15th February 2024: Challenging dry stone wall corners at Mazonwath

Rather than the usual work party report this week, we have a guest blog for you. One of our volunteers, Rachel, regularly travels up from Manchester to feed her obsession with dry stone walling. A journalist by profession, she has written about her first attempt to build a corner below.

"Drystone walling is often a challenge, but applying those skills to building a corner at Mazonwath was, in my case, a real example of Continuing (un)Professional Development (CPuD).

"Under fellow volunteer Richard Hall’s patient lead, the two of us worked out angles and slopes, battered by high winds and penetrating rain. It took several attempts until we got the foundation stones in place - both us and the stones, plastered in mud. 

"It would have been tempting to give up. But working, failing, and finally succeeding in building the base of a feature we know will last, warms the heart as much as the mulled wine the team shared for Christmas.

"Maybe the top CPuD lesson from Mazonwath is the satisfaction of having succeeded in fighting your corner!"