[B]athed in the glow of a field of buttercups, 11 wallers tested their skills at Friends of the Lake District’s annual dry stone walling competition which took place at Thwaite Bridge in the Rusland Valley between Windermere and Coniston on Saturday 2nd June.
21 metres of wall were rebuilt, with John Gibson from Kendal being crowned Champion Waller, as well as winning the Veteran Class.
Ruth Kirk, of Friends of the Lake District said: “Cumbria boasts some of the most skilled wallers in the country and the competitive spirit between them was very much in evidence. The judges, Mike Thwaites and Christine Dickenson had some difficult decisions to make!
“It’s vital that we continue to promote and develop this most iconic of rural, Cumbrian crafts and our annual dry stone walling competition is one way doing this. Our thanks go to Arthur and Dhanelle of Bowkerstead Farm who let us use their wall for our competition this year.”
Friends of the Lake District’s 2018 dry stone walling competition was run as part of the Rusland Horizons Landscape Partnership programme www.ruslandhorizons.org and was very kindly sponsored by Lakelovers, Lake District Cottages www.lakelovers.co.uk
Competition Results
Class 1 Professional
- 1st – Will Bell: Kendal
- 2nd – Simon Marfitt
- 3rd – Tom Swinhoe
Class 2 Amateur/Open
- 1st – Stephen Richardson: Penrith
- 2nd – Rob Burns: Leicester
- 3rd – Bryn Wythes: Sedburgh
Class 4 Veterans
- 1st and Overall Winner– John Gibson: Kendal
- 2nd – Bob Bond: Bolton-le-Sands
- 3rd – Michael Hargreaves
