Sarcophagus for a Famous Dog.

This most unusual burial place was built mainly by Evan Oxland and Akira Inman to commemorate a Canadian National champion South African Ridgeback. The structure is roughly in the shape of a kennel with the unusual addition of a ridge of small stone down the centre of the roof. The dog was buried below the large flat rock.
The entry for 22nd December is from the garden of Scott George.

Round Rocks

This wall was built by Scott George and Dan Pearl. It shows great skill to produce such a fine job from what must have been very difficult rocks to work with. They have carefully selected larger rocks to make a really strong corner. This photo was shown recently on http://www.dswac.ca/ website. Well worth a visit to find out what is happening in North America.

Another single rock.

This end of a wall breaks some of the traditional rules. Here I stood a large rock on top of a large flat base. This worked only because the base of the upright was large enough not to move. However it did have a curved bottom which required small wedges at the front edge. These had to be carefully chosen to ensure that they would not be crushed by the weight above them.
Entry on 6th December shows a wallend on the Isle of Skye.

Wall ends

There are many ways to build a cheek end of a wall. Normally in the UK there is an upright post for a gate , which means that the stonework has to be perpendicular. A single large rock with at least one third of it underground is a very satisfying way to achieve this. This example is in a field close to Auchterarder in Perthshire shows how to deal with a fence which does not continue from the wallend.
 The next few entries will show other ways of finishing a wall.

Welsh Clapper Bridge

Sean Adcock sent me these photos of an old  clapper bridge in  Cwm Llan Nant, Gwnyant. Sean's  wife Brenda is testing it. The health and safety rules we have now would surely prevent this type of build. Yet I doubt whether anyone has ever fallen off.

Hollow and the Hump.

Last year I built a wall close to home at Dolleriemuir. With the left over stone this year with help from John Shaw-Rimmington we created a hollow and a hump for the children to play on and in.. They seem to love it. I like it because it combines function with John's attractive design.
The entry on 19th November is from Slovenia.

Venus Gate

Thsi Venus gate was created at the entrance to the amphitheatre. Very cleverly a structure was built on a plinth behing the portal. This looked as though the rocks in the gap had been moved outside. See more from the four day event on 11th November.

Kaleidoscope in Stone.

This amazing concept was designed and built by Star Rock Builder Thea Alvin at the DSWAC festival. Through the aperture one could get a great view of the Venus gate built at the same time. Thanks to Jason Hoffman for the photo.

An Amphitheatre!

I asked John Shaw-Rimmington what was planned for the 2011 Festival.. A Venus-gate and an Amphitheatre he commented casually. I knew what one was but had no idea about the other. Here  is the theatre after only four days . I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and how quickly it was accomplished. We sat, about 100 of us, listening to wonderful magic in the warm tree shadow slanting evening sunshine. The whole area was transformed beyond recognition. So much more was going on at  the same time. See the next few entries for the Venus-gate the plinth, the stone balancing, the kaleidoscope etc. Wowee. I am so glad that I was there. Oh I forgot to mention the marvelous food. and beer provided by guess who, Rock Hammer.

Helix in Canada

John Shaw-Rimmington has organised the construction of this amazing structure that he named the Rubble Helix. Although dry stone, it is sensibly sitting on a floating bed of concrete. I remember seeing this idea tried out in dominoes in John's kitchen. I was fairly sure it was impossible on a large scale. Happily I have been proved wrong.
From large to small see the entry on 28th October.