Churchill enjoyed bricklaying as a hobby.

I did this wee repair for my sister in France, it’s just as rewarding as wood stacking.

No dyke lovers around?

I once happened upon a dyke with a gaping hole. I stuck my finger in it until it started leaking… Sommat like that anyway.

No dyke lovers around?

I’ll be honest, they’re not the kind of pictures of dyke loving that I prefer

Just like wood pile building (which is very similar) you have to find a home for each piece – once you’ve picked it up, you can never put it back down again!

helped my dad as a nipper, go back and check in 10 years was his advice

his mates mainly did fences (forestry) it was faster

presumably you’ve seen a Caithness slab fence, was always impressed with that

When we lived down south I did a two day course on dry stone walling and used the knowledge to build a couple of new walls at our house. I found it very theraputic and very satisfying plus it saved us a shed load of money. The walls are still there 10 years on so not too bad a job

presumably you’ve seen a Caithness slab fence, was always impressed with that

I wish I had a picture of the roof on the croft I restored in Orkney. I used Caithness slates for that, thousands of them in diminishing courses. The wall head course slates were 36 inches long. A beautiful material to work with. The galvanized nails I used should be good for a couple of hundred years. Many of the recycled slates I used still had their original hand made wooden pegs in them.

Helped to build a couple of dry stone headwalls a few years ago, really enjoyed it.