Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses reviews

Brad reviewed: Blacksmithing Beginners course - 1 to 1

"What a fantastic day! A full day and there's a lot to learn from the basic skills and techniques. During the day I learned not only How to do certain things but why and the reasons behind them along with some interesting History of the area and the craft. Iain was a great teacher and was there to guide and help if I needed but allowed me to do things semi-independent with his watchful eye. So I can comfortably say "I made this myself" ! Nothing was pre shaped and all from scratch. Again Iain was great conversation too, and very welcoming to people visiting the site and popping their heads in to watch us in action. As well as the experience, I also got two tangible, actual pieces that I had made and can be proud of! I was able to design my own piece too which was a great touch! Could not recommend enough."

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Thanks for your lovely review Iain is amazing- Hope you enjoy showing your pieces off to friends and family many thanks Rachel"

Theo reviewed: 1 to 1 Bladesmithing or Blacksmithing

"Bought this as a gift for my dad, who had a brilliant time. He was very pleasantly surprised at the course being a one-to-one session, and was very happy with the end products he got to take home."

Rebecca Stephenson reviewed: Willow Mini Reindeer & Christmas Tree

"I had an absolutely lovely day and came home having made so much more than I thought I would be able to make. I love my angel and the random star. Rachel is so enthusiastic about weaving, natural crafts and woodland, it really was an encouraging day. The cafe and the shop are really good too. (Sorry if that’s too gushing). "

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Not to gushing at all Rebecca! Glad my enthusiasm is infectious and would be great to see you back for a basket course in the New Year thanks so much for a lovely review kind regards Rachel"

Julia reviewed: Willow Mini Reindeer & Christmas Tree

"A brilliant day. Rachel was an excellent tutor, extremely helpful and knowledgeable and a good laugh too. We fitted so much into the day and came away with lots of beautiful items, incredible given I had never worked with willow before. I would definitely recommend doing the course. It’s well worth the money and very fulfilling. "

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Thank you for the lovely review Julia lovely to meet you and hope to see you willowing again in the future kind regards Rachel"

Anna williams reviewed: Wreath Making

"Brilliant course yet again. Very well organised and the staff were amazing. Thank you, we will be back next year."

Cathy reviewed: Mini Workshop- Wreath Making 1.30-3.00

"I enjoyed learning how to make my first wreath. I found the atmosphere relaxed and I received all the help I needed. Thank you! I was left wondering, how and from what do you make the ring, which we found already done for us. Perhaps you could include a demo of this in the future for the beginners…."

Anne Wanty reviewed: Mini Workshop- Wreath Making 12.15-1.45

"Great course - something I have never done and was made to feel very welcome, staff were really helpful and eager to offer advice. Pleased and proud of my results which is now on my front door. Will be back next year."

Jill Johnson reviewed: Mini Workshop- Wreath Making 1.30-3.00

"I love attending this course -the staff are brilliant and very knowledgeable and helpful My only comment is the booking process.I emailed for information regarding the date etc and didn’t receive a response so had to keep checking for information and only managed to get 2 places when I originally wanted 4 Apart from that it is a fab event Thank you "

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Hi Gill thanks for your constructive criticism regarding booking -we advertise it in the centre and we don’t do an awful lot of promotion because there are so few places available. I’m afraid you just have to keep your eye out and get in there when it’s released -for next year start looking at the beginning of October. I didn’t see any conversation from you through craft courses and I do respond as swiftly as I can so apologies if we missed it . kind regards Rachel"

J Russell reviewed: Mini Workshop- Wreath Making 10.30-12

"Mum and I had a great morning making a Christmas wreath. Neither of us had made one before and everyone was very helpful showing us what to do, it was very good value for money."

Antony Dodworth reviewed: Tool sharpening

"I was very much looking forward to the course, as it had been some 35 years since I did any woodwork tool sharpening at school. Dave and his team made you instantly feel at home. I liked his honesty about sharpening, he showed you that amazing results could be achieved with very simple bits of equipment, all that was required was some time on you doing sharpening, which I got plenty of hands on practice over the day. I took 2 of my own tools along that had seen better days and looked like they had been used for removing nails, I learned how to make them look new again and left with razor sharp tools to take back home. A really enjoyable day. The time went quickly as you were always doing something."

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"So glad you enjoyed the day Anthony Dave and his team are really amazing hope we might see you again on a future course kind regards Rachel"

Simon Hayes reviewed: 1 to 1 Bladesmithing or Blacksmithing

"Wonderful day and a great 50th birthday present!. We had a great teacher who took us through every step of the knife making process in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Starting with a flat bar of steel and ending up with a beautiful hand forged knife was extremely enjoyable and satisfying. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone with even a remote interest in learning blacksmithing skills."

