Time for a bit of a catch up on the vast amount of goings on down at the Avalon Marshes Centre!

Rob and Bob’s shack is nearing completion; two Wednesdays were spent re-using the old thatch from the tumbled down roundhouse to make the new structure watertight. We trialled a simple method of thatching that doesn’t use any string or twine, trapping the reed under a long hazel bar held in place by withies woven into the underlying wattling. We left the finish stepped rather than a continuous slope.

The first row gets laid…looking quite untidy to begin with.

Working our way up the roof…

Nearing completion.

With the roof then on, we could crack on experimenting with floors and walls. A composite, predominantly fire-ash floor was laid and beaten down to level the ground and create a solid surface to work on. The back wall also had a big chunk of attention laid into it, mainly by the Young Wardens, who came in and helped Rob slap on some daub. In what has actually only taken a few days to construct, we have ended up with a really useful, traditionally made, undercover work area- perfect for chopping away on some big lumps of wood..!