Britain boasts a staggering 125,000 miles of dry stone walls. A few are very ancient, dating back to 3,500 BC. Most are 100 years or more old, Most are field walls and went up in the early- to mid-1800s, in the wake of the enclosure acts. All are created by eye & hand! My Grandad always told me that you need to be able to look at a stone and know straight away whether it's the one you want.Britain boasts a staggering 125,000 miles of dry stone walls. A few are ancient, dating back to 3,500 BC.
Walling is hard work: a good craftsman can do maybe three metres in a day, which entails lifting about three tonnes of stone (six if it's a rebuild!). The result though is beautifully natural as well as sound and that, if looked after, will stand for centuries.
Dry stone walls, hay meadows and limestone pavements (like Malham), are the typical Yorkshire Dales landscape. Dry stone walls as old as c.600 BC have been researched in the Dales - and the oldest date earlier than the first 1,000 BC!
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