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COURSES AND TUITION 2025

Individual Scythe Tuition

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

£30 for one hour: basic scything
£50 for two hours: including peening

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

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

20-21 September 2025

Tutors: Simon Fairlie and Jon Hill. Price £84 per day including VAT.

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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