I call myself a fair-weather waller. I don’t do drystone work through the worst of winter. If you have ever jammed numb fingers between cold stones, started a morning by sledgehammering apart a frozen stone pile, or done a pee outside, bum exposed to biting winter air, you will understand why.
Drystone season is almost upon us. This year we have a run of really interesting jobs and I have a new ambition, learning to drive a digger.
Close-up of a drystone bench built into a low stone wall. The stones are layered in horizontal courses with upright coping stones on top. A thick wooden slab forms the seat, supported by projecting stones beneath. Grass and moss surround the base.
Wide view of a drystone bench set into a curved stone wall on a grassy bank beside Loch Voil. The wall is built from mixed local stone with upright coping stones along the top. Leafless trees and a sloping hillside rise behind the bench.