Dry Stone Walls - Their Place in the Landscape
One and two day courses
Discover how, why and when dry stone walls were built. This one day introduction to the history and techniques of dry stone walling will open your eyes to the mysteries of these much loved facets of our landscape. Take a walk through the beautiful Radnorshire hills looking at old walls in their historic environment and learn about how they are constructed, who put them there and why.
In addition to the content of the one day course, the two day course will give you the added opportunity to receive instruction in the basic techniques of dry stone wall building and have a go at constructing your own little piece of wall.
Stuart Fry will lead the course. Stuart is a professional dry stone waller working in the hills of Mid Wales. He holds the Advanced qualification of the Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. He is also a Landscape Archaeologist and combines both specialities in these one and two day courses. Participants will not only learn the basic rudiments of building a dry stone wall but will also learn about the history of how and when they were built. Stuart is particularly interested in wall dating and the conservation aspects of walls in their environment. From geology to wildlife, from defence to enclosure, dry stone walls epitomise man's influence on the landscape and these fascinating short courses
Dates for 2013.
Each day will start at 9.30am – whilst you enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with homemade cake, Stuart will give the background of the day. A lunch of locally prepared food will be served. The day will finish at 4.00pm with afternoon tea.
Level of fitness
You should be capable of walking over uneven and hilly ground for several hours and climbing over stiles. The pace of the walk will allow time to simply stand and stare and soak in the landscape and history you are seeing. On the practical day whilst you will obviously need to be able to bend and pick up the stones we do not use very heavy material and providing you can handle the weekly shopping bags you should be fine!
What to wear and bring
You will need good comfortable walking boots and suitable clothing for the weather, it can be chillier on the open hills – so bring layers that you can take on or off according to the weather. Binoculars and cameras are a good idea.
Travel
For those wishing to travel by public transport, we can arrange collection from Llandrindod Wells station or bus stop.
