Steve Tomlin Crafts

Learn to Scythe for Wildlife Trust

Posted on July 17, 2015 by stevetomlin

Another mowing day at Bell Sykes farm teaching Kim and Rebecca from the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. I’ve taught wardens and volunteers from various Wildlife Trust offices around the country and it’s always great when officers from new areas want to learn how to scythe and start using it with volunteers in their conservation work. Kim and Rebecca work on urban sites so that will be even more exciting, we need more scythes in our cities and towns!

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged conservation, course, lancashire, learn, Manchester, Merseyside, scythe, volunteers | Leave a comment

Learn to scythe at Bell Sykes

Posted on July 10, 2015 by stevetomlin

Two glorious days at Bell Sykes farm, Slaidburn teaching a Learn to Scythe course for the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust.

Bell Sykes is the Coronation Meadow for Lancashire and has just the most beautiful meadows with around 90 recorded species which are a delight to scythe and perfect for learning to mow.

Two days means we had time to relax, talk about seed propogation and meadow management and enjoy a guided walk. Really interesting to see was the contrast between these two fields; a change in management and the addition of seed through spreading green hay is the difference between either side of the wall.

The extra day also gave us more time to practise mowing and practical session on peening the scythe blade which is really valuable for beginners to gain confidence in learning to peen and maintain their scythe.

Thanks to Peter & Linda for fantastic hospitality and my students who made a brilliant team and got the meadow finished for haymaking.
I will be teaching a one-day Learn to Scythe course at Bell Sykes on Thursday 16th July, contact the Forest of Bowland AONB office on 01200 448000 or email sarah.robinson@lancashire.gov.uk

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Coronation Meadow, course, lancashire, learn scything, learn to scythe | Leave a comment

Scythers & Haymakers wanted!

Posted on July 5, 2015 by stevetomlin

My friend Bill Lloyd is looking for people to help mow and make hay on land at Millerbeck County Wildlife Site, Newby Bridge in Cumbria.
With two week-long sessions planned, this is a brilliant opportunity to practise your skills or stretch your scything if you’ve only ever mown in your garden. This isn’t a Learn to Scythe course but you will be bound to learn lots from working with other people. I’ll be there for part of both weeks, hoping to see some familiar faces from the courses I’ve run over the years.
Please contact Bill directly on 01539824008 or will@georgelloyd.com

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged cumbria, hay making, scythe | Leave a comment

More Learn to Scythe courses in July

Posted on July 4, 2015 by stevetomlin

My own Learn to Scythe course at Sedbergh, Cumbria is now fully booked but there are still opportunities for you to come on a course in July as I am teaching for the North Pennines AONB and Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust. The meadows at Low Way Farm and Bell Sykes are both stunning wildflower meadows and a real treat to scythe.
The two day courses give you more opportunity to practise your mowing and, most importantly, time to do some hands-on peening. Peening is the part of Austrian scythes that many beginners find daunting so being able to do some while I guide you through it is very helpful and will give you the confidence to maintain your own blades after the course.
Please book directly with the relevant organisation: North Pennines AONB or Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged Dales, learn to scythe, North Pennines, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

Mowing and haymaking weekend in the Yorkshire Dales

Posted on July 1, 2015 by stevetomlin

My friend Ruth is organising a mowing and haymaking weekend at one of the farms where I taught last summer. Being out in the meadow with your scythe and a group of other people all working together is a brilliant way to practise your skills and learn from each other while having the satisfaction of the work done.
Please contact Ruth directly if you’d like to get involved, her details are at the end.

Join us for Hay Time in the Yorkshire Dales!

Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th July at Lower Winskill Farm, Langcliffe, Settle. North Yorkshire. BD24 9PZ.

This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of an age old tradition of making hay amongst some of the most beautiful meadows in the Dales. Our host will be Tom Lord whose family has been farming at Lower Winskill since the 19th century. The meadows at Lower Winskill have been recorded as far back as the 1500s and are truly spectacular.

