Courses
All courses start at 9:30am and run until 4:30pm (off road parking is available at Blackbrook Farm).
Dry stone walling for beginners
Two Day Introduction to Dry Stone Walling
Level 1 Course
Cheekend Weekend
Hurdle Making Courses
Dry stone walling for beginners
1 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
One day course dates for 2025:
15th March, Friday 4th April, 3rd May, Friday 30th May, 7th June, Friday 11th July, 2nd August, Friday 5th September, 4th October, 8th November.
Price : £80 per person.
Apply
to join course
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.
Two day course dates for 2025:
19th/20th April, 17th/18th May, 21st/22nd June, 26th/27th July, 20th/21st September, 18th/19th October.
Price : £135 per person.
Apply to join course
Level 1 course (DSWA/ Lantra awards accredited)
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: £400 per person including test fee.
Apply to join course
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 £400
Apply to join course
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.
For details please visit:
www.peaktraditionalfencing.co.uk