Steven's walls

The walls in the Alentejo are the ones the walling weeks build. The work in Scotland came first, and it is where Steven learned what he teaches.

Alentejo, Portugal

Dry-laid schist and quartzite. Everything here was built on the land where the course runs, from stone found on that land.

Pair of dry stone gate pillars on the hillside — The gateway at the top of the track: two dry-laid pillars with no steel in either.

Round dry stone gate pillar in local schist — Round pillar in schist, with a flat cope holding the head together.

Long dry stone retaining wall holding a cut bank above a farm track — Retaining wall along the track, taking the weight of the cut bank behind it.

Dry stone retaining wall curving along a hillside track — The bend, where the batter has to turn without losing the courses.

Retaining wall under construction on the hillside — Part-built retaining wall, with the drainage layer still open at the back.

Builders coursing stone into a new retaining wall — Coursing up: face stones go in and hearting is packed behind them as the wall rises.

Dry stone bench with large seat slabs under olives — A seat under an olive, built with slabs big enough to need two people.

Curved dry stone bench beneath an olive tree — The same seat from the track, curving to follow the ground.

Seat slabs and bench looking out to the gateway — Seat slabs set to drain, and warm enough to sit on into the evening.

Stone steps and paved terrace leading to a house — Steps and paving into a house, laid so nothing rocks underfoot.

Curved pillar and stone paving at the entrance — Curved wall, pillar and threshold at the entrance to the land.

Dry stone gate pillar framed by an olive tree — A gate pillar on the track, framed by an olive tree.

Restored schist cottage with terracotta roof — A local schist cottage with a terracotta roof, typical of the region.

Schist walls, arched doorway and stone window sill — Arched opening and a stone sill, laid in flat schist.

Schist gable and eaves against a deep blue sky — Eaves detail: stone corbelled out to carry the roof tiles clear of the wall.

The Highlands, Scotland

A lifetime of building and conservation in granite and mixed rubble, in a climate that shows up any mistake within a winter or two. Most of it is mortared work, but it trains the same eye.

Traditional Scottish stone cottage facade — Highland cottage rebuilt in random rubble, with dressed margins at the openings.

Stone gable with triangular window head — Gable and window head, with a single triangular stone carrying the arch.

Decayed chimney head before conservation work — A chimney head before the work: the mortar gone, the stones loose in the cope.

Rebuilt and repointed chimney stack — The same kind of stack rebuilt and repointed in lime.

Blockwork walling on a building site — Blockwork going up on a building site. Not every job is beautiful.

The Alentejo walls are the ones you learn on

The association exists to pass the craft on. During the walling week you build real walls on this land, one course of stone at a time, and each one becomes part of a land project.

See dates and places The walls on the land