Learn drystone walling in the Burren

"What if you built something with no cement that will outlive you?"

Why this is so fun

There is something quietly astonishing about stacking limestone without a single drop of cement and watching a wall take shape that could easily stand for two hundred years. The Burren is one of the strangest and most beautiful places in Ireland, and working with its pale rock puts you in direct conversation with generations of farmers who shaped that same landscape. Your hands get sore, your back reminds you it exists, and then you step back and realise you built something solid and real entirely by feel and judgement.

Someone who did this

Donal (36), Cork — quantity surveyor, keeps a sourdough starter he's had since 2019

I signed up through Burrenbeo Trust on a Saturday morning in October, drove the three hours up from Cork, and genuinely did not expect my hands to be that destroyed by lunchtime.

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First 3 steps

1Check Burren College of Art or Burrenbeo Trust for upcoming weekend walling courses.
2Sort sturdy boots, thick gloves and waterproofs before your first session outdoors.
3Read up on the Burren's limestone pavement to understand what you will be working with.