Day 1 of turf building at Tyrfingsstaðir with Helgi Sigurðsson of Fornverk ehf: Our brief for the week
round pole timbers and to be used for meat smoking in the future. This was part of a complex of turf
buildings belonging to the family who still worked the land, the matriarch Kristin having been born in
have since become a place for tourists to visit and for students of turf such as ourselves to practice
The NET project is a Key Action 1 project for Staff and is funded by the Erasmus+ programme, which is sponsored by the European Union. NET offered the Turf Building Course through The Firm of Arch Ltd to those working within the natural and cultural heritage sectors in Scotland to work with Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga, and their network partners in Iceland. The Firm of ARCH (Archnetwork) was established in 2001 and works in the field of nature conservation, management and interpretation of natural and cultural heritage in Scotland and across Europe. In the NET project ARCH works with a consortium of Scottish organisations.
This exchange included eight participants from Scotland from a range of heritage backgrounds including architecture, archaeology, traditional buildings skills, volunteering, conservation, attractions management and heritage interpretation. The group was composed of:
 Our hosts were representatives from Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga: Bryndís Zoëga, Guðný Zoëga, Sigríður Sigurðardóttir (Retired Director and instigator of the Turf Buildings reconstructions in and around Skagafjordur), Berglind Þorsteinsdóttir (The Current Director)
We also met Fidelma Mullane an architect from Ireland who is researching the use of turf under thatch in Irish vernacular houses, she was an additional guest invited by Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga, and accompanied us for several days.
Arrival and visit to Reykjavík: Our first trip was to “The Settlement Exhibition” (871 ±2), built around
over the exhibition. This very interesting display of the longhouse in its original situation clearly
Travel to Sauðárkrókur: After a very welcome late breakfast and with jetlag setting in, we set off on a
four hour drive, through a remarkably long tunnel and heading towards Skagafjordur, our hub for turf
Visit to Hólardomkirkja: This is the first stone cathedral built in Iceland and much of the wood has
some of the treasures in the church, the font for instance is thought to have been recarved hundreds
of years after its original construction (see picture below left). She spoke at length about the history
seeing the structure of the turf cuttings and how they aged. This range of turf buildings is thought to
date from the 19th century and is of the North Icelandic type, with forward facing timber gables along the front elevation and rear buildings at right angles to a central corridor. The complex has
Lunch at Storu Akrar: This range of turf buildings was in existence in 1737 and has associations with
congregations. The staff were very friendly, interested in our visit and excited to show us around the
building. Helgi first introduced us to turf cutting techniques and how to use the turf scythe down in
the boggy lower fields. The three main building blocks we would be learning to work with were called
• Learning to identify the best areas for turf cutting and what specific plants to look out for is key to
building something which will last for many decades. Inferior turf may last for twenty to thirty years
that the “turf” is more like Scottish peat than turf, but with a higher sand and clay content to give
hands just how difficult it is to cut the turf to shapes required. Many of our first attempts although still
We learned how to identify older parts of the remaining building which needed to be cut out (because
After reaching the eaves of the timber framework for the roof we then started work turffing the roof
using older, drier torfa for the first roof layers, these were leftovers from work carried out by another
team in the spring, so were drier and much more fibrous than the peaty cuttings we had been cutting.
Day 3 turf building: The first part of the day consisted of cutting our roofing turf using a two handled
standard and slightly lens shaped in cross section. We cut long strips of around 36 m which were cut
into smaller sections of around 1.2m by spade and loaded onto the tractor for transport up the hill.
