IT’S famed for its drovers and was home to famed cowboys long before the American Midwest.
Today, a Welsh market town is launching as a brand in a bid to sell itself to tourists.
Llandovery is renowned as a famous former droving town, where herdsmen gathered from large parts of Wales before their huge cattle drives to London.
Sitting on the junction of three important droving routes from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and the former Cardiganshire, sheep, ducks, geese, corgis and a staggering 30,000 cattle were driven from Wales to Smithfield and the Barnet fair each year.
The new Love Llandovery brand, together with a new logo, aims to celebrate its droving history and to revitalise the historic town on the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Carmarthenshire.
Glyn Evans, who is originally from Cardiff and has lived in Llandovery for 30 years, said: “The drovers date back to the Norman Conquest, to the time when England was developing urban towns and cities, like London.
“Jobs were no longer reliant on the land and a huge amount of food was needed.
“Droves took place in summer and typically involved 400 beasts and around a dozen men, who took three weeks to get to London.
“These men were the first Welsh cowboys, way before the American cowboys.
“The cows would be shod each week, like horses, and the ducks and geese would have their feet covered in tar and sand to help protect them.
“Corgis would get under the cows’ tails and keep them in order.
“The return journey would take just a week and the dogs would return home days before the men because they knew the route.
“The droves would go over valleys to avoid toll road taxes and the drovers, who had a huge amount of money in their pockets on their return, would be vulnerable to attacks from robbers and brigands.”
Local drover David Jones grew so rich from his trade that he set up the Black Ox Bank in 1799 and created cheques so drovers wouldn’t have to carry money.
“He set up the bank at the King’s Head, which is still in the town and its symbol was the Welsh Black, the native breed of Wales,” said Mr Evans.
“His descendants moved out of the King’s Head to Prospect House and in the early 1900s Lloyds Bank incorporated the Black Ox Bank and its symbol became the black horse.”
He said the legacy of the drovers’ trail is a number of Drover’s Inns at strategic stopping points on the way to London, such as river crossings, and Black Ox roads.
The new Love Llandovery logo will be unveiled in the historic Market Square today, along with a giant heart-shaped collage of more than 400 personal photographs representing what townspeople love about it.
Fiona Walker, chairman of Llandovery and District Chamber of Commerce, whose great-grandfather was the town’s blacksmith, said: “We love our town and we hope visitors want to embrace what we love about it.
“I lived in Zimbabwe for 30 years but came back to my roots with my family here. I missed the people and the countryside and the sense of belonging.”
Clive Stephens, who lives in the town, said: “On the surface, Llandovery is a one-horse town without the horse.
“But beneath the surface, it has more diversity of life than the Amazon rainforest.”
Nick Stewart, of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, said: “Love Llandovery is an incredible tribute to all the people in the town who form a vibrant and special community in this area.
“This brand identity focuses on building an awareness of Llandovery as a unique place to visit – an attractive and genuine market town famous for its droving heritage, offering a warm Welsh welcome to visitors.
“By focusing on their ideal visitors – those whose expectations match what the town has to offer – they can avoid being a bland something-for-everyone destination.”
Helen Wyn, also of the authority, said: “It’s been very exciting to see the whole town come together to support this vision.
“Encouraging the sustainable development and regeneration of Llandovery has inspired this community to create a unique brand.”
As the first initiative under the Love Llandovery campaign, the town is launching an annual Llandovery Sheep Festival in September to celebrate droving, sheep farming and the wool industry.
The festival aims to educate visitors about sheep farming and the issues faced by sheep farmers who have seen the price of wool dwindle.
Love Llandovery aims to target three markets: older independent couples on short breaks, walkers and bird watchers and activity enthusiasts keen on cycling, riding, fishing and rallying.
