Welcome
Welcome to Skybound Border Collies, situated on the Isle Of Sheppey in Kent
My name is Cathy Saxon, Border Collies and have always featured somewhere in my life and made me lots of friends along the way, be it out on a walk or at a show. I have made some very good friends, not only in the UK but also in Europe and the USA. At present we have four Border Collies, we lost Charly Girl our oldest (but not old) late 2007, she is featured in the Skybound logo above and has a page dedicated to her here, she is missed by myself, husband John and the many friends she made with her charming disposition.
This website is dedicated to Charly
The Skybound Affix
How did we come by it? After months of thinking and playing with words and family names we just couldn't come up with anything we liked, we had a few ideas so phoned the Kennel Club and they were kind enough to check the names to see if any were available before submitting the form, some we liked had already been taken and what was left we didnt feel 100% happy about. We couldn't think any longer so started to fill the form out with what we had, John suddenly quipped up with "Skybound" straight away we knew it was the one, so put it at the top of the list as first preference.
Well, why Skybound?
John's family background had for many years been involved in aviation, he grew up near White Waltham Airfield in Maidenhead Berkshire, his Father Ed was an aircraft engineer for Fairey Aviation and was transfared to Maidenhead after the company moved from Hayes in Middlesex. John's mother was from Hounslow in the days before Heathrow Airport when many of the residents were market gardeners, that came to an end as residents sold up and moved away to make space for the airport but Johns family stayed put and saw the changes the airport made. He grew up surrounded with aeroplanes, as a small boy he would spend days skipping off school to cycle down from Maidenhead to Heathrow to watch the planes (quite a distance by bike!) When we lived in Windsor we were right under the flight path for Heathrow and would spend hot sunny days in the garden watching planes taking holiday makers far and wide, seeing (and hearing) Concord was always quite spectacular. So choosing Skybound as our affix really is significant to us.
We now live on the Isle Of Sheppey in Kent, the dogs get plenty of exercise running along the beach and swimming in the sea every day. The Isle Of Sheppey ironically has its own Aviation history.......
Eastchurch on Sheppey is the 'home of British aviation' which witnessed the first controlled flight by a British pilot on British soil. Its airfield was near where the prisons are located now. This is where the Wright brothers first flew their planes. It was also home to many forms of aircraft and where they were originally developed in the early 1900s. An aviation memorial sits in the centre of Eastchurch village. In July 1911, it was the site of the Gordon Bennett Trophy air race and during the Battle of Britain, it was one of notable bases of the Polish Air Forces.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Isle Of Sheppey and its history
visit the SHEPPEY WEBSITE
I hope you enjoy your visit.
Arnpriors Fields Of Gold (Summer)
My "blonde bombshell" Summer joined us in June 2006. For more info about Summer click her picture.
Arnpriors Charly Girl (Grace)
Grace named in honour of Charly, I didn't intend getting another Border Collie so soon after losing Charly but Grace came in to the fold and helped ease the heartache. For more about Grace click her picture.
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Westirene Saxony Mist (Barney)
Barney joined us in December 2000, I have never known such a big softy. For more about Barney click his picture.
