Andy Crawford - Natural Stone Lifting

The Problem With “Traditional Lift Only” in Historic Stone Lifting There is a phrase that keeps appearing in stone lifting circles: “honour the traditional lift”. On the surface, it sounds noble enough. Respect the stone. Respect the history. Respect the people who came before us. I agree with all of that. Completely. The problem begins when “tradition” is turned into a fixed rule, or worse, a moral weapon. At that point, the argument starts to crack. Not slowly either. Give the “traditional lift only” stone a gentle tap and the fault lines appear almost immediately. The central issue is simple. There is no single Scottish “traditional lift”. The surviving record points to local customs, local challenges, oral traditions, Victorian retellings, partial sources, contested interpretations and modern reconstructions. Some stones were lifted to the knee. Some were lifted to the lap. Some were raised to the breast. Some were shouldered. Some were carried. Some were loaded onto plinths....

The Ardvorlich Stone Shouldered - 152kg / 335lbs / 24 stone Ardvorlich Stone (Andy Crawford -  4th person to shoulder the Ardvorlich Stone) When I started my stone lifting journey around four years ago (2019)  I had never heard of the Scottish historic stones. The only stones I'd heard of were the Dinnie Stones, so I decided to train to lift them .  This process was hampered by the Covid-19 lockdowns, but as a result I managed to not only lift them, but beat my target of a 5 second unassisted lift.  I ended up holding them for around 18 second.  I went back for a second lift with no equipment and in a shirt and tie, one of a handful of people to do this: So, that was that.  I had achieved my goal and smashed my targets.  I also raised over £500 for cancer research UK, many thanks to all those who sponsored me! 'What next?'  Was the question on my mind and, also, something many of my friends and family were asking.  I did some research online ...