ON July 24th we had a blistering hot day at Blackhaugh farm for this years festival, over 200 people came along! By 9.30 most of the competition squares had been prepared, the signs were all in place, structures up and the chairs and straw bales were ready for play and use. Food vans were up Read more about The Scottish Scything Festival 2021[…]
This Hay Meadow festival was held on Saturday 24 July 2021 behind the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre (run by the Charity GROW COOK LEARN) where there are 30 acres of meadows beside the Onny river. The meadow selected for the festival and scything competition was uneven, lumpy ground with dense, wiry vegetation including dock, lady’s Read more about Shropshire Hills Hay Meadow Festival Report[…]
A report by Jim McVittie. The Site Peter Blackwell farms at Bell Sykes farm near Slaidburn in the Forest of Bowland AONB and thanks to the efforts of himself, his father and his grandfather has some of the best wild-flower meadows in Lancashire. Peter had allocated the whole of a four acre field which gently Read more about Northern Scythe Competition 2021[…]
12th -13th June 2021 Thorney Lakes, Muchelney, Somerset.The aim of this gathering was to bring together SABI committee members, scythe event hosts and volunteers, scythe instructors and leading scythe competitors; to share their experiences and plan for future events. This workshop was restricted to 30 participants by covid necessity. Saturday started soon after sunrise with Read more about SABI Somerset Green Scythe Workshop Report[…]
Opportunities for scythe-folk around the country to meet up face to face are still somewhat limited by the pandemic. But please don’t despair, things are looking better for the summer! In anticipation of this we have organised two spring events that can still run and connect people remotely via the wonders of internet technology. International Read more about Opportunities to prepare for the coming mowing season and have your scythe questions answered![…]
This year’s SABI annual winter gathering was a most auspicious occasion as it marked 10 years since we first got together to organise ourselves into an association based around our (then comparatively new) shared passion for scythes. Our aim was to encourage others to join us and grow the movement. I am very pleased to Read more about Scythe Association: 10 years on – still here and still mowing![…]
The following is an account of my attempts to control the invasive alien weed Giant Hogweed in a small nature reserve I manage in Norfolk – using a scythe as a key component of an integrated management strategy
The last weekend of July 2019 saw the first ever Scottish Scything Festival take place at Blackhaugh Community Farm in Perthshire. 120 people, including 20 or so children gathered for a day of talks, demonstrations, taster sessions, scythe sales and of course a scything competition. The afternoon’s competition had 29 entrants and in spite of Read more about Scottish Scything Festival Results 2019[…]
Overall Northern open champion Time Quality (mins.secs) Andy Coleman 0.52 7 1st George Montague 1.53 7 2nd Kevin Austin 1.52 6 3rd Quality and veteran mowing champion Jim McVittie 2.23 8 Northern local champion Peter Blackwell 4.06 6.5 Ken Jaquiery 5.07 7.5 Local Read more about Northern Scythe Championship Results 2019[…]
5 x 5m Eastern Counties Trophy Time Quality Placing (min.secs) /notes Chris Riley Read more about Eastern Counties Scythe Competition Results 2019[…]