Americans who visit the Dales are captivated by what one of them called "those cute stone fences".

She was referring to the drystone walls which form a futuristic pattern in the valleys and climb the fellsides with the devil-may-care attitude of soldiers in battle.

These thoughts were prompted by finding a photograph I took in the 1960s of Tom Varley, who at that time introduced team-walling on a commercial scale. Tom hailed form Stainforth but eventually moved to a farm beside the Gisburn-Blacko road. I was never quite sure which occupation came first in his affections - walling or tending his beloved traction engines.

I have been heartened in recent years to see that the ancient skills of walling have not been forgotten. The Young Farmers' Club movement ensured that in areas where walls formed the principal boundaries there were proficiency awards to encourage walling. A national drystone walling association has keen supporters in Yorkshire.

At summertime shows like Muker and Kilnsey, walling competitions are not only well-supported but provide visitors with abiding interest. One lad who was not making a reight good job of his section said ruefully: "They'd better judge it quick - or it'll tummel down."

Tommy Chapman, of Buckden, a farm man who spent a good half of his time piecing together the jigsaw puzzle that is a Dales wall, told me, a good half-century ago: "A good waller goes by t'rack o' t'eye and doesn't pick t'same bit o' stone up twice."

Tommy added that because no two stones were alike, the work was never monotonous, and if a wall was put up reight, it'd last a lifetime. Said Tommy: "A lot o' farmers don't seem to take time with the walls. They just throw 'em up any way." He'd heard that most of the walls around Buckden had been built as part-time work by the lead miners. They received about a shilling a day for their efforts.

Some relatively new walls and the remains of ancient boundaries are seen by walking along the lane near Malham youth hostel, on a course that leads to a clapper bridge across the beck near the Cove.

A local farmer pointed to the steep area where the fields are small and told me it was an old dodge for a chap who wished to sell stock to take the potential buyer on the low side. Cattle look bigger when viewed from below!

When this dalehead landscape was cleared of stony rubble, there was more than enough for walling. The rest was made into neat heaps.

One waller was so speedy he'd work for a day - and it took him two days to get back home! A drystone wall divides up the land and provides bield, or shelter, for the sheep.

When a wind full of spite lashes a hill farm with rain, sheep find a snug, dry retreat at the lee side of a wall. The wind might whistle between the stones but the rain stays on the other side!

Where a wall climbs the steep side of a hill, as on the "nose end" of Penyghent, notice how the builder has kept all the courses level. It would be folly to angle them according to the contours.

Our drystone walls area a ready guide to local geology. The old-time wallers did not carry stones further than was necessary. In North Ribblesdale, limestone walls are seen below Stainforth and above Horton. The intermediate stretch is formed of a dark slaty material known as Horton Flags, which outcrops in that area.

Buckhaw Brow, near Settle, is on the line of a geological fault. See, as you drive up the brow, how the grey limestone walls to the right become mottled with a darker rock. This dark gritstone is the dominant rock to your left.

Maintaining a limestone wall is no easy task. Limestone does not occur in neat layers as with millstone grit. It might be so rough on the hands, they would bleed if gloves were not worn. An old-time waller in limestone terrain said: "Every cobble hes its face - but it isn't any fool can find it!"

At a "wall-end" left where there is a gateway, or if a gap has occurred, it is seen that in reality a Dales wall is two walls in one, situated side by side, held together by long flattish stones known as "throughs". Small stones form the packing. A row of captsones helps to protect the wall.

A typical wall is four feet wide at the bottom, tapering to two-and-a-half feet. This tapering is known as the "batter". If a gap occurs, the material for repair is readily to hand. For a time, the wall might be "singled" to prevent stock from straying. Many stretches of wall incorporate a "cripple 'oil" or creep. This permits mixed grazing, restraining cows but allowing sheep to enter the next field. A large piece of slate is available to block the gap as necessary.

At one farm, a cripple 'oil was just large enough to take the donkey. This animal did not like being ridden. If someone climbed on its back, it made straight for the hole. The rider had only seconds to dismount before hitting the wall.

T'cripple 'oil is also useful when the farmer wishes to drive sheep by a direct route through several fields rather than taking them round about, opening and closing several gates.

My father-in-law related that when there were full-time wallers, Moonlight Jack worked so quickly he soon had no gaps left to "fettle". His nickname came from his habit of sneaking out on moonlit nights and creating more gaps - to ensure he never ran out of work!

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.