Seventeen of us are off today to take a special twelve day walking tour of dry stone walls in Britain and Ireland. The trip starts near Ambleside in the Lake District then goes up to Balmoral Castle in Scotland and concludes four days on the Aran Islands in Ireland. The photo looks like it may have been taken in one of those places but it is actually a replica of a traditional blackhouse we built in Ontario, Canada. This picture was sent to me in an email yesterday. It was taken late in May 2011 by Doug Jamieson. The blackhouse was a project inspired by Dean McLellan and brought close to fruition by many volunteers with the DSWAC during Rocktoberfest 2010. The 'green' roof was completed by members of Walling Across Canada early in 2011. This unusual structure is situated on the Landman farm property just north of Grand Valley and you are welcome to go visit it if you are in the area.
I post the photo here in anticipation of seeing many more authentic dry stone structures during our tour, but also as a way of emphasizing the fact that thanks to a resurgence of interest in walling here in Canada one doesn't have to travel back to the old country to see examples of pretty amazing dry stone work here at home.
