The Scyther: ‘We were up in arms about Poldark – his swing was all wrong’

Scything was almost forgotten until Aidan Turner’s turn in Poldark, but Nigel Adams says there’s still a place for it. He spoke to Tessa Waugh; portraits by Richard Cannon.

Scyther Nigel Adams in the churchyard at Pyrton Church, Oxfordshire. Pictures © Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library
(Image credit: Scyther Nigel Adams in the churchyard at Pyrton Church, Oxfordshire. Pictures © Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library)

‘Scything has undergone a renaissance in the past 10 years,’ says specialist Nigel Adams, who practises and teaches the art all summer and lays hedges during winter.

‘The art of sharpening and using the traditional old English scythes had largely been lost,’ he continues, ‘but the arrival of light, ergonomic models from Austria has made it accessible to a whole new range of people.’

A certain TV programme has also had an influence, he laughs: ‘We call it the Poldark effect. Of course, we [the scythers] were up in arms because his swing was all wrong, but it certainly helped bring the skill to the attention of the public.’

Churchyards are an area of focus for practitioners, but, at this time of year, Mr Adams is in demand for scything wildflower meadows: ‘We wait until the flowers have passed and the seed is set, then we scythe the field and toss the cuttings around with a fork to scatter the seed.’

Strimming is a dirty word. ‘We’ve held competitions between strimmers and scythers,’ he notes.

‘The scyther always wins by a country mile, plus you have the huge advantage of working in silence. Why buy a machine for hundreds of pounds when you have your own arm and a scythe that’s equally efficient, with no noise disturbance?'

Scyther Nigel Adams in the churchyard at Pyrton Church, Oxfordshire. Pictures © Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library

Scyther Nigel Adams in the churchyard at Pyrton Church, Oxfordshire. Pictures © Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library
(Image credit: © Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library)

‘In a lot of modern work, there’s no end product,’ he adds, ‘but, when you scythe, you’re working in a rhythm with complete concentration, your body is in tune and it’s very therapeutic—as well as satisfying to look back at where you’ve been.’

For more information and to find a course, visit scytheassociation.org


Dry stone wall builder Anthony Gorman ©Richard Cannon / Country Life Picture Library

(Image credit: Dry stone wall builder Anthony Gorman ©Richard Cannon / Country Life Picture Library)

The dry stone wall builder: 'Every metre of wall contains a ton of stone. You really feel it after a hard week.'

This week's Living National Treasure is Anthony Gorman, a man who has spent his life building beautiful walls by hand

Living National Treasure: London-based florist Shane Connolly, who provided the flowers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011.

Living National Treasure: London-based florist Shane Connolly, who provided the flowers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011. @Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library
(Image credit: @Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library)

The Florist: 'What I do is like good cooking – if you have beautiful ingredients, you can’t go wrong'

This week's Living National Treasure is royal florist Shane Connolly – and while he might be based in Britain, he's

National Treasures - Smythson Hand stamping letters and motifs by John. Pictures by Richard Cannon on Monday 11th December 2017

(Image credit: ©Richard Cannon/Country Life)

The gold stamper: ‘The younger generation is very appreciative of artisan work – they’re the ones driving the trend’

This week's Living National Treasure is John Timms, the man who leads the team that stamps gold lettering into thousands

©Country Life/Richard Cannon

Credit: Living National Treasure: The Glassblower - ©Country Life/Richard Cannon

The Glassblower: 'When something goes wrong you can't fix it – you just sling in into the bosh bucket and start again'

Ian Shearman's team of glassblowers are still making glass using a technique that's 2,000 years old. Mary Miers found out


Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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