Dry Stone Walling, a competition with confoundingly round stones

Friday was miserable, Sunday was stormy but on Saturday sunshine beamed down on the righteous as they toiled away in the Snowdonia Society’s 30th Dry Stone Walling Competition. In recent years the competition has been held near Beddgelert, where the stones are flat, but this year it was at Egryn, just north of Barmouth, where the stones are confoundingly round.

At 09:30 competitors dismantled the wall which was marked out in lengths of six feet for professionals and four feet for amateurs or beginners. A master line was stretched along either side at the base and profile bars banged in to guide the required taper as the wall rises.

Two judges patrolled, conferred and made notes on their clipboards as they marked each element of the walling. Up to 20 points for foundations, 20 for first lift, 5 for throughs, 20 for second lift, 15 for coping, 5 for hearting and 10 for line and batter. There were 5 points for ‘general’ and I’m not sure what they were looking for; maybe good manners?

Volunteers served chunky baps, cakes and mugs of tea out of the kitchen gazebo to maintain energy levels. Spectators came and went and generally came back again; it really does make a great spectator sport.

By 17:00 the wallers had finished, then the judges totalled up the scores and everyone gathered around for the prize-giving presentation. Brian Evans from Corwen won the professional section picking up a cheque for £120 plus the trophy. Terry Thomas from Nottingham won the amateurs section and Rhys Roberts from Tywyn won the beginners section.

Brian Evans receives the trophy from Ed Bailey

Edmund Bailey, President of NFU Wales, presented the prizes and said after the event ‘I was particularly delighted that there was a beginners section so that the old rural skills can be perpetuated. My concern, following the withdrawal of stone walling from the basic agri-environment scheme, is that fewer youngsters will have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and then the repeated practice to become competent wallers.’

The competition was part of the Egryn Heritage Open Day, organised by the National Trust, with many activities including apple pressing, sheepdogs in action, vintage tractors, talks on historic houses and on field names, walks to the iron-age hillfort and guided tours of Egryn.

Edmund Bailey also said ‘Egryn is in such a fine position with all the features of this area so prominent, especially Ardudwy's extensive field systems, that it would be difficult to imagine a better venue. The house and the other attractions added to the enjoyment we all experienced’.

Egryn and the Diamond Apple

On my way to the Egryn open day I filled a bag with green apples from the tree at the bottom of the drive; knobbly, blotchy, firm, bitter and not the sort you’d see on a supermarket shelf. In a few weeks the goats would be around to feast on them.

My apples were poured into a plastic bucket and I felt sure that Richard Neale, the cider expert, would reject them. ‘Just the job Huw!’ as he sliced and chopped them with a shiny garden spade. From here they went into a hopper with wheel-driven teeth at the bottom which chewed them to bits. Thence to the press, topped with bits of wood, and screwed down to release a stream of apple juice through a filter into a vat. The taste was great, not sweet but so fresh.

Others had brought varieties of apples along and they all mixed in to what will be excellent cider this time next year. No other ingredients would be added, just pure apple juice working its magic for six months in the vat before bottling.

We discussed different types of apple and which were best for cider. Richard had brought some Jo Jo’s Delight, the other famous tree from Bardsey, the one for pollinating the Afal Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Apple). Both of these can be supplied by Ian Sturrock who also provides the Diamond Apple, a tree with its origins close to Egryn.

The story goes that the Diamond, a ship sailing from New York to Liverpool with a cargo including apples, struck Sarn Badrig just north of Barmouth and sank in 1825. Locals rescued some passengers, took a liking to the American apples and planted the pips which became the Diamond Orchard of Dyffryn Ardudwy. Descendants from those pips are now sold as the Diamond Apple and have been planted at Egryn, a beautiful and historic holiday cottage run by the National Trust.

Dry Stone Walling Competition at Egryn on Saturday 14th September

It’s the Snowdonia Society’s 30th Dry Stone Walling Competition on Saturday 14th September and will be held at Egryn, just north of Barmouth. This is what the competition looked like a couple of years ago:

As well as relaxing watching people building stone walls you can:

• Have a guided tour of the historic house
• Enjoy the spectacle of vintage tractors and engines
• Take a guided walk to Pendinas, the iron-age hillfort
• Learn about the Egryn Diamond apple
• Taste the juice of apples out of Richard Neale’s apple press (bring your own apples)
• Listen to Rhian Parry talking about the field names of Ardudwy
• Meet lots of friendly people in stunning scenery

In case you have stumbled across this post and want to know the results, these can be seen here.