Creation by Thea Alvin

This build is typical of the amazing work produced by Thea Alvin in the USA. She never seems to follow the rules that control many of us building in dry stone but WOW.

Scottish Fishing Village

I think the remarkable thing about this view is that so much of the build in the picture is made with stone. The house, the roofs, the slipway and of course the harbour itself which is out of shot. Apart from the Dutch tiles everything else comes from the local area. Our modern towns have gone a long way from that.

Unusual Wall End

I build this a few years ago and set the triangle up on end when it should really be lying down. However this a shooting estate as well as a farm. As a result a fence protects the wall from cattle who would normally do damage to a rock set like this.

Flash Flood Damage

This photo shows the effects of overgrazing when this is combined with poor maintenance and heavy rain. The ground cover has more or less been eaten away by a very high density of sheep. In addition the draining channels through the wall were not regularly cleaned out. Much of the stone from the wall was swept into the lower field.

Building on a Slope

This Victorian wall shows how to cope with a steep slope. The rocks are set in courses making it look as though they are all rectangles when many are quite diferent shapes. Top line is very neat and the copes have been carefully placed on steps to end up with a smooth line. Clever stuff.

My Favourite Place

This is the so called Roman bridge in Glen Lyon Scotland. It was built in the16th century and can still carry light traffic. It is a great favourite of mine and although it has lime mortar I have used the principles to build several dry stone versions.

This tree was built by Eric Landman along with his family and many friends as a memorial to his wife Kerry who died last year. She was a great lady and will be sadly missed by me and all those who knew her.

This is an attractive piece of work near the entrance to the largest Hotel in my home town of Crieff. I not sure who did the job but it is lookuing good after a couple of years. One or two of the copes are splitting slightly but hopefully this will not get any worse

Little Arch

This small arch in a wall over a ditch near Auchterarder could have been achieved with a single large rock. However to my mind and in the opinion of the client, it looks much more attractive as it is. A oil drum was used as a support of the stones as it was being built. The drum was propped up on a couple of bricks which were knocked away at the end.

Amazing Rock Formations in Slovenia

Boris Cok sent me these photos from a visit he made recently to the North of the country. I believe this must be the effect of water on limestone.