The traditional skills of hay-making returned to Carew Castle this week - thanks to a generous response from Pembrokeshire residents. Long forgotten scythes were dusted off and sharpened following an appeal in local newspapers and radio by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority - which runs Carew Castle and Mill - for the loan of the age-old implement. "We had lots of phone calls and local interest," said Carew Castle supervisor Helen Davies. "Several people offered to lend us scythes and three were even donated to us." On Monday, Park staff and volunteers used the scythes to tackle an area of meadow near the castle. They were shown how to use the scythes by ranger Haydn Garlick and Coast Path warden Steve Evans. "It was tough going," said Helen. "We realised just how hard people worked in the old days to do regular tasks like cutting the hay." The grass is now drying and will be baled with modern machinery and used for animal feed. "We hope that by cutting this area with scythes, even more wild flowers and grasses will flourish there, part of the traditional hay meadow," added Helen. "We are very grateful to everyone who offered their help on this."