Come spend an enjoyable and relaxing day with us in our lovely hazel woodland, Bottoms’ Corner, to savour some good company, quite a lot of chat, as well as some pretty good home-baked cakes, whilst learning to do or make something interesting and probably useful at the same time. Spend a day with Wassledine for some constructive relaxation.
Gift certificates
We offer gift certificates that may be redeemed against any of our products so if you are after a gift for someone who might appreciate a Wassledine Day in the Woods, find out more here.
Arrange your own special event
We are very happy to run courses for you at your own venue if you have the space and we can also arrange special events for small groups of friends or colleagues at Bottoms’ Corner in Gravenhurst – team building, for a celebration… ..if you’re interested, please contact us to chat over your ideas.
Please note – we run courses for other organisations at other venues, so do check the venue before booking.
One recent customer posted on Facebook… I attended the beginner’s basket weaving course with Wassledine. I had an amazing day that far exceeded expectations. I came away with a basket that I was proud of and felt so happy and relaxed after spending time in the woods. There’s something magical about woods! Jane, Guy and Ed are such lovely people that made us feel so welcome and ensured we had a plentiful supply of hot drinks and Jane’s delicious cake.
Training day
Make a willow obelisk plant support
Saturday 27 April 2019
Guy demonstrates a paired weave rising up a willow obelisk
A day session to learn how to make a simple obelisk shaped support for your garden from willow.
We make lots of obelisk plant supports from willow each year. They are great for growing sweet peas or any other climbing plant and are relatively easy to make. In the day, you will create something to take away and use in your own garden. We’ll also spend a little time talking about willow – choosing, sorting and selecting.
Adding finishing touches to an obelisk made using contorted willow
The course will take place in our beautiful working, hazel woodland, Bottoms’ Corner; you’ll enjoy just being there all day.
It will require a large amount of bending and kneeling. Please bring secateurs and a pair of loppers if you have some, and perhaps something to kneel on. You will also need to have a reasonable sized car to carry your creation home – we will make sure you make one small enough to fit!
This day will be led by Guy Lambourne of Wassledine who has made many, many obelisks over the years and run one or two of these training days
every year for the last few years.
Cost – £65 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Feedback from past participants…
“All fantastic” “Not at all what I thought it would be” “Beautiful [venue]” “Thank you so much for such a wonderful day. I can’t believe what you helped me to achieve. I can’t wait to put the obelisk in my garden” “Delicious lemon cake” “Wonderful place, great teaching [and] cakes” “Of the loo…”private and excellent view. The best wee I’ve had in a long time”. “Really good fun”. “NEver thought I’d be able to do it”
Training day
Make a willow hurdle
Sunday 28 April 2019
Making a willow hurdle in Bottoms’ Corner wood
Willow hurdles are beautiful and have many uses around the garden. Learn the basics of making a willow screen and take a fairly small one home with you. Like many weaving projects, it’s easy to grasp but tricky to do well.
This day will be taught by Guy Lambourne of Wassledine. Guy started making willow hurdles well over 10 years ago and sells lots every year.
The day will take place in our beautiful working hazel woodland, Bottoms’ Corner; you’ll enjoy just being there all day. It will require a large amount of bending and kneeling as well as some upper body and finger strength. There’s a walk of about 300m from the car park to the venue although we can provide a lift for anyone who needs it. Please contact us if you are concerned about your physical ability to enjoy the day; we will do as much as we can to make it possible. Please bring secateurs and a pair of loppers if you have some and perhaps something to kneel on. You will also need to have a reasonable sized car to carry your creation home – we will make sure you make one small enough to fit!
Cost – £80 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Training day
Make a willow ball
Sunday 5 May 2019
Join us at Wassledine to make a beautiful ball from nothing but willow
We’ve been making willow balls for several years and they always prove popular, especially with gardeners who buy them to use as a focal point, perhaps to train plants through or even to hang from trees.
You’ll make a ball of about 12-18 inches diameter, entirely from some of our finest willow. There’s no wire, string or anything else involved. You’ll need a fair amount of persistence though and a bit of strength in your hands!
Ball makers – pleased with themselves!
The day will be led by Guy Lambourne of Wassledine, who has been making willow balls for over 10 years and has run several successful ball-making days.
