights are cold up there even in July and the middle of the day is not. The dogs are working animals, large and serious, and they are not there to be greeted; you walk behind the shepherd, you do not approach them, and if you are frightened of big dogs this is a day to skip rather than endure.

Cost, and what nobody can promise

From $162 per person, the figure holds the shepherd's time from 06:00 to 14:00, the round itself and the work at the hut. It does not hold the drive up, food beyond what you carry, or the bed the night before, which needs to be near the road head if you want to make six in the morning. Weather closes this day more often than any other on the site, perhaps one morning in six, and it is called off from below rather than halfway up. Nobody can promise you a clear ridge, a full hut or a particular number of animals. You are told what is typical, and then you take the morning you get.

Awkward things people ask about this day

Why does this one need eight people?

Because a shepherd who takes a group is not doing the rest of his morning, and below eight the day does not pay for that. Mark three on this site means eight names. We hold your date, we ask, and about ten days out you are told plainly whether it stands. If it does not, nothing has been paid and you can move to a day that runs whatever the numbers.

Can you arrange for us to help with the milking?

No, and this is the company's line rather than ours. Milking is done at speed by people who do it twice a day, animals are handled by those they know, and the hygiene rules around fresh milk are not flexible for visitors. You stand close, you watch the whole of it, and you handle the curd only if the shepherd offers. Asking on the hill will not change that.

What do we eat, and can we buy the cheese?

You carry your own food and water for the morning; there is nothing to buy above the village. Fresh curd is sometimes offered and sometimes not, depending on the day's milk and who else has ordered it, so treat it as a chance rather than part of the figure. Anything you buy is bought from the shepherd directly. This office takes no payment and handles no card details at any point.