Yurt Weekend.

Last weekend we hosted the first Inshriach / Red Kite yurt building course. Paul would usually run a one day course covering all the techniques required to build a yurt, steam bending the poles and crown in oak, building a door and frame and a bit of a lesson in the culture and traditions associated with these nomadic dwellings. We decided to run for the whole weekend and set ourselves the challenge of building an entire 16 foot yurt, frame, door, poles, spars, rafters and crown.

Paul arrived late Friday, by which time we had cleared the workshop of the stacks of timber I have built up for potential projects. Nitsen and Lucy from Spirits Intent, outstanding yurt builders (and true exponents of nomadic ways, living, as they do, in a pair of beautifully converted 4x4 Mercedes trucks), happened to be pulled up at Loch Morlich on a travel round Scotland so they joined us for Saturday and we took to our task with 6 students guided by 4 professionals. We steamed the poles and the crown, burnt the holes for the rafters with a red hot poker and if Ian and I hadn't got so carried away on the door we would have had it finished. The resulting yurt is a thing of beauty. We provided the food, mostly from the vegetable garden, and Paul brought a complete yurt which we set up on the lawn for folk to stay in. We made another little film which I will edit down when I get the chance.

The weekend was such a pleasure we are planning another and we had best get it in before the weather starts to close. Saturday 3rd October if you are interested, £75 for the day and you are welcome to camp here the night before or after, B&B available for anyone not ready for canvas. There are lots of not particularly brilliant pictures on our flickr page, I will try to add some that show the frame and the door.