Winding their way through the Yorkshire countryside, dry stone walls are an iconic part of the Dales. Jenny Cornish talks to some wallers about the art of their construction

Dry stone walling is thousands of years old – but it’s still alive and well today in the Dales.

The stunning landscape of the Dales wouldn’t be the same without the mosaic patterns of walls scribbled along the hills and through the fields.

And these iconic walls are also home to many wild animals, birds and plants, providing a crucial habitat for wildlife.

So it’s fortunate that there’s been a surge of interest in the ancient practice in recent years as farming families diversify and environmental issues become more popular.

Nigel Labdon, subject sector leader at Craven College, said: “It’s definitely becoming more popular. People seem to want to do it as a leisure activity, and farmers are keen to do it because they can get some subsidy for maintaining the dry stone walls on their land.

“I think people are just more interested in heritage and conservation, and getting out there and having a go at it.”

The college runs a number of courses throughout the year and has a specialist centre for dry stone walling, school and exhibition centre, at the Auction Mart in Skipton.

David Faraday, 45, the judge of the dry stone walling competition at Malham Show, said young men from farming families often take up walling to make a bit of extra money.

“Farms won’t support them to make a wage so they go out, even if it’s for beer money to start with, and then they find it’s a way to make a living,” he said. “I started walling with my grandad when I was six or seven years old. When you’ve done a job for so many years, you’re used to it. You don’t have to really look at a stone, it’s just instinct. You know where it will fit. It’s experience and it’s time.

“There seems to be a lot of interest now. Five or ten years ago, there was a bit of a lull, but a lot of these farms have gone into higher level schemes, they’re getting a higher contribution to have lengths of wall renewed, so they can afford to pay someone to come and help them.”

Farmers can apply to the Government for environmental stewardship funding for dry stone wall management, and payments for dry stone walls are also available under the Single Payment Scheme.

Frankie Brown, 19, was competing at the Malham Show. He has been walling for the last two years. “I got into it through family,” he said. “It’s back-breaking, it’s hard work, but it’s always good to get the job done. I’ll definitely keep going until my back breaks.

He said being outdoors is a big part of what attracts him to the job. “I can’t imagine myself in an office,” he said. “I’m from a farming family so being outside is what I know.”

Roger Charnley, 39, from Grassington, has been walling for 20 years. He said: “My father had a farm, I used to be a young farmer and I started doing competitions and you just move on and want a bit of money. It’s not so bad. It’s a hard living. You’re out in the nice countryside – it’s all right when it’s warm but the last few winters have been very hard.

“It takes you a few years to learn. You have to be taught right. There’s right and wrong ways to do it. If you learn the right way it’s easier. Quite a few lads have done courses to get into it – they’ve had to do it for a living, to go out and make some money.”

Nigel Labdon says the Craven College courses are very well-attended. “We offer everything from a taster day where people can just come along and try it, through to an introductory certificate and an intermediate certificate for more advanced learners,” he said.

“Most of the time the courses fill up – they are quite popular. We get all sorts – retired people who want to try it, farmers who want to repair the walls on their land, people who want to do it for a living, students who are doing other things – it’s anybody and everybody.”

Dry stone walls are the largest man-made feature in the Yorkshire Dales. A survey in 1988 recorded more than 5,000 miles of dry stone walls in the Dales – so there’s plenty of work to do to make sure this glorious patchwork remains for thousands of years to come.

Factfile on dry stone walling

Dry stone walling has been carried out in Britain for at least three and a half thousand years, according to the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain – early examples can be found in Orkney villages and Iron Age brochs in northern and western Scotland.

Dry stone walls are built without any mortar or cement but are long-lasting and are an important habitat for animals, birds and plants.

The walls are common in northern and western Britain, often at higher altitudes, where trees and hedges struggle to grow and where a lot of rock and stone is found above the soil.

Craven College is running two-day taster sessions starting on September 24, October 17, December 9 and February 24, 2014. There are also introductory courses, running one day a week for 10 weeks, starting on January 13, 2014, and March 7, 2014. Intermediate courses, running one day a week for 10 weeks, start on February 5, 2014, and April 23, 2014. Taster days cost £36, the introductory course costs £264 plus a £100 exam fee, and the intermediate course costs £264 plus a £135 exam fee. All tuition is by highly qualified tutors including a master craftsmen dry stone waller, and the exams are run by the Dry Stone Walling Association. For more information call Craven College on 01756 693670.