This page lists groups of related methods which together form series of varying lengths. The relation between the methods may be simply their their names (e.g. British birds of prey) or may include characteristics of the methods themselves (e.g. Hills series). These series may be of use for bands looking for a `project'.
Birthstone are gemstones that represents a person's month of birth. The stones associated with certain months have changed with time or from country to country so there are sometimes more than one listed for a month. The methods are a challenging but rewarding set with 16 different backworks and methods from all the 12 plain-bob lead orders. All methods are `Surprise' and they were mainly first rung at Barrow Gurney in the first half of the 1990s. There are also Delight methods using the same names for all except Alexandrite and Tanzanite, however all except Garnet, Diamond and Ruby are Minor methods with 1256 places made when the treble is in 34 so individual true extents are not possible and longer blocks are necessary to include them in a peal or quarter peal.
| Month | Gemstone |
|---|---|
| January | Garnet |
| February | Amethyst |
| March | Aquamarine or Bloodstone |
| April | Diamond |
| May | Emerald |
| June | Pearl or Alexandrite |
| July | Ruby |
| August | Peridot or Sardonyx |
| September | Sapphire |
| October | Tourmaline or Opal |
| November | Topaz |
| December | Tanzanite, Zircon or Turquoise |
The methods are a more challenging but rewarding set of musical methods each including some wrong places. They have a variety of backworks and lead orders and all are Surprise apart from Kestrel, for which there was already a Surprise Royal method available.
| Buzzard | &-38-14-1256-16-12-58.16-12.78 le 18 17856342 (j) |
| Golden Eagle | &38-38.16-56-16-12-38.56-14.38 le 12 18674523 (d) |
| Goshawk | &34-58.14-58-38.14-14.58-56-18 le 18 18674523 (k) |
| Hen Harrier | &38-38.14-12-16-34-58.14.56.14.78 le 12 17856342 (c) |
| Kestrel | &38-38.14-12-18-34-58.36-36.18 le 12 14263857 (f) |
| Marsh Harrier | &-58-14.58-58.16-34-1458-1256-18 le 18 13527486 (g) |
| Merlin | &-58-14.58-12.38-12-1458.36.12-78 le 12 18674523 (d) |
| Osprey | &34-58.14-58-38-14-58.14-14.58 le 18 16482735 (l) |
| Peregrine Falcon | &36-56.14.58-58.1236-14-58-36-18 le 18 16482735 (l) |
| Red Kite | &-38-14-12.58.16-12-58.14.36-58 le 18 17856342 (j) |
| Sparrowhawk | &38-56.14-1256-38-14-58-36-78 le 12 14263857 (f) |
| White-Tailed Eagle | &38-38.16-56-16-12-38.14-56.38 le 12 18674523 (d) |
The methods in this short series are named after ranges of hills in the West Country and Somerset in particular. They are linked by having their last sections (when the treble is in 78) defined by the place notation 36-36 and with half-lead of 18. This means all the methods have a 45 dodge at the half-lead.
| Brendon Hills | &-38-14-1256-36.14-34.58.36-36.18 le 12 17856342 (c) |
| Malvern Hills | &-58-14.58-12.38-12-1458.36-36.18 le 18 15738264 (h) |
| Mendip Hills | &38-56.14-56-38-12-1458.36-36.18 le 12 16482735 (e) |
| Polden Hills | &-38-14-56-16-12-58.36-36.18 le 12 17856342 (c) |
| Quantock Hills | &38-56.14-1256-38-14-58.36-36.18 le 12 16482735 (e) |
Peals: Surprise: Major, Royal, Maximus | Delight: Major, Royal, Maximus | Spliced: Major, Royal, Maximus | Other: Major, Royal | Caters | Cinques