Experiences

Have you ever fancied learning how to coppice a hazel woodland? Or maybe trying your hand at making charcoal from the wood out of a local woodland?

Thanks to grants from the National Forest Company, we are now able to offer these 2 experiences within our 36-acre country park, run by fully trained, experienced volunteers.

Charcoal making

The process of turning wood from the forest into charcoal to create a fuel that burns hotter and for longer than regular wood has been one that has been used for thousands of years to sustainably manage woodlands throughout the world. The process of superheating wood, until it releases its moister in the form of flammable gas, is highly efficient but is an art unto itself.

Thanks to our purpose-designed and built charcoal retort, we can offer small, intermate charcoal-making experiences for up to 3 people.

Working with our experienced volunteers, you will learn the processes involved in harvesting and seasoning the wood, preparing it for the retort, and get to make your own batch of charcoal. We will even let you take away some bags of charcoal to use at home.

Prices: £30 for a 4 hour experience

For more information please get in touch

Coppicing experience

A farmer isn’t the only one who manages crops. Woodsmen have managed their woodlands for thousands of years as a slow-growing crop. Arguably, the most useful of all the trees in the woodland is hazel. Nuts aside, hazel is a very versatile wood crop. Coppiced correctly, it will grow back year after year, in straight, flexible rods, ready for harvesting after around 7 years.

Harvesting in this way sees the creation of a mix of different habitats within the woodland, giving homes to a wider array of creatures, big and small, making it beneficial to everyone

We will be running coppice experience days throughout the winter months, whilst the trees are dormant, where you can join our team of volunteers and learn how to safely use the tools of the trade and how to sustainably harvest this most valuable of crops.

For more information and dates, please see our What’s On page or our social media