After being welcomed by Border Stonework Managing Director Tony Hobbs, David and Andrew were introduced to Darren Booth who manages the facility.

To illustrate the impressively large and diverse Borderstone range, over 600 products in total, Darren showed the visitors how items such as classical and modern sculptures, sundials, benches, and patio sets are all handcrafted with meticulous care.

And it's a family effort, as while Darren is keeping the moulds in perfect condition, his son Daniel mixes the raw material that constitutes the very fine cast stone that used in the stoneware's manufacture. Although requiring plenty of muscle power this is a fine art and critical to the final product's integrity.

Daniel is increasingly taking on responsibility for day-to-day manufacturing but his sister Amy is charged with hand finishing the features. She clearly takes great pride in painting each and every piece so that the completed item is always perfectly decorated.

Oriental ornaments have always proved particularly popular, particularly pagodas and lanterns. Among the products David and Andrew saw being crafted were some of GardenSite's best sellers including the Seven Piece Pagoda, Two Tier Pagoda, Three Tier Pagoda, Four Piece Pagoda and Japanese Garden Bench.

These would be superb enhancements for your garden either as a focal point or centrepiece, whether or not it has an oriental theme, due to the tremendous quality of their design and craftsmanship.

Other pieces such as the charmingly designed Wishing Well Garden Ornament and rustically styled Woodland Garden Furniture Patio Set illustrate the wide variety of Borderstone's product range that has developed over the past thirty years.

Borderstone artisans hand-painting some garden ornaments in their workshop

At the end of the tour, David Coton commented that he was delighted to have had the opportunity to see the factory at work but more so to meet so many nice people.

"I was amazed at the amount of hard work, skill and pride that goes into each and every piece. This has filled me with even more confidence in recommending such wonderful garden ornaments
We have been selling Borderstone in our garden centre and online for many years, it's a privilege to stock such great products and marvellous to see this range remains crafted by hand in the UK".