Helgi explained that this cutter was really best used for the roof turf as it cuts to a specific depth and
width in long swathes which we could then cut to length for the roof. These roof turfs were cut from
the cultivated turf in the fields and was more root filled and less peaty. The roots would grow to bind
We completed the six layers of overlapping roofing turf to much satisfaction, three layers with grass
blocks), various other Snidda (turf is usually exposed) and Glaumber Naus (row of joined parallelogram
shaped blocks). These techniques for building free standing walls in Iceland go back for centuries and
To finish our turf building experience, we were invited to a massive cakefest at Kristín and Sigurður’s
modern farm house at Tyrfingsstaðir. Kristin really spoiled us with the variety and amount of food on
museum for many years and we saw artifacts in place to describe the uses of the rooms. The traditional
gable end of one building had flame symbols at the top of the gable to show the priest’s room in the
to the eaves to prevent fire in the walls. Communal sleeping rooms were usually lined with wood with
room (possibly with children in the same room). Amazingly this building did not feel damp despite the
recent finding of a Viking Long house in the meadow to the east of Glaumbaer closer to the river, it
Horse riding at Lytingsstadir and The Old Stable: While some of the group took an opportunity to ride
on the beautiful Icelandic horses, others visited a small turf stables, constructed by Helgi our Master
accompanied the visit where visitors are encouraged to handle the many original objects housed there,
Bathing at “the muddy pool” as Helgi calls it – Fosslaug hot spring at Reykjafoss waterfall. Helgi was
Geysir is also in the “golden circle” of the south east of Iceland where the two continents are spreading
apart creating and area of hot springs and geysers. Geysir is the original, and the name is the origin of
our word for geysers, though it is now nearly dormant (it does apparently still occasionally erupt), but
obviously very popular as a destination as we also observed helicopters touring around and stopping to
Gullfoss, famous as a film location this was not at its most violent (usually in the spring) though still an
amazing sight. The sunset which started as we left for our journey back to Keflavik was still colourful
2 hours later due to the long Icelandic summer days and gave an amazing view of the moon rising over
Our visit to Eastern Slovakia consisted of a small group of 4 participants, plus our guide Miroslav Knezo, and Libby Urquhart from Arch | read more
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Group report from the 2018 group who visited Evenstad in Norway. You can read their newspaper report here in Pdf format evenstad-ec | read more
The participants of the Cyprus visit take part in the great Adobe brick making contest, and along the way encounter silver smiths, mosa | read more
Group Report for the Erasmus + Structured Adult Education for Staff Course NET 4 Managing our Natural and Cultural Heritage Assets – “ | read more
Introduction and Finnish Forestry Overview Over two-thirds of Finland is forest cover. This expanse of forest cover may be one of the reasons most of the population seems to be well connected to nature, because most people live within reach of nature. Not only do people live near nature, but many are able to own a small piece of it as much of the forested area is owned by private persons. Accessibility is also important because many people are able to use the forest, even if they do not own any forests themselves. Subject to certain rules and regulations, people are able to use the forest and the wildlife within it as a renewable resource for wood products, hunting and foraging. Above all, most Finnish people strongly value the link between being in nature and good health.
The course themes were far ranging, from large carnivore management, including hunting legislation and how people live with together with these animals as neighbours; forestry adaptations to climate change, covering the wind storm in the High Tatras, where the bark beetle is now thriving to the detriment of the forest; forestry methods, namely horse logging where is was a huge advantage having our very own horse logger to explain how the methods were similar to that in Scotland and across Europe.
Group report from the 2018 group who visited Evenstad in Norway. You can read their newspaper report here in Pdf format evenstad-echo-11.pdf
The participants of the Cyprus visit take part in the great Adobe brick making contest, and along the way encounter silver smiths, mosaic artists, lace makers, and pottery makers.
We have returned home from our trip to Bulgaria refreshed with new ideas and an insight into how other European countries approach connecting communities with their natural and historical environment. Bulgaria takes a holistic approach by including arts, heritage, festivals, folklore and history into their engagement around our natural and cultural heritage. They encourage their citizens to engage in crafts using inspiration from the natural world, to appreciate the intrinsic value of nature and to conserve special places for future generations.
Our short but fabulous visit to central Bulgaria, demonstrated without any doubt that the Bulgarian people maintain, and continue to foster, a deep and genuine respect for their identity through their cultural heritage. Their high regard for ancient traditional skills and crafts are embraced with a proud consideration, and this is ultimately clearly demonstrated by the way they incorporate ancient traditional skills and crafts into modern day life.
The challenge for the people that live in the small houses, farms, villages and towns within and around the Central Balkan National Park and on the Devetaki Plateau is to keep their connection with nature. To hang on to it whilst embarking on the journey to market and promote their diverse heritage. To enjoy it and allow others to do so as development and tourism in this fascinating country inevitably grows.
The trip has also given me ideas of what festivals I could consider planning around peatlands – incorporating things like folk music and culture like we saw with the Plum Festival on the first day. These seasonal festivals provide a link back to nature, its products and its importance to local communities.
Through combining both of these aspects into the trip, which are perhaps often seen somewhat as contrasting ways to understand the biodiversity, whilst additionally learning about the rich history and traditions of the country, this has provided a valuable insight into how well-rounded disseminating information can be done, integrating many perspectives for understanding the environment into a single day alone to link together and catch the attention of visitors when communicating conservation to the public.
So what lessons to draw? That deer numbers have to be significantly reduced if we are ever to restore our environment and its wildlife in Scotland, is hardly a revelation. But the destination – where rich, native forests are compatible with human needs and where people have a real connection with nature – should surely be one worth striving for.
This gives an idea of how connected folk were in the past with where plants grew, when they flowered, when they set seed, and what beneficial properties they reputedly had in days before mass-produced pharmaceuticals were available.
I found it particularly inspiring that the Devetaki Plateau Association, as a small collective, could reach beyond its own borders and the EU to find support for its mission in the Swiss & American agencies discussed earlier. Although we can hardly compare the wealth of Scotland to that of Bulgaria, I can’t help but wonder whether the challenges we could all face from Brexit may see us reach out to partners beyond our own conservation neighbourhood.