“Want to learn to scythe?
Join us at the Regather Farm on the 26th and/or 27th and/or 28th July 2024 for these fun filled days and learn this amazing skill. You are welcome to attend on one, two or all three of the days. The cost of the course is per day and you will need a separate ticket for each day.
Throughout the course we will cover scythe set up and selection, correct mowing technique, safe sharpening and blade maintenance, called peening. We will also look to introduce effective use of hay rakes and pitch forks for hay making.
Throughout the day we will discuss management methods for hay meadow and how this can be recreated in small plots/ gardens.
A day's tuition costs £70 per person per day (09:30am until 4pm).
There will also be the opportunity to buy your own scythe set on the day.
This course is available to anyone over the age of 16. Please let us know if you have any specific requirements before the course date. We welcome people of all abilities and will ensure everyone has a fun and relaxed day
Scything has seen a revival in recent years as people search for low impact alternatives that allow for positively managed land. To this end the use of the scythe is a fantastic tool for carrying out a wide range of land management tasks that require vegetation to be cut throughout the year. The multiple benefits to scything over the many modern alternatives quickly become apparent to those who use them, and invariably fall in love with the tool, for its simplicity in use and maintenance and the connection that it affords to the task at hand.
All that said, to scythe effectively and make this tool sing, requires practise and patience; both useful lessons in themselves.
Although here in the UK we see scythes as archaic relics of a rural idyll, they are viewed very differently across much of mainland Europe where they remain one of the most effective tools for managing steep, inaccessible grasslands or where their reliability far outweighs any perceived gains resulting from mechanisation.
These tools are beautifully ergonomic in their use and provide reliable and easy human powered solutions to many tasks. For those looking to improve the biodiversity of their lawns or meadows to create rich richer wild flower meadows, cutting with a scythe allows for a sensitive approach that can respond to the needs of nature and people on the ground, in real time.”
