We’re meeting on the Fourth Thursday of the month, 10am-12pm,
usually in the Town Hall Yarrow Room, but sometimes outside. We have met6 times in 2022 and 12 times in 2023. These are meeting days for 2024 : 25 Jan, 22 Feb, 28 March, 25 April, 23 May, 27 June, 25 July, 22 Aug, 26 Sep, 24 Oct, 28 Nov, and 19 Dec. This is an ongoing group, and hopefully will be with U3A for a number of years.
We follow the principles of the British Society of Dowsers and the first is that everybody can dowse; all that’s needed is a will and some basic training. In monthly meeting, we'll be talking about the history of dowsing, as well as looking at the work of the some of the most significant dowsers in the UK, such as Hamish Miller, Billy Gawn or Patrick MacManaway.
We will teach you how to dowse, with practical sessions being a part of every class. We guarantee that everyone will be dowsing in a few weeks! We will have several outings to interesting sites nearby that can be easily reached, and we will dowse there.
Dowsing has been practiced on British Isles since medieval times, when it was used to find minerals such as iron. It is, in essence, a method for finding something that is hidden from our usual senses, such as a mineral vein or an underground stream, typically using simple instruments such as the L-rod or a pendulum.
Grace and Andrew Edgar are professional dowsers and members of the British Dowsers Society..
In modern times the British Society of Dowsers was established (in 1933) by Royal Engineers in order to encourage the development of the skills necessary for finding water and hidden mines during military conflicts. The first president was Colonel AH Bell and a succession of military presidents followed. Today, while the president of the British Society of Dowsers is no longer a military figure, British dowsers are very active in practical activities here and abroad.
In 2017, ten out of existing 12 water companies in the UK confessed that they regularly use dowsers. Apart from finding a water source, practical dowsing can be used to find water pipes and leaks, and also to trace electrical circuits or gas-piping in a building. Dowsing can also be used in in archaeology to find hidden remains. On personal level, dowsing could be used for example to find out which foods or drinks are good for a person, which outings will be successful on a specific day, or which way to go to a particular destination. Dowsing also has a long connection with more esoteric practices, such a ley hunting - which is the tracing the mysterious energy lines and forces in the countryside and in ancient buildings.