“Our aims are to be environmentally friendly, to look after nature, to introduce people to their own creativity and nature at the same time.” - James Craig Page
Stunning sunshine brought the crowds to an event which is becoming an eagerly anticipated one. As the third European Stone Stacking Championships got underway at the Eye Cave Beach, Dunbar, “Sunny Dunny” lived up to its reputation. Dunbar, reputedly being the town with the most recorded hours of sunshine in Scotland.
Formerly The John Muir Stone Stacking Challenge, the championships are organised by local man James Craig Page. The date of the event recognises the environmentalist native to Dunbar, John Muir. The date being the nearest weekend to his birthday.
The event involves 4 unique competitions: adult balance challenge, timed challenge, an under 15s event and the spectacular artistic competition, encouraging free style transient art creations.
Watching the participants take part in these events is truly absorbing and almost mesmorising. With a growth of interest in mindfulness, the mediative qualities of stone stacking are a real attraction and a core value of the activity.
Rock balancing as it is also known is growing around the world. Howerver, recently the movement has seen a negative press with environmentalists voicing concerns over impromptu stone stacking threatening areas of natural beauty and sonservation sites. James Craig Page, is a purist of the movement and believes such individuals donot understand the essence of what stone stacking is about.
As he says, “These people are not stone stackers. I’m not even sure if they even love nature as much as we do.”
An expenses paid trip to Llano Texas is the first prize offered this year to enable the champion to attend The Llano Earth Art Festival and World Stone Balancing Competition in 2020.
Requiring full focus and sustained close concentration, the activity is compelling and almost infectious. The festival drew to a close with the grand finale of the artistic competition which saw some incredible pieces of transient art made of stone and found materials within a 3 hour slot to create.
Dunbar was charged with a Festival vibe over the stone stacking weekend. On the very beach John Muir played on as child, nature love observers and stone stacking enthusiasts alike are taking up his mantel of enjoying and caring for our natural world.
