Dartmoor National Park Authority

18 June 2009

Dartmoor dry stone walling demonstration

Come to Dartmoor on Thursday 2 July and see Master Craftsman Dave Hannaford demonstrating the skills required to repair and maintain Dartmoor’s dry stone walls. Dartmoor National Park Authority has organised the demonstration day to highlight the importance of these features in the landscape and to promote a free dry stone walling training course, due to be held in the autumn of 2009. The demonstration will be held at Dunnabridge on the B3357 Ashburton to Princetown road (Ordnance Survey grid reference SX 6436 7464).  The day is very informal and you can drop in at any time to see work in progress and find out more about this valuable skill.  Dave Hannaford will start at 10.00 and finish at 16.00 (with a brief stop for a lunch between 13.00 and 13.45). Parking is available in two nearby car parks. Roadside signing on the day will provide directions for parking and to the site.

Dry stone walls are a major feature of the Dartmoor landscape, vitally important for stock control, and an important part of the area’s cultural heritage.  The skills needed to repair and maintain these walls are essential, to ensure that they continue to function as shelter, boundary and habitat. More details can be obtained from Sue Halse, Land Management Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Parke, Bovey Tracey TQ13 9JQ telephone: (01626) 831014 or e-mail: shalse@dartmoor-npa.gov.uk

Ends

For Further Information

Sue Halse, Land Management Officer  

Mike Nendick, Communications Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority

Tel: (01626) 832093

Notes for Editors

Dartmoor’s stone walls are an integral part of the landscape, providing shelter and security for livestock and wildlife as well as being significant historical features.  Their maintenance is only possible with the help and skill of local people.  The Authority's very successful rural skills courses, run over the last 12 years, have provided new or more advanced training to over 150 trainees. Anyone is welcome to attend the demonstration days but priority for the training courses will be given to farmers who live and/or work on Dartmoor and who will make use of their skills.

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There are 15 members of the National Parks family in the UK: Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, New Forest, Northumberland, North York Moors, Peak District, Pembrokeshire Coast, Snowdonia, South Downs, Yorkshire Dales, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, the Cairngorms and the Broads.  National Parks are of special value to the whole nation because of their great beauty, their wildlife and cultural interests and the opportunities they offer for quiet enjoyment.  However, they are not nationally owned - the land is in the hands of many landowners or occupiers including farmers.  Over 34,500 people live in Dartmoor National Park and many millions of visits are made to it each year.

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Page updated 17 June 2009