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Glad you enjoyed yourself Simon good to see you hard at work very impressed you got mistaken for Ian! Thank you for the review"

Jude Brown reviewed: Make a 3 legged rustic stool - one day

"I really enjoyed this one day course and proudly came home with a very attractive 3 legged stool. Dave the course tutor was really experienced and full of knowledge about every aspect of green woodworking. His 2 volunteers were also very experienced and between the 3 of them gave us a really good taste of green woodworking"

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Glad you enjoyed it Jude lovely to meet you and as I said here if you need any advice on your woodworking journey kind regards Rachel x"

Gerard HIGGINS reviewed: Stained glass one day course: Fox or Hare

"An informative and very enjoyable course suitable for absolute beginners. Rachel was an excellent tutor and Hector’s House provided an ideal setting. I would thoroughly recommend it."

Kate Burnage reviewed: Woodland Beauty Taster- Wild Woodland Spa

"I thoroughly enjoyed the Wild Woodland Spa mini workshop at Eccleshall Woods. Rachel is an excellent tutor; engaging, interesting and most supportive. I felt as if I had achieved something by the end of the evening and came home with a number of lovely products that I had made under her watchful eye. I have used some these since: they are far superior to shop bought ones. I'm looking forward to taking this new interest much further."

Laura reviewed: Willow Angels

"Both the course and venue were great. Rachel made us all feel at ease and gave clear instructions whilst allowing us to work at our own pace. Make sure you’ve got room in the car to take your angel home afterwards!"

Alice Howlett reviewed: Celtic Woven Stars

"Excellent course, well worth the money, got lots of goodies and extras to take home. Great tutor and a relaxing way to spend 2 hours."

Tricia reviewed: Woodland beauty- natural cosmetic making from woodland plants and trees

"Excellent! A fun and fast paced day, learning how to make lots of different products and finding out about the properties of different ingredients. Rachel created a friendly atmosphere and was flexible with which products you wanted to make, so you gained even more from the course. I'd thoroughly recommended it."

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"So glad you had a good day Tricia- you were on fire with the soaps and balms! Thanks you for the review, lovely to meet you and hope to see you again in the future."

Shirl Taylor reviewed: Woodland beauty- natural cosmetic making from woodland plants and trees

"Was wonderful so lovely informative relaxing exciting and I can't thank Rachel enough"

Ecclesall Woods Craft Courses responded:

"Thanks for the lovely review Shirl- glad you had a good day and look forward to seeing you in the future I hope- Rachel"

Bill knapp reviewed: Rustic thumb walking stick

"I thought the day and the tips given by Dave was excellent. I have made at least 11 sticks so far and I'm a bit of a stick nerd. Thanks for an informative day, very relaxed style. Would recommend it to anyone. Bill Knapp"

Mark Walters reviewed: Rustic thumb walking stick

"A thoroughly enjoyable day. I've been wanting to start stick making for some time and feel I have all the know-how now to get going. Great instructors and a nice bunch of folk participating. Very pleased with my first stick as well. Highly recommended."

Gail TB reviewed: Introduction to green wood craft - a two day course

"I rarely write reviews, but this course was really great (attended in Feb 2020). The combination of spending a day in the woods bringing some trees back under coppice management, plus creating a stool from the wood that would be produced, gave a real breadth to the topic. Dave and the volunteers were all really supportive and lovely. I was an absolute beginner and feared some sexism, but there was none of that. They just patiently explained how to use a saw etc as though it's entirely normal to have never handled any tools. I really recommend this."

Diane Smith reviewed: Willow Hare Sculpture

"Wonderful day. Really enjoyed this course. Rachel was an excellent teacher. Came away with a sculpture that did look like a hare. Would highly recommend this course and especially this teacher. Thanks Rachel."

Claire reviewed: Willow Hare Sculpture

"Spent a fun day learning how to do willow sculpture. My hare actually resembles one and I am not the most artistic of people! Tutor very warm and helpful. I bought some more willow at the end and am currently making a friend for Hartley the hare! Well worth it. Thanks."

Jan reviewed: Willow Hare Sculpture

"Amazing day, really patient tutor who took us step by step through making and let us work at our own pace and more importantly mine actually looks like a hare, even the husband was impressed, Will get doing more with Rachel in future."

IAIN ELLIOTT reviewed: Rustic thumb walking stick

"A really enjoyable day. Great instructor, nice pace, learnt new skills. Would recommend to others to give it a go. Met some nice people. Very inspiring day and thanks to all the team who delivered the course."