Dry Stone Walls

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 Having featured hedges in the last blog it seems natural to move on to dry stone walls. We have about 200m length of dry stone walls around our land and this is the most common type of field boundary in this part of the world. The ages of the walls vary but most probably date to the 16th and 17th Centuries so most will be at least 300 or 400 years old. Well- the same stones will have been there that length of time - the walls are constantly being repaired and "gapping" of rebuilding the gaps is an acknowledged part of every farmers job. Dry stone walling is a big topic and walls are subtly different in different parts of the country, influenced to a large degree by the type of stone available. The following Walling gives something of an introductory guide.



The walls are built without mortar or any adhesive and consist of two outer walls with the middle filled with little stones. Construction is something of a 3D jigsaw puzzle and an art form.
The walls become colonised by mosses and lichens on the outside and the inner part becomes a home for insects, spiders and small mammals. Stoats and weasels often find a den in the protection of a stone wall.


Diary.
A nice fox on the trail camera last night.

An interesting article in the newspaper this week on the use of fences to protect and encourage wildlife.under the witty title of Graze Anatomy.
I saw a flock of 400 + wood pigeons feeding on a field by the house this week in the sunshine. Only one field on a slope seemed to suit them - Im not sure what they were feeding on.  A small flock of pink footed geese flow over at dawn yesterday heading North. Yesterday it was -5C overnight but last night it had warmed up to +4C overnight and there was a fog this morning. WQe are still seeing the long tailed tits on the bird feeders.





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