PRACTICE MEET, MARSH HEAD FARM, AUGUST 2026
Practice Meet: August 9th, 2026
Venue: Marsh Head Farm
Conditions: Fine and sunny with a southerly breeze; bone dry underfoot.
Attendees: Val Lee, Eve Summers, Gill Bolshaw, Mike Brown, Gary Walkden, Paul Stevenson, Andy Halton, Chris Bolshaw.
This was the branch’s first visit to Marsh Head Farm although the mid-week team at been there twice already. The task was unusual and challenging for a variety of reasons.
We were asked to rebuild a single wall as a double wall. The stone was very big, oversized really for the wall dimensions. There was no small stone or helpful flatties and no toppers or packing. There were, however, lots of what appeared to be throughs; in fact, it all looked like throughs! So quite a challenge which fazed nobody at all.
Our host, the farmer, Malcolm Taylor, is very attentive to our needs and as helpful as he could be. As well as providing us with a lovely clean toilet he had already taken out the old wall and levelled the ground with his tractor and this saved us hours of digging and dismantling. When I last visited the farm I had pointed out that we would need some packing as there didn’t appear to be any. Within 10 minutes of our arrival a tractor appeared with bucket loads of bricks and other masonry which proved to be ideal material with this big, heavy stone.
Ambitiously, we set out five stints and had a bit of a class for Andy and Gary to learn how this is done so they can do it next time. To be honest, I didn’t think the fifth stint would be needed. Wrong! Mike and Garry finished it with enough time to admire the lovely location.
Having got things lined up and put out anything like a topper on one side we set to. Great craich, lots of laughs and much mutual support wrestling these monsters generated a great atmosphere. Having broken a finger a couple of weeks ago I didn’t want any repeats for anyone because these were stones that could bite. Needn’t have worried. By home time the wall was well up. Needless to say all participants are mentioned in dispatches and will be invited to the palace in due course. The fly past by the Spitfire and The Hurricane returning to base after the Blackpool Air Show was a nice touch.
Chris Bolshaw
