Beginners Course at Silkstone Common 11th and 12th August 2007

The course gathered at The Station Inn at Silkstone Common on a sunny and warm day for a cup of tea and a steady start to the day. Our students included ex Army and Navy personnel, Telecoms Engineer, Insurance Broker and Driving Instructor to name a few. After an hours introduction and theory session we took leave of the best landlord in South Yorkshire, Mark Grey, and travelled the short distance to our walling site in Nabs Wood.

It wasn't long before the students were wiping their brow due to the exertions of stripping down the wall and sorting out the stone into the seperate component parts i.e. foundation stone, walling stone, throughstones, copestones and heartings. Although this part of the walling process can be quite tedious it's an essential part of the process and fits into my ethos of the 7 P's, which should be well known to all servicemen, which are - Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Pi** Poor Performance! Witticisms aside, preparation is paramount in marking out and planning your wall before a stone is even laid.

Under the tuition of Les Young the pins were set and the wall started taking shape and despite the efforts of a couple of nosey dogs to derail the course, the wall was at a foot high when we packed in for the day.

It has now become a tradition that on the Saturday evening of the course we all descend on the Chilli Lodge, and excellent Indian restaurant located a few hundred yards from the walling site at Westfield Equestrian Centre - after a couple of well earned pints of Tetley's back at the Station Inn that is!! This course there were 17 poeple at the table!! The company included the current students, past students, parents of past students, professional dry stone wallers, significant other halfs and the lovely Charlotte from Rotherham Chamber of Commerce who had given up her Saturday to report on our walling courses. I'm please to say that the company and meal were excellent as were the Bangla's with which we rinsed it down with!












































Sunday was a little cooler with not as much sun but for us working under under the sheltered and shady canopy of Nabs Wood it didn't affect us too much. Before too long we had completed the first lift and placed the throughstones into the wall. The walling carried on in relative silence, a sure sign of concentration and effort, which I think you'll agree turned out to be a splendid piece of walling for the students first try at dry stone walling!!

A big thank you to (from L to R) Andy, Reece, Alan, Mike, John and Ian for their participance, company, wit and repartee!

For information on Hadrian's Dry Stone Walls please click here.

Alternatively you can call Les Young on +44 (0)7952 551025.