We will be meeting at the farm on Saturday from 12am to enjoy a tour of the meadows (bring a packed lunch!) before starting to mow one of Tom’s meadows in the afternoon.
The evening will see Ken Jacquiery firing up his barbecue so bring something to cook! All are welcome to camp in the meadows overnight and any musical sorts are invited to bring their instrument(s) for the evening. If the weather is kind the stars will be fantastic.
Sunday will be an early(ish!) start to get the rest of the meadow mown ready for drying and baling over the following days*
The day will end with a celebratory barbecue (bring more food!) and a well-earned lie down.

Who and what we need:

enthusiastic mowers with their own scythe if possible – 12 would be great so we can have a rotation
people to turn the grass – again own rake is ideal but not a problem if you don’t have one.
moral support!
people to make tea!

Come along for the whole weekend or nip in when you can. Those who can commit to mowing on the Saturday and Sunday would be very much welcomed but any time you can spare over the weekend is much appreciated!
R.S.V.P before 10th July please
Ruth Pullan ruthpullan@hotmail.co.uk 07951 399176
* those of you who can and would like to stay on to help turn and bale the hay over the following days are welcome

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged hay making, scythe, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

Learn to Scythe book

Posted on June 26, 2015 by stevetomlin

I’m really excited to announce that my new book ‘Learn to Scythe‘ is now available.
Each year I teach dozens of people how to scythe on my courses and this is still the best way to learn as I can help you make small adjustments to your scythe and technique in the field. Learn to Scythe will help if you can’t get to a course or want a reference guide to remind you of what you’ve learned.
Learn to Scythe takes you through all the skills of setting up your scythe, mowing and sharpening as well as peening, dealing with different mowing situations and working as a team. The emphasis is on working efficiently and safely to enjoy your scything to the full.
£10 + £7.50 p&p

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian scythe, book, course, learn, scything | Leave a comment

Meadowlife film

Posted on June 22, 2015 by stevetomlin

I hadn’t been to the cinema for over 10 years but I couldn’t miss the premiere of ‘To the end we will go’, Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s new film which was made by local film-maker Simon Sylvester as part of their Meadow Life project.
I’d been involved last year when Simon came out to film some of the Learn to Scythe courses I taught as part of the project and also when he took the super-slow motion footage of my blade mowing.
As Simon explained in his introduction, the aim was to produce a democratic piece that would present both sides of the conservation/farming debate and prompt questions to start discussion rather than attempting to answer them.
It’s all beautifully shot, very thought-provoking and reminds us what an important asset meadows are. What do hay meadows mean for you?

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged Cumbria Wildlife Trust, film, hay meadow, learn to scythe, Meadow Life, scythe, Simon Sylvester | Leave a comment

Somerset Scythe Festival 2015

Posted on June 9, 2015 by stevetomlin

This week I’ll be in Somerset for the 11th Green Scythe Fair, one of the highlights of my year and a fabulous event with scythe classes and competitions plus crafts, organic food and live music.
There are still places available on the Masterclass and Beginners courses which I will be teaching ahead of the Fair, details and booking are at The Scythe Shop. Hope to see you there.

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged 2015, festival, scythe, somerset | Leave a comment

Rake making at Heavy Horse Festival

Posted on June 5, 2015 by stevetomlin

This Sunday I’ll be making hay rakes at the Festival of the Heavy Horse in Northumberland. I’ve never been before but am really pleased to have been asked and looking forward to it as I do like to see working horses and Northumberland is a fantastic part of the country.
If you’re the area it looks to be really worth a visit and, while you’re there, stop by and say hello.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, wooden rakes | Tagged demonstration, hay rake, Northumberland | Leave a comment

Scything in Yorkshire

Posted on June 4, 2015 by stevetomlin

This week I spent a day with Caroline and Rob at their meadow near York. They wanted to learn scything to be able to mow paths through the 3.5 acre meadow to enjoy it more during the summer.

On a private course like this we have time to fit in some extra things so, after the morning setting up the scythes and mowing two neat swaths, we spent the afternoon looking at other jobs that the scythe could be used for including trimming around trees, clearing nettles and tidying around a pond. Rob was keen to practise sharpening the scythe standing up which I was happy with and there was for him to get some hands on peening with the jig too.
A very enjoyable day with lovely people in the beautiful north-east of England, thanks for asking me.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian, course, meadow, scythe, York | Leave a comment