Courses
All courses start at 9:30am and run until 4:30pm (off road parking is available at Blackbrook Farm).
Dry stone walling for beginners1 day at weekends or on weekdays throughout the year.
Our beginners course aims to show you how to correctly rebuild a straight forward section of dry stone wall. You will participate in every stage of its construction from stripping out an old wall in the morning to finally placing the coping stones six or seven hours later. You will also learn how to erect a batter frame, set your guide strings and correctly cut stone using a brick hammer.
Instructor to student ratio is 1:4
Price : £30 per person until March 2009. £35 thereafter.
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Two Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling
This differs from the the beginner's course in that participants will build both faces of their stint of wall.
This course may appeal to those who would like to combine their visit to to the Peak District and Derbyshire with some hands on conservation.
There is some accomodation available on the farm and a list of B& B's in the valley is available on request.
Price : £60 per person until March 2009. £70 thereafter.
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Level 1 Course
Once you have completed the beginners course you may wish to attend a level one course. This course is part of the Craftsmen Certification Scheme and is accredited by LANTRA Awards and the Dry Stone Walling Association. The objective of this course is to enable participants to strip out and rebuild a 2.5 square metre stint of wall in a seven hour period. The course which is spread over five weekends will offer a graded approach to this objective.
Weekend 1 (Saturday only)
Participants will tackle both faces of a 1 to 1.5 metre stint of wall. The stone will be pre-graded and the foundation trench already prepared so that you can focus on the building. Guidance will be given on setting up the clamp and irons and on the setting of string lines. Advice will be given on the setting of time targets for each section of the wall e.g. foundation, first lift, throughband and second lift etc.
Weekend 2 (Saturday)
Participants will tackle a similar area of wall but will also be expected to strip out and prepare the foundation. (Sunday) Participants will complete any unfinished work from the previous day and/or rebuild the previous day's section.
Weekend 3 (Saturday only)
Strip out and rebuild 1.5 to 2 square metre strint of wall.
Weekend 4 (Saturday)
Strip out and rebuild 2 square metre section of wall. (Sunday) Strip out and rebuild 2.5 square metre section of wall.
Weekend 5 (Saturday only)
Test Day
Instructor to student ratio 1:8 maximum
Price: £265 per person including £95 test fee.
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Cheekend Weekend
A
cheekend is the arrangement of long stones tied into the end
of a section of wall. eg where a wall meets a gatepost or
where a squeeze stile is required. Cheekends serve the same purpose as
a knot tied into the end of a length of rope to prevent it from fraying.This two day course is aimed at wallers who have successfully completed their Level 1 Certificate and who may be interested in progressing on to intermediate level. Participants will study several cheekends around the farm before they set about constructing their own under
supervised instruction.
Price £60
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Hurdle Making Courses
Willow Hurdle Making
This course , run by Simon Fowler, an experienced woodsman and teacher aims to show you how to build a traditional willow garden hurdle. You will be
given instruction on the correct use of the bilhook and sideaxe and by the end of the day you will have a beautiful willow hurdle to take home with you.
1 Day Price £60 including materials.
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Did you know?
Our courses are fully insured and our instructors are qualified first aiders.