Barney Murray on the wibbly tightness, brutal conditions and surprisingly young demographic of drystone walling

Barney Murray was in his late teens, studying art and hating it. He took a casual labouring job with a couple of guys who ran a drystone walling company. He never looked back. Nine years later and now a certified Master Craftsman, he loves working out in the fields, even when the weather is at its most challenging. Join him as he works to patch a gap in the wall of a sheep field, a more technical process than you might think. As he builds “skins”, packs the centre and lays coping stones, he talks about finding himself already a veteran builder as a young wave of wallers emerges, brutal weather, wildlife habitats, and how he can read the walls like handwriting. A Life More Wild is an 18Sixty production, brought to you by Canopy & Stars. Production by Clarissa Maycock. Our theme music is by Billie Marten.

You can listen to Barney Murray on the wibbly tightness, brutal conditions and surprisingly young demographic of drystone walling online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Barney Murray on the wibbly tightness, brutal conditions and surprisingly young demographic of drystone walling is an episode from A Life More Wild by Canopy & Stars.

This episode is 21:23 long.

This episode was published on Apr 15, 2026.

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