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Britain, being an island, has long had a
tradition of being involved with the sea,
and among the most historic craft used to
navigate both inland waters and the open
sea are the ancient coracles and currachs,
which go back to the dawn of history.
But these craft are still around today,
and among those who build them is
Herefordshire Mason Peter Faulkner, a
leading specialist in skin boats, who made
his first hide coracle in 1987.
Peter’s boats are constructed from
wholly sustainable materials mirroring the
geographical inertia of ‘old-time’ craftsmen,
as all raw materials – hazel, willow, timber
and hides – are sourced locally.
He is planning a cross-Channel venture
next year using a currach with a crew of
eight to ten, all members of Arrow Lodge
No. 2240, Province of Herefordshire.
However, he is also bringing along two
extras in case of ‘mal de mare.’ A TV crew
is also expected to follow them – but not
in a currach! The journey is for charity –
the Province’s 2008 Festival as well as local
organisations such as Air Ambulance.
Peter explains: “A coracle is a keel-less
fresh water craft propelled by one paddle,
whereas a currach is a sea-going craft. The
former may well have existed in some form
as long as 100,000 years ago. We do know
that currachs were being used around these
islands in Mesolithic times.”
The Mesolithic – or middle stone age –
period was nearly 10,000 years ago, and
last year Peter built a 21-feet currach of
the period for Archaeolink, Aberdeenshire.
He adds: “I was not taught how to make
a coracle but in 1987 went to a traditional
maker at Ironbridge in Shropshire and took
photos, measurements and notes, then went
back home and constructed my first coracle,
‘Teme Dipper.’
“In this boat I traversed the river Teme –
85 miles – the Severn – 165 miles, the Wye –
100 miles – and part of the Shannon. This
coracle hangs in my workshop today, rather
battered but proud. The learning curve
continues to this day.”
But, as he will be 65 in August, is it not
time to hang up his paddle? Not a bit of it,
he says. “Retirement isn’t in my vocabulary.
My big dream is to build a 38-feet currach,
using my usual materials, and to cross the
Atlantic. I already have a crew list.”
So how did he get into such an unusual
occupation? He explains: “Returning to the
village where I grew up – Leintwardine in
Herefordshire – I built a coracle to travel
down the local river – the Teme – in which
I learned to swim and explore. My three
brothers and I, together with other village
children, had a Tom Sawyer-type childhood
in the 1950s – we roamed freely and learned
to survive.
“My prototype was, I thought, a one-off,
but a chance meeting with John Leach, the
Somerset potter, changed all that, when he
asked me to make him a coracle – my first
customer. Now, some 200 skin coracles
later, I have an international business and
reputation.”
In 1996 he was commissioned by the
Kilmartin House Trust in Argyll to lead a
project to construct a sea-going skin boat
or currach. Peter sourced all the materials
for the framework and the eight hides this
craft required.
He also designed the hull, and with a
team of volunteers constructed the 22 feet
by seven feet basket at Mayo Abbey, Co.
Mayo, Ireland and later sailed from
Ballycastle in Northern Ireland to Argyll in
Scotland. The journey was featured in BBC
Scotland’s documentary Columba’s Crossing,
about St Colombo, who founded the Iona
community on that remote Scottish island.
In 2002 he attempted to cross the
Channel from France to England on the
prevailing wind, but unfortunately the
wind died and they had to be towed back
to Dover. However, the following month
he competed successfully in the Great River
Race down the tidal Thames in a 13-feet
coracle with a crew of six, completing the
22 miles in four hours and 20 minutes.
In 2005, he did the same journey again –
in less than four hours. However, in 2003,
during the memorable August heatwave
of that year, he took 11 days to travel down
the Thames from Cricklade in Wiltshire to
Teddington Lock in a coracle – four feet
six inches in diameter – but it was very
slack water, and he was paddling for seven
hours a day.
Peter, who lives at Clungunford in
Shropshire, is a Yeoman member of the
Worshipful Company of Basketmakers,
and is currently chairman of The Coracle
Society. He travels abroad to exhibit his
craft, and is regularly featured in the media
from boating magazines to numerous TV
appearances, and recently received an
invitation to visit Japan.
Peter Faulkner – boatbuilder extraordinary
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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