I was able to get my 101 in 1001 challenge off to a good start as coincidentally I had booked for us to learn how to build a dry stone wall! This was in the beautiful location of Birchover in Derbyshire where part of the beauty of the surrounding countryside is in fact thanks to the network of drystone wall. Our instructor is very well known in the field (haha field - geddit?)His name is Trevor Wragg and he's an ex British champion drystone waller and has well over 20 years' experience, yet you can see his passion for the subject hasn't flickered at all. He started off by laughing at our gloves which I had frantically bought the day before for 99p a pair at Focus, before giving us an overview of the different types of stones; the foundations, then the builders, middle fill (or hearting) and then the copers on the top.
And so to work. A stretch of wall had falled down, so we extracted the stones and sorted them by type. Our section of the wall looked to be the most difficult since there was a distinct drop on the other side. Beyond the neighbouring field were lots of sheep and a campsite. It was a baking hot day and after shifting about two stones, I was already out of breath. We laboured on, shuffling with stones of various sizes, and checking with Trevor to confirm that they were indeed the types of stones we thought they were. In no time at all, we had laid the foundation for our wall. Then a much-needed tea break from the very nice farmer. After that, we were back to work. Trevor insists on working with sticks and bits of string to measure the height of each level within the wall, although some people use pre-fabricated A-frames. We tied the blue string eight inches above the first layer to ensure our wall was even in height (although it tapers so is wider at the bottom) and also to ensure there are no stones sticking out of the wall ("looking pregnant" as Trevor said). Another layer done here, and I have taken care not to mention that I had already sustained three minor injuries through my stupidity - pinched fingers are the norm here, so while taking a step back every now and then to ensure the wall looks straight from a distance, I checked that the number of fingers was the same as when I started. We kept laying the stones down from each side - boys on one and girls on the other, with the string rising every so often. In no time at all, it was resembling a wall, and looking far better than the other segments of wall completed by similar novice groups. Then a lunch break where we heeded Trevor's warning that if you construct a wall without wearing gloves you can be liable to catch Weil's disease. There can be other nasties in the wall such as hypodermic needles and broken glass - however, in our section of wall, we found a rather more interesting artefact - a gas mask, as well as some old glass bottles containing what appeared to be some sort of old-time sheep medicine. After a not-too-filling lunch - "If you eat too much, you can't bend", the day was flying by, it was now just time for the top layer - the coping stones on the top which complete the wall. These D-shaped stones were heavy and had to be lifted the greatest distance. But how satisfying when complete! Before we left, it was time for some pictures of our handiwork and then a tour of the wall which included a gargoyle from the Norman church which was on the site in years past, a section of wall that popped out easily so people could hide their money in it, and a lead bell and gunpowder container from another section of wall - possibly dating back to the civil war. It was truly a brilliant way of getting up close to history and also of stamping a little bit of immortality onto the Derbyshire countryside.
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