Beginners often imagine that a two day scything 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, and people who do them come away saying: “I don’t know how you could cram all that into one day”.

Two days gives you enough time to prepare your own blade (rather than use the Blue Peter blades that I prepare in advance for the one-day course); you get more time to practice different peening methods; and I also demonstrate how to make and stack a hay rack, which enables you to make hay even in changeable weather.

The course covers:

• history and sociology of the scythe, in the UK and abroad
• selecting the right blade and snath for the job (or making best use of what you’ve got):
• setting up a scythe and snath;
• peening with a jig, and and introduction to freehand peening with hammer and anvil;
• sharpening;
• mowing technique;
• how to avoid damaging the blade, and how to repair chips and cracks;
• managing grass with scything in mind;
• hay-making by hand;
• making and loading a hayrack.