Formerly known as   

Castlehowe Scar, Shap, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 3LG 01931 716001

alex@footloosefieldstudies.co.uk

The Courses

DRY STONE WALLING

• Practical walling experience for beginners and experienced alike
• Featured in the national press as expert providers of country skills
• Our 15th successive year of successful DSW courses

 So come and learn how to batter, place your heartings, run your throughs and cope with your copes. You will have the satisfaction of seeing a repaired stint by the end of your course, safe in the knowledge that it will out-live you!

Groups are kept to a maximum of 8 and you will be instructed by Stephen Harrison, Master Craftsman, examiner for the DSWA of Great Britain, professional waller and ex-dairy farmer.

Our three weekend courses begin on Friday evenings. It is useful if you arrive in time to have supper then we can meet at 7.00pm to go out to a nearby site to look at walls [not as sad as it sounds!] and chat about the course. Saturday and Sunday are spent walling with the weekend generally finishing around 4.00pm.

On all courses there are opportunities to see optional presentations relevant to walling and geology for a short time in the evenings. We promise this won’t interfere with your all-important drinking, unwinding time.

These weekends are tailored to beginners and those not so used to handling stone. Even so, you will be expected to shift a ton of rock as you strip out and sort your stones then slowly, methodically and with expert guidance rebuild that ancient wall in the vernacular style, into something of strength and rough beauty. The weekends are also useful for those who may have been walling before but want to consolidate to move onto greater things!