Bathed in the glow of a field of buttercups, 11 wallers tested their skills at our 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.”

Our 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:

Pictured: Left: Class 2 Amateur/Open - 1st – Stephen Richardson: Penrith
Middle: Class 4 Veterans - 1st and Overall Winner– John Gibson: Kendal
Right: Class 1 Professional - 1st – Will Bell: Kendal

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

Fancy trying walling for yourself? We run lots of volunteering days throughout the year, including dry stone walling days. Visit our workparty page for dates and for more information...you could be our next champion!