Short and Sweet

 Three of us as advertised today and we managed three courses to bring the wall up to coverband height on the new stretch.  Bright and very breezy day, one kite, three sets of walkers and loads of mud on the approach.

 

 

Chris G.

No. waller:3

Odd light squall

 Duncan and Graham resumed work on the stile on a windy and sometimes very windy day but apart from the odd light squall, a dry one. Underfoot was however very damp and messy. A perfectly formed rainbow appeared a number of times on the opposite side of the valley
The previous week's work was reviewed at length and apart from  some minor changes remained unchanged.  Stone or the lack of it was the major challenge, and the current stile solution reflects what was available.  A further course was laid on the field wall before the wind blasting and damp conditions caused us to depart.

 

 

 

Graham D.

No. Wallers: 2

Don't wall in Dudley

The weather forecast for Wednesday as storm Dudley approached, particularly for the afternoon, was horrendous so we had only planned for a morning.  Originally it was Graham and Roderick, but amazingly Roderick tested positive for Covid so Duncan was able to step in.
Clive had kindly moved some large stones for the cheek end the previous day,so we were able to get a good morning's work in and complete the cheek end plus a couple of courses on the adjoing wall. In the end, the weather was not too bad , the wind strong but not cold and initially the on-off drizzle was not a real problem.  Having built and secured the cheek end, the proper rain arrived, the ground became greasy, we came muddy and wet and by lunchtime it was time to retire.

Graham D.

No Waller: 2

Stylish Stile

Dazzling sunshine but a very chilly breeze.
Barry, Roderick and Graham this week, with Barry working on the stile and surrounds and Roderick and Graham sorting out the path wall.  From a small bit of patching this has developed into a five or six metre stretch of rewalling.  Definitely another week's work to do.
We went to have a look at Clive's pile of stones to set aside some chunky pieces for the stile cheek end. Hopefully they can be delivered to site for next week. 

Graham D.

No. Waller: 3

No Creatures Great or Small

The expected foursome met up at a generally fine and sunny Markenfield as planned.

We managed three courses on the stretch beyond the stile - one before coffee, another before lunch (which wasn’t called until 13:00 hrs CMT (Catriona Mean Time), and a third, somehow much trickier one, in the afternoon.  We even managed to add three throughs-(lite) as well, of course, as a ton and a half of fill.  The day remained dry (mostly) and sunny but the wildlife (aside from a few walkers) was conspicuous by it’s absence. 

A Mornings activity

T'afternoon

The end of the day!

Chris G.

No. wallers: 4

A Fogfield February

 After three weeks at barmy Markenfield, it was back to the February norm of  dull sky,  drizzle and stiff breeze at Fogfield and the remake of the stile on Low Lane.

Barry, Roderick and Graham, this week, with some very necessary specialised help from farm owner Clive and his telescopic earth mover.

By coffee break, the site was cleared and an opportune visit from Clive resulted in him collecting a very large stone , with the help of his earth mover and "deftly" dropping it at the bottom of the stile . Two bars and three people later it was in place.

After further walling, the other large stone provided previously by Clive , a 47 inch (120cm) long lintel or post was expertly maneuvered into place to crown a successful day's effort.

The sight of the day was a stoat in ermine (white stoat) which ran along the top of the opposite field wall.

Graham D 

No. Wallers: 3

The great eight.

The largest contingent for some while;  Andy, Barry, Chris, Duncan, Graham, Rob, Roderick and Val, eight in all.

Another fine Wednesday in January, three in a row!

By mid morning, Barry and Andy had completed the toppers on the section up to the stile, so achieving the original objective started just over eleven years ago.  Apart from the overall achievement, the last section does look very good.

With the wallers available, the next section from stile to gate was transformed. Apart from stripping down another large chunk of the wall and removing a significant amount of ivy, two courses plus were completed near to the stile involving some large stones and a massive amount of fill.  Part of the wall has been left virtually intact, and whilst it is very solid it is also very wide. The sections either side are being built to match and although looking good  will create something akin to Hadrian's Wall rather than your standard Yorkshire version!  All in all, a very productive day.

Graham D.

No Waller's: 8