REAL Food and Farming

Countryside campaigners, the CLA are once again laying down the challenge to find Yorkshire’s best dry stone waller with the launch of the 2010 Dry Stone Wall Competition.

Aimed at preserving the county’s ancient craft of dry stone walling, the biennial competition recognises and rewards the people behind the miles of distinctive walls that define Yorkshire’s famous landscapes.

Held in association with the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild, the competition is believed to be unique in Britain as it judges new or rebuilt walls in the countryside and is not a contest between wallers building temporary short stretches.

CLA Yorkshire regional director, Dorothy Fairburn, said: “This is a great opportunity to promote and reward the skills and achievements of those who work to preserve Yorkshire’s distinctive dry stone walls and ensure the continuation of the craft.”

Marks are awarded for use of local style, impact on the landscape, tidiness and difficulty of terrain. The winner receives the perpetual challenge trophy – a stunning engraved glass walling stone.

The current title holder is 27 year-old Steven Marsden from Long Preston, Skipton, who impressed judges in 2008 with an outstanding 225 metres (246 yards) of new wall adjacent to the bridleway at Stainforth, near Settle.

The competition is open to all wallers who live and work in Yorkshire and is free to enter. Further details and an entry form is available on the Yorkshire pages of the CLA website – www.cla.org.uk – or by calling the CLA on 01347 823803.