Wilson's Plantation, Birtswith - Wednesday 7 May 2014

The team this week was Catriona, Barry (who came by bike), Roderick, Richard the younger, Paul and Graham made up an intrepid half dozen. Play was not disrupted by the odd shower but in between the showers the midges found a couple of wallers to feed on.  

Despite conditions becoming a bit slippery in places, good progress was made right along the wall and Barry followed in Roger's footsteps concentrating on the wall corner. Sean paid us a visit to check we were enjoying ourselves and seemed pleased enough with progress.

 Proper “A” frame in use this week.

Progress on the wall corner

End of day result

Graham 

Wilson's Plantation, Birtswith - Wednesday 30 April 2014

The socking great stone from last week was unsurprisingly still there and firmly in place for the next hundred years or so.  From the foundations created last week, good progress was made by the band of eight.  

 Catriona surveys last week’s work

A shortage of proper metal poles provided certain wallers with the opportunity to show off their forestry skills 

 Paul can be seen studying the resulting A frame

Chris exasperated by progress

Graham

Wilson's Plantation, Birtswith - Wednesday 23 April 2014

A new project this week, rebuilding a roadside wall at the bottom of a 50-acre plantation belonging to Sean Kelly, a Firm Friend of Nidderdale AONB.  Sean was there to greet our arrival and showed us the way down to site.  The morning passed in stone recovery and stripping out over a 15 metre length but, as time passed, more and more bodies seemed to be focussed on one small area.  The reason?  One socking great stone gate post weighing, oh, half ton or more which refused to co-operate in its relocation.  Eventually our resident engineer, Roger (have you thought of doing it this way?) pulled off an interesting rope trick and the post sat firm and upright more or less where we wanted it.

Five smug wallers ready for lunch

Some fairly desultory rebuilding after lunch which became even more desultory after our host had turned up with beer, wine and real glasses (!) to restore our flagging energy.  Energy restored but focus somewhat wobbly we returned to the wall and got on with the first raise which kept us all occupied until home time.

Next week - interesting engineering in the wall corner where the ground is not too firm, where tree roots need to be bridged and where a small lunky will be needed to allow a small stream to exit the woods. 

Chris 

The Bivouac at Druids Temple - Wednesday 16 April 2014

A select band of four turned up for our final session as invisible walling fairies at the home of Yorkshire glamping.  The site was busy but no-one seemed to notice us so, stealthily, we completed the wall-end started last week, tidied up like good fairies do, and disappeared as silently as we had come.  Nobody knew they were there!  A good job well done.

Chris

The Bivouac – 2 April 2014

Back at a very misty Bivouac site. The team this week was Chris, Roderick, Roger and Tony.
 

Today’s task was to rebuild a collapsing curved wall end.

Down to ground level and the first foundation stone is laid.

The mist starts to clear and we can see we have company

Roger fails to hear the call for lunch

Roderick admires his handiwork from a distance.

Chris calls time and collects the hammers.

Tony

Glamping at Bivouac

This week saw the intrepid wallers of Nidderdale try out a spot of glamping up near the heaving metropolis of Ilton, not far from the Druids Temple.

Not put off by Genghis Khan and his Mongol hoards setting up camp in fetching green yurts in the adjacent field, the wallers attempted a spot of dis-assembly followed closely by a spot of re-assembly. Not even the threat of a good soaking put dent in their purpose.

The promised deluge did not materialise, (though there was a snow flake or two)  and it was with stout heart and weary arms that a whole halfdays walling was completed by at least six sevenths of the work force; Barry having to retire shortly after eating his lunch.

Progress was rapid and two breaches in the wall leading to the Mongol encampment were repaired by the end of play.

The smaller of the two breaches was assigned to the B-team; Graham the only, Richard the Elder, and Richard the Younger.

Richard the Elder wishes it to be noted that Richard the Younger was heard to show admiration for one particular stone that R.T.E (No not the Irish television station) selected and placed on the wall. 

 

Richard the Younger wishes it to be noted that he would like to apologise for this and promises that it will never happen again.

 Graham and the two Dicks finished their smaller section of wall in time to help the A-team finish of their stint.

The second section was tackled by Catroina, Roger, Roderick, and Barry

who breezed through the work and only had to repeat their calls for break and lunch twice.

 
All the photo's of the days activity can be seen here :- Link

Thanks all you wallers for all your walling
Richard The Younger

Location:-Bivouac at Druid’s Temple, Masham, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 4JZ
Grid Ref- (SE 18036 78701)