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COURSES AND TUITION 2026

Individual Scythe Tuition

Personal tuition at Fairhill Farm, Pound Lane Bridford EX6 7LQ, with Simon Fairlie or Jon Hill

£30 for one hour: basic set-up, scything, maintenance etc
£60 for two hours: including peening

Contact Simon on chapter7@tlio.org.uk and scythes@myphone.coop or Jon on 0777 8898031

Individual Scythe Haymaking

Throughout the summer we make hay on the meadows on our farm. Novice and improving scythers are welcome to assist and learn. Food and lodging or camping is sprovided. This is weather dependent. If you might be interested please email scythes@myphone.coop and chapter7@tlio.org.ukrg.uk

One or Two-day Scythe Courses in the Teign Valley, Devon

Including grassland management and haymaking.

At Fairhill Farm, Pound Lane, Bridford EX6 7LQ
a stunning site on the eastern edge of Dartmoor

Next course 23-24 May 2026

Tutors: Simon Fairlie and Jon Hill. One day £90, both dyas £168 including VAT. Lunch is provided.

Attending both days is recommended, but you can attend just the first day if you are a complete beginner or just the second day if you have already acquired the basics.

Beginners often imagine that a two day course is a bit excessive, just to learn how to use a garden tool; and that is true if all you want to do is knock down weeds. But anyone who wants to mow grass on any scale will benefit from a two day course. Two days gives you enough time to practice different peening methods; we also spend a couple of hours on grass management, and demonstrate how to make and stack a hay rack, which enables you to make hay even in changeable weather.

Saturday: Basics
• selecting the right blade and snath for the job:
• setting up a scythe and snath;
• health and safety
• sharpening;
• basic mowing technique for grass and weeds
• how to avoid damaging the blade, and how to repair chips and cracks;
• peening demonstration.

Sunday: Improvement
• meadow mowing;
• managing grass with scything in mind;
• small-scale haymaking techniques;
• peening practice with jig and bar peen anvil.

You can bring your own scythe, but we supply fully sharpened scythes for you to use on the course. We also have a comprehensive range of Austrian scythes and ancillary equipment for sale.
Lunch is included. Free camping is available, or ther is Band B and woodland cabin accommodation available nearby.

Scroll down for photographs of previous courses.

To book a place or for more information: chapter7@tlio.org.uk and scythes@myphone.coop; 0777 889 8031

 

 

 

Other Scythe Courses

There are several other scythe teachers based all around the country. You can find out their details at http://scytheassociation.org/courses/ There are also courses at the West Country Scythe Fair in June, see: https://www.greenfair.org.uk

E-Mail List

Colin Close now sends out The Scythe Association's newsletter, The Windrow, which lists scything events, courses and developments in the UK. It comes out once a year. To get on the list to receive an emailed pdf of The Windrow, please e-mail itchka(at)compuserve.com

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