The day will take place in our beautiful working, hazel woodland, Bottoms’ Corner; you’ll enjoy just being there all day. There’s a walk of about 300m from the car park to the venue. We can provide a lift for anyone who needs it. Please contact us if you are concerned about your physical ability to enjoy the day; we will do as much as we can to make it possible. Please bring secateurs and a pair of loppers if you have some.
Cost – £70 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Feedback from past participants…
“Took longer than I imagined” “Love the tranquil setting” “Delicious cakes” “Fabulous venue” “Informal and informative” “Great fun and we all achieved something” “I’ve eaten too much cake!” “Fantastic day, really enjoyable, thank you” “scary prospect but really fine with brilliant view!” [on the composting toilet]
Training day
Basket making for beginners
Saturday 11 May 2019
Tricky but so satisfying – make your own round basket from Wassledine’s willow
During this day you will enjoy an introduction to working with willow and getting to grips with making your own round basket to take home. Participants with some experience will be able to try some different techniques.
We’ll also include information about willow – selecting, sorting and soaking – the kind of stuff every budding basket maker needs to know.
Course tutor – Ed Burnett
The course will be led by local craftsman Ed Burnett. Ed worked for many years in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire managing country parks and woodlands and is now a full time green woodworker, carver and basket maker. He enjoys making functional, beautiful things and knowing about where the materials come from, particularly sourcing timber and willow from Bedfordshire.
Cost – £70 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Feedback from past participants…
“Beautiful location, friendly people” “I had a lovely relaxing day and have something to show at the end of it. Thank you” “Thank you so much for a really enjoyable day. Would love to do more” “Lovely, clear and calm [teaching style]” “Love the alfresco loo”
“I attended the beginners basket weaving course with Wassledine. I had an amazing day that far exceeded expectations. I came away with a basket, that I was proud of and felt so happy and relaxed after spending time in the woods. There’s something magical about woods! Jane, Guy and Ed are such lovely people that made us feel so welcome and ensured we had a plentiful supply of hot drinks and janes delicious cake.”
“Informative but in a laid back style that immediately put us all at ease. I can not recommend their courses enough and I certainly want to attend some more.”
Special event
Storytelling in the woods
Friday 31 May 2019
A walk full of stories to a secret glade for a woodland tea party.
Bottoms’ Corner is unlocking its gate to welcome you to this special event. The event provides the opportunity to walk off the beaten track and enjoy a beautiful woodland setting not usually open to the public. This is a guided walk with a difference. As the walk makes its way deeper into the woods you will be entertained with stories, find out about the trees and the characters that make the wood their home. Meet Jack in a tale, maybe a mouse, watch out for a wolf…there are many stories that hide in the woods and are waiting to be told. Woodland themed refreshments will be served in the secret glade.
The event is aimed at adults and children over 5 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Booking and payment in advance are essential.
Cost per person £7.50 (child or adult). This includes hot or cold drinks and homemade cake or cookies.
Training day
Spoon Carving with Ed Burnett
Saturday 15 June 2019
Using shave horse and draw knife to start the process of making a spoon
At the end of this one, you’ll head home relaxed, replete and ready to use a spoon and perhaps a spatula you’ve made yourself from hazel, cherry, ash, maple, willow or birch cut from our woods.
This is an opportunity to use some unusual tools – shavehorse, drawknife, gouges… ..it’s a really absorbing thing to do and makes a connection between wood and the trees that produce that most wonderful of natural materials.
Course tutor
The course will be led by local wood carver and craftsman Ed Burnett. Ed worked for many years in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire managing country parks and woodlands and is now a full time green woodworker, carver and basket maker.
Cost – £65 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Training day
Make a stool
Sunday 14 July 2019
The results of a day’s stool making – excellent!
There’s something really special about using a piece of furniture that you’ve made yourself, even if it’s only a small, simple thing. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it every day for many years to come. A three-legged stool is an excellent first green woodwork project – simple yet satisfying and perfectly doable in a day. So join us and expert craftsman and teacher, Ed Burnett, to explore the wonders of selecting wood, cleaving, shaving, drilling…
Green wood is the most wonderful material to work with; soft, yielding and beautiful. This Day in the Woods requires no experience of woodworking at all. It’s just fine if you’ve never picked up a saw before or if for you the froe’s secrets remain to be explored. If you missed out on woodwork at school or whittling in the woods and feel intimidated by gouges, chisels and mallets, this day could be for you.
You will need to be fairly mobile and have some upper body strength. If in doubt, please contact us in advance; we will do all we can to ensure you are able to take part in and enjoy the day. Of course if you came to the shave horse making weekend last year, bring the result with you.
Course tutor – Ed Burnett
Ed talks about wood for stool seats
The course will be led by local craftsman Ed Burnett. Ed worked for many years in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire managing country parks and woodlands and is now a full time green woodworker, carver and basket maker. He enjoys making functional, beautiful things and knowing about where the materials come from, particularly sourcing timber and willow from Bedfordshire.
Cost – £75 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Participant’s comments – Hi Jane & Guy, We very much enjoyed the course & thank you for the cake Jane, it was delicious!
Training day
Make a pole lathe
Sunday 8 September 2019
The archetypal green woodworking device, a pole lathe will enable you to turn fresh wood quietly and without power (other than that in your leg muscles). This is a day for anyone wishing to own their own pole lathe and we intend to make this a flat pack construction, so by lunchtime you will have something to have a go with.
Further details to follow. If you are interested, please let us know now.
Training day
Basket making for beginners
Sunday 15 September
Details to follow
Sorry you missed these courses but let us know if you’d like to get involved in a future day – they will be repeated
Storytelling in the woods
Date to be arranged – 2019
A sense of wonder needs to be part of every wildlife session with children (and adults). The natural world provides countless amazing and wonderful factual and scientific stories, but there’s room for imagination too.
This day is designed for anyone who works with children in an outdoor setting and/or would like to take the first steps towards telling a story themselves. Whether you are helping children discover their local wildlife or working to develop speaking, listening and creative writing skills with young people, this course is for you.
It’s a fun day that’s packed with activities to send you home with a head full of ideas.
Course tutor – Jane Lambourne of Wassledine. To find out more about Jane and her storytelling experience, click here or take a look at her storytelling pages
Cost – £65 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Feedback from past participants…
“Supportive/encouraging. Lovely place/opportunity to discuss points and listen to each other. Thank you.” “I want to do more course like this” “I would love to see more folk telling stories”
Write in the Woods
Date to be arranged
A day combining history and crafts to create everything you need to write your own woodland story. Discover the history of writing and learn how to make a quill and ink, woodblock pages and natural cordage to bind it all together. Many of the raw ingredients will have come straight from the wood.
Led by Richard Tyson (history enthusiast and environmental educator) with some help from Guy Lambourne of Wassledine.
Richard says “I have been working in environmental and museum education for 20 years, but my love of history and the outdoors goes back to my childhood. Tie this together with my love of books, and I guess ‘Write in the Woods’ was inevitable”.
Cost – £65 (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Make a Shave Horse
Date to be arranged
A herd of shave horses made on Wassledine’s Day in the Woods during May 2017
For those of you who are beginning to get into green woodworking, a shave horse is one of the first devices you’ll need and although they can be bought, there’s nothing quite like using one you made yourself. This course will cover the selection and sourcing of materials, instruction on how to construct your very own shave horse and tuition on how to use it. All tools and materials will be provided and no previous wood working skills are required.
The course also provides the opportunity to escape to the woods for a weekend.
Course tutor – Ed Burnett
The course will be led by local craftsman Ed Burnett. Ed worked for many years in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire managing country parks and woodlands and is now a full time green woodworker, carver and basket maker. He enjoys making functional, beautiful things and knowing about where the materials come from, particularly sourcing timber and willow from Bedfordshire.
Cost – tbc
Withie workshop
(Date to be arranged)
Working with withies or willow stems, is fascinating, relaxing and can produce some lovely results. This is a day for anyone who would love to dabble with willow work – we’ll be making a variety of small, beautiful things – mini-hurdles, whorls, flowers, fish…
As well as being something you’ll enjoy, just for its own sake, working with willow can be great for professionals and volunteers working with groups of people and looking for different ways to engage their interest and develop concentration, manual dexterity and a feeling of achievement.
Course tutor
Jane Lambourne of Wassledine will lead this day. For nearly twenty years, Jane has worked with groups of people, most often children, telling stories and using all manner of crafts, particularly in countryside and environmental settings. She has been collecting these willow projects since 2003 when we started growing willow ourselves.
Price – £TBC (includes course fee, all materials, tea, coffee, fruit and cake)
Willow wreaths for Christmas
November, 2019
