THOUGHTS FROM THE FIELD

As everyone knows, fences are not for clambering over; you look for a stile. A stile allows people to climb over fences and walls without letting livestock follow. The most common stile is made by nailing a plank of wood on to two short posts. However, materials and styles vary widely throughout the country.

Some are remarkably innovative. In parts of Derbyshire and the Yorkshire Dales, large ‘squeeze stones’ are placed within a dry-stone wall. Sufficiently close together to restrain a wandering ewe, they still allow the passage of a shepherd and his collie. In other parts of the Dales where large stones are less readily available, elaborate steps are installed as part of the wall itself, creating a staircase

The oldest stiles in Britain are found in Cornwall. One such at Treloan Farm near Truro is fashioned from granite blocks and topped by a cart axle; it has been given Grade Ii-listed status.