Workshops in the Woods reviews

Donna reviewed: Leaf Shaped Willow Basket

"The willow leaf course was really enjoyable, Rachel was fabulous and created a lovely atmosphere to create!! "

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"Hello Donna thanks for taking the time to provide us with a review it’s really appreciated. You made an amazing platter, very neat, well considered and you should be rightly chuffed with your outcome. Hopefully see you again on the course soon many thanks Rachel"

Jeffrey reviewed: Rustic thumb walking stick

"Excellent course, Dave (leader) very knowledgable and down to earth takes the necessary time to make sure you are on the right track with everything. Fabulous surroundings and a very relaxing and rewarding experience all around. Highly recommended (and I made a stick !)"

Nina reviewed: Woodland beauty taster- Creams, Balms, Body Butters

"I bought this as a mother's day present, and attended with my Mum. We had lots of fun and laughs, and came home with a wide selection of lovely products. I love to craft and make candles and soaps, with the knowledge this course has given me I'm confident I will be able to make some simple natural creams at home too. My Dad has very sensitive skin and found the creams we brought home to be very nice on his skin, as they are made from basic ingredients like natural oils and butters. We would love to come back for more!"

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"Hi Nina so glad you enjoyed it was lovely to meet you and mum-You made some amazing stuff In naughty corner! And mum really pulled off that last tricky cream amazingly so well done her. Glad dad likes the products and hopefully will see you again for another course soon kind regards Rachel "

Laura Archer reviewed: Woodland beauty taster- Creams, Balms, Body Butters

"Fantastic course and exceptionally generous in terms of the amount we learned, made and took home with us by the end of the afternoon. I learnt so much and Rachel was amazing at giving everyone individual attention alongside teaching us as a group. 100% recommend."

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"Hi Laura thanks so much for the high praise really appreciated! Glad you enjoyed yourself and hope to see you on the course soon kind regards Rachel"

Naomi reviewed: Woodland Beauty Taster- Wild Woodland Spa

"What a fantastic course. I enjoyed every minute. Fast paced. Rachel is a very welcoming soul and clearly wants everyone to get the most out of their experience. I used my rhubarb sugar scrub in the shower this morning and felt so smug and proud :). Have booked onto the full day course and can't wait. "

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"Thanks for a lovely review Naomi glad you enjoyed the day was so nice to meet you and can’t wait to see you again kind regards Rachel"

Mark Pym reviewed: Blacksmithing Beginners course - 1 to 1

"Great day lots of info from a great instructor. Highly recommended this course. "

Workshops in the Woods responded:

"Glad you had a lovely day Mark thank you so much for taking the time to write a review I will let Iain know kind regards Rachel"

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."

Workshops in the Woods 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). "

Workshops in the Woods 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. "

Workshops in the Woods 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 "

Workshops in the Woods 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."

Workshops in the Woods 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."

Workshops in the Woods 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"

Workshops in the Woods 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: Willow 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: Winter 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."

Workshops in the Woods 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: Winter Woodland beauty- natural cosmetic making from woodland plants and trees

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

Workshops in the Woods 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"