Project News 2009

Here you will find all of the latest news from the Traditional Boundaries, Traditional Skills Project. If you want to know more about the background to our project, click here.

TBTS update - June to early September

Wednesday, September 9, was a very important day for our TBTS trainees. It was the day they took their intermediate level dry stone walling examinations.

The exams took place at our test centre at Walltown near Greenhead, the two examiners from the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britian were Andrew Loudon and Stephen Harrison.

After seven hours of intensive work it was all over and happily it was another 100% pass rate for our eight TBTS trainee candidates.

Here we see the two examiners and eight tired, but happy trainees.

Left to right: Our two examiners Andrew Loudon and Stephen Harrison followed by our eight trainees, Liz Hall, Chris Buckley, Roisin Black, Philip Woods, Paul Findlay, Robert Straughan and Jim Lindsay.

'Fix the Fells' visit - July

In July we once again visited the 'Fix the Fells' Team in the Lake District at High Wray Basecamp a National Trust bunkhouse near Ambleside. As usual the weather for the week was mixed but it's great experience for our trainees who get to work with a team who have vast experience of footpath construction in the challenging lakeland landscspe.

Glendale Show

At the end of August the TBTS Rothbury team attanded the Glendale Show near Wooler, the biggest show in north Northumberland.

On a dry but very dull day on the left we see Philip Woods and Jim Lindsay

The TBTS trainees worked in two teams at two separate locations both with a significant walk into and out of the worksites, the stone had been flown in by helicopter but all other materials and tools were carried to the worksites. The worksites were at Stickle Ghyll and at Slate Pass.

Slate Pass

There was quite a walk in at the Slate Pass, the project's Land-Rover is parked in the middle distance where the beck in the valley makes a turn to the right.

It all has to be carried in! Chris Buckley shoulders the load at this wet work site.

This is the kind of work trainees get to do. The picture shows a cross drain built into the footpath to get the water off the path and make it safer and more comfortable for walkers.

Here the team is hard at work with a section of completed footpath in the foreground.

Stickle Ghyll

Here's a general view of the very steep wotk site with everyone working hard on footpath construction known as 'pitching'

Here we see Simon Telfer from TBTs on the left with a member of the 'fix the fells' team levering a stone into place.

Rothbury team members Philip Woods and Roisin Black working together on the Stickle Ghyll site.

Netherton Stone Step Stile - July

At Burradon Farm near Netherton TBTS trainees rebuilt a stone step stile in a wall on a right of way beside a road. The wall is low on the roadside but the field side is much taller. Again this is another example of the kind of job that gives our trainees good experience, improving their range of walling skills by building this kind of specialist dry stone wall feature.

Pictured: Philip Woods in the process of rebuilding the wall

The finished wall from the field side with Roisin Black, Jim Lindsay and Philip Woods

The finished job from the roadside

Dry Stone Walling at Dunstanburgh Castle - June

For a couple of years now we have been working with the National Trust to rebuild a Whinstone wall at Dunstanburgh Castle. Its a great opportunity for our trainees to get an experience of working with this volcanic stone that makes up the Whinsill, a geological feature of Northumberland that stretches from the Roman Wall to Holy Island.

Here we seen Roisin Black, Jim Lindsay and Philip Woods rebuilding the wall on a bright sunny day, not always the case at Dunstanburgh!

We started the job where the wall meets the sea in the far distance!

TBTS update - April/May 2009

The 20th of May was a very important day for both TBTS teams who had to sit their first drystone walling examination at our Walltown test site.

The day started well, here we see trainees and two guest candidates from Scotland, who were using the Walltown event as an opportunity to also sit their exams.

Showers on the day changed the conditions for the worse for a while.

But it was good news in the end - everyone passed!

L to R - Trainees are Roisin Black, Jim Lindsay, Chris Buckley, Paul Findlay, Paul Hay, Liz Hall, Rob Straughan, Philip Woods, Simon Telfer and our two Scottish guests, Scott Buchan and Jamie Armstrong.

Fencing at Longsyke

With the improving weather the Haltwhistle team were able to erect some fencing at Longsyke, north of the Roman Wall. Work included a pig net and post and a rail fence and water gate across a stream.

Here we see the team starting to lay out the fence ...

Its very important to make sure your straining post goes in far enough

Paul Findlay checks the depth ...

The team rest on some of their handywork, post and rail fencing, a gate and in the background is the water gate across the stream.

L to R Paul Hay, Paul Findlay, Chris Buckley, Liz Hall

Abrasive wheel machine training

Both teams were trained in the use of abrasive wheel machines by Kevin Dick from Northumberland College in Ashington at the project's Walltown and Ingram training sites. They also used the adjacent village halls at Greenhead and Ingram for the indoor element of the training.

This allows TBTS to bring on-site training to trainees in the countryside.

Here we see Roisin Black getting some practice in abrasive wheel cutting. It looks like she's not wearing her ear protection but in fact she is wearing ear plugs ...

Wagtail Farm wall

While the Haltwhistle team were dealing with West Hot Bank the Rothbury team got started on a wall on a sloping site at Wagtail Farm Nr. Rothbury.

Here we see Jim Lindsay starting to remove a tree from the middle of the wall before rebuilding could start ...

After getting help to lift her through stone onto the wall, Roisin Black slides it into position.

There was lots of digging out to lay a proper foundation on this steeply sloping site,here we see Philip Woods digging the trench for the foundations on his stint of the wall.

TBTS update - March/April 2009

Thankfully the snowy weather abated and we were able to get on with developing our trainees' skills

Ingram car park fencing

Here we see John Smith a member of the Rothbury based National Park ranger team instructing Philip Woods and Robert Straughan from the TBTS Rothbury team during some fencing repairs.

Fencing repairs

West Hot Bank Farm

After the snow the Haltwhistle team were able to get out to West Hot Bank Farm north of the Roman Wall. The before and after photos below show how they got on.

Before

After - Paul Findlay and Chris Buckley pose beside their handywork.

TBTS update - January/February 2009

Work at GreenLee boardwalk continued

Robert Straughan building a part of the boardwalk.

Wall building at Ingram

The Rothbury team got started before the major snow falls at our training site at Ingram in the Breamish valley

Here we see Roisin Black and Simon Telfer getting down to some walling.

The River Breamish demolished some of our training walls last year in September's floods, trainees started the job of moving the walls to safer ground further away from the river.

Here we see Robert Straughan digging a trench for a new wall and later beginning to build his wall.

Map reading training

Finding your way around in the countryside and understanding the detail of footpaths and boundaries is a useful thing to know if you're working on the repair of boundaries.

Here on an fine day in January this year, we see both TBTS teams, with Russell Tait on the left who was leading the map reading training, supported by David Tasseel the Rural Skills Trainer for the Haltwhistle team in the centre at the rear.

The Haltwhistle Team worked with Ranger Sally Graham to install some step stiles at The Ridings at Bellingham, near Hadrian's Wall.

Here are before and after shots of one of the rebuilt stiles.

This series shows the progress of another stile from original state to final completion.

Hedge laying at Haltwhistle workshop

For our hedge laying training we ask Burt Hunter, a professional hedger from the North Pennines to train our trainees in hedge laying and the care/sharpening of edge tools.

Here Burt is instructing members of the Rothbury team in how to use a wet grindstone to keep their tools sharp.

Paul Findlay of the Haltwhistle team sharpening a hedging stake.

Here we see Burt instructing Roisin Black from the Rothbury team in hedge laying.

Bingfield hedging

Its winter and its the hedging season. We were fortunate through the good offices of Richard Arthur at East Quarter farm, to be able to get a good length of hedge to lay this winter long enough for both teams to work together.

Roisin Black and Jim Lindsay knocking in a hedging stake.

James Wilson and Paul Hay working together on the hedge.

James Wilson looks back at what he's helped to complete.

TBTS trainees get to work in the landscape - January 2009

Northumberland National Park are building a boardwalk and bridge at Greenlee Lough, a national nature reserve just north of Bardon Mill near the Roman Wall

We encourage trainees to have as wide an experience of footpath work as possible, this project is an ideal opportunity to get some useful experience.

There's quite a lot of materials involved with the project so mechanical help is necessary. The photograph shows a JCB loading boardwalk materials on to a tracked dumper that is needed to transport the materials to the worksite without damaging the wetland habitat.

TBTS trainees lend a hand loading the tracked lorry with materials.

The stream from the lough has to be bridged to connect two parts of the boardwalk. The above photograph shows Sally Graham and colleague holding the wood whilst another trainee prepares the ends with a saw

Later the same day here's the partially completed bridge.

New year, new trainees - December 2008

TBTS new trainees started their one year’s traineeship on Monday, December 1.

They attended an induction session at the National Park visitor centre at Once Brewed which is close to the Roman Wall, near Haltwhistle in the South Tyne valley.

Haltwhistle Team

Top row (l-r): Trainer David Tasseel, Liz Hall and James Wilson. Bottom row (l-r): Paul Findlay, Chris Buckley and Paul Hay.

Rothbury Team

Top row (l-r): Simon Telfer, Robert Straughan and Trainer Stephen Green. Bottom row (l-r): Roisin Black, Jim Lindsay and Phillip Woods.