Soggy Boggy final day.

A lovely soggy final day of the year for the crew to really enjoy the art of walling. Duncan, Graham, Rod, Barry and I covered ourselfs, each other and many of the stones in a splendid coating of sludge, managing to take down the second section of wall, and create a second "drain" in the process.
Having avoided injury all year I though it best to give myself a reminder of walling mishap by trapping my finger on the very last stone of the year. It's now a nice shade of sunset mauve (according to Dulux). Hopefully it'll have worn off and be it's normal shade of Peach Melba by the New Year.


We've done a fair bit this year, Starting off at Markenfield where Graham and Rod tussled with a might tree stump. We did a lightening fast job at Low Wait, before battling the midges and the slope at Hillend. We trained some Menwith Hill spys and some retails guys (and gals). We finished a stint at Fellbeck and are now on everyone favourite ever site Soggy Fogfield, where we have been experimenting with some new measuring systems based on Rods gloved hand.

Thanks to all our perennials, our occasionals, our very occasionals, and our hardy annual wallers, I think we've all done a super job. Have a great Christmas and a splendid New Year and I hope to see you all out walling in 2020.

Happy Christmas - Copt Hewick Kirk

Start of the day

All taken down

The lovely ground conditions

Drainage?

Cleared for next year

Richard H.

No wallers: 5

Up to height

A good turn out on the 4th December meant that we breezed through 4 or 5 courses and got the whole section of wall up to topper height. The slightly freezing ground aiding our efforts since we didn't have to drag our feet around in overburdened boots. Catriona Graham and Duncan took the North side whilst Barry, Rod and I did the South side.

At break 

 At Lunch

At Lunch

 

 At t'end 'f't day

 At t'end 'f't day

At t'end 'f't day

Richard H.

No. Wallers:6

Putting people off.

Trying hard to keep a weather eye on the forecast backfired this week as it changed almost by the minute. A party of five was reduced to three by a late Tuesday night by me e-mail warning of the biblical style floods. (Sorry to put you off Rod and Barry)

Duncan, Graham and I decided to give it a go anyway and by the morning the forecast had changed again. What resulted was a very foggy but dry morning in which we put a single course and a course of throughs on before departing just shy of 12 o'clock when the promised rain began to make its presence felt. 

I'll keep my trap shut next week! (maybe)

Graham and Duncan stuck in the mud

Front and back with one extra course

Front and back with second lift of through stones.

Richard H.
No. Wallers: 3

Throughs and upward

Just three of us today. Duncan, Barry and I put another couple of throughs on the wall before putting another couple of courses on it for good measure, filled the whole lot with bits of smaller stone and hoped it at 2.30 after churning up a good amount of muck.

Start of the day

Filling in between the through stones.

All filled up

A second course all filled up

Richard H.

No. Wallers: 3

A Cheek

A bit parky for the four of us walling this week. Graham, Catriona and Duncan got the short section up to topper height whilst I took the less muddy option of repairing the cheekend and transporting stone to the muddier areas of site.
I forgot to take photos so Duncan kindly sent me his.

 Many fossils

Cheekend

Richard H.

No. Wallers: 4.

Quagmire

A reasonable if grey day saw 5 of us squelching around Fogfield. Duncan and Catriona continued the first section whilst Barry and Rod put another course on the longer stint. I was  destructive mood and set about dismantling the remaining standing section. Just before leaving Rod and I put some throughs into place. Barry Departed early but the rest of us were not far behind as the promised rain arrived earlier than anticipated.

Break time progress

At the (premature) end of the day

Longer section at the end of the day

 A bit of destruction

Richard H.
No. Wallers: 5.

Many hands

A good turnout this week meant parking became a little tight but Graham managed to squeeze into place with millimetres to spare and everyone’s car still has the correct paintwork in the correct place.
Graham, Catriona and Duncan worked on the first section of wall raising it a good few courses.
Clive came down to clear some more of the vegetation and we inspected what the wall does when it meets the gully - It goes right across it - as the photo below shows. We'll see if we feel like tackling this later!  
Rod and I continued with the foundations from last week. Rod was substituted at lunch time for Barry and by the end of the day we'd splashed our way to another course.

 The wall continued right through the gully - those bottom boulders are massive - this photo does really show the scale very well.

 

Rod putting in the last few bits of fill on the completed foundations

Second course completed

Four extra courses laid by Catriona, Graham and Duncan

Ditto from the other side

Richard H.

No. Wallers: 6

Gardening and Drainage and Foundations

Barry and I arrived to sunshine at Fogfield. Tree removal and foundation clearing were the order of the day and took up our morning stint. The afternoon was to be spent sorting out the drainage problem and re-setting the foundations. We were joined in our afternoon efforts by Graham.
Barry and I set about the drainage section which required a bit more wall to come down. after taking a few stones off we had a small calamity; a good few meters fell down of it's own accord. Graham did sterling work tidying up the resulting mess and excavating my jumper from the bottom of the pile.
We managed to get a drainage trench excavated channelled and gravelled and a fair amount  of foundations put back before the end of the day.

 After a bit more Gardening

Foundations cleared and the start of the drainage 

Drainage pipe in and (mostly) covered.

Foundations going in

Graham works to clear a new section of wall- and the cleared space for new foundations

Barry and I work at opposite ends and hope to meet in the middle - didn't managed it by the end of the day - on hold till next week!

Richard H
No. Wallers: 3