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Team racing in Somerset 2016
A short video of the team races at the West Country scything festival 2016.
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Community Scything in the North-West
Community scything and another competition, in the NW, free to all. Steve Tomlin Crafts One of the nicest things about scything is that the lack of noise makes it a lovely community activity. Chatting...
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Wimpole scything festival 2016 video
A video for your amusement, Jim McVittie suggested the Morris men and a fine additional they were.
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The 2016 Wimpole Scythe Festival
Wympole & Wratsworth The West Country Scythe Festival 2016 A good time was had by all at the West Country Scythe festival if a bit wet on Sunday, the results can be found here. Setting up for the...
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Autumn mowing to restore balance
Whilst midsummer hay time in June/July is undoubtedly the most important mowing event in the scything calendar, there is important work for the scythe in meadows both in spring (which I wrote about in...
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West Country Scythe Festival Competition Results 2017
George and Kevin in Finals. (photo Emma Goodwin) 5 x 5 metre Results George Montague’s astonishing performance made him the clear undisputed champion for 2017. He mowed his plot in just 40 seconds!...
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European Scythe Championships , Switzerland 2017
The European Scything Championships held near Shwytz/Brunnen in Switzerland was a first for any British competitors as Kevin Austin and Nigel Adams found themselves rather surprisingly entered. Here...
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Monty Don “Scythes cut grass very well”
In his new book ‘Down to Earth’ Monty Don has commented: “You don’t have to use a machine – scythes cut grass very well.” This observation has sparked a surprisingly reactionary response from fellow...
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Peening Days
International Peening Day, on the first Sunday of April, is a perfect opportunity to prepare and test blades on newly awoken grass in the meadow in readiness for the coming season. This is a personal...
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Peening day review 2019
As a postscript to this year’s International Peening day (April 7th) I have been reviewing the wonderful diversity of peening pony designs. A number of scythers have kindly sent me photos of their...
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New generation scythers
A regular topic of conversation at scythe meetings is how to engage more of the younger generation in scything, and indeed in practical rural activities generally. It is not difficult to see why the...
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Green Scythe Fair Championship results 2019
Mowers faced typical Somerset level grass at the Green scythe fair this year: lush and heavy! The grass cut easily enough, as shown by the decent times recorded by mowers in the 5 x 5 metre plots....
View ArticleEastern Counties Scythe Competition Results 2019
5 x 5m Eastern Counties Trophy Time Quality Placing (min.secs)...
View ArticleNorthern Scythe Championship Results 2019
Overall Northern open champion Time Quality (mins.secs) Andy Coleman 0.52 7 1st George Montague 1.53 7 2nd Kevin Austin...
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Scottish Scything Festival Results 2019
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,...
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Giant Hogweed control with a Scythe
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...
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Scythe Association: 10 years on – still here and still mowing!
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...
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Opportunities to prepare for the coming mowing season and have your scythe...
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...
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SABI Somerset Green Scythe Workshop Report
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...
View ArticleNorthern Scythe Competition 2021
A report by Jim McVittie. (Photos to follow shortly) 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...
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