Dyking

Dry Stone Wall Association of Great Britain, based in Milnthorpe Cumbria.  ‘The main aims of the Association are to promote a greater understanding and knowledge about the traditional craft of dry stone walling and to encourage the repair and maintenance of dry stone walls throughout the country.  DSWA operates a nationally accredited craftsman certification scheme, run in conjunction with Lantra Awards, which offers four levels of certification.  DSWA branches offer a range of short courses, mainly for beginners, but there are some opportunities for more advanced training.  Courses are also run by a number of colleges throughout the country, details of which are available from the office.’  The website has a comprehensive list of books and DVDs on the subject and the Association has a Register of Professional Wallers from across the UK.

The West of Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association:
‘We are a registered Scottish Charity, and our aim is to promote the craft of Drystone walling in our community. We do this by developing partnerships with community organisations. We design and build dry stone features which will enhance the community environment, and provide a showcase for dry stone walling.
Project proposals and ideas are welcomed which fit with these aims, and can be put forward to the committee at any time.’
‘If you want to learn dry stone walling then visit our training page. We run a regular programme of training courses during the year for beginners. The courses are very popular and make an excellent gift idea.
Our trainees are from a wide range of ages and background. Our experienced team of instructors will take you through our beginners training courses.
For our more experienced wallers, we have interesting and challenging projects throughout the year’.

A pictorial Introduction to Dry Stone Walling – a guide aimed at novice wallers about to attend one of the West of Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association beginners courses.

Dry Stone Walling Association – South East Scotland Branch, provides training courses and professional services.

An excellent  summary of ‘How to Build a Dry Stone Wall’ from the Stone Trust (USA), with text and illustrations by Brian Post of DSWA, covering the basics, safety, setting up, understanding stone, finding materials and tools.

‘Dry Stone Walling: The Essential Guide’, produced by Tigershark Multimedia Productions is a 90-minute DVD on basic dry stone walling techniques.  The website shows a clip from the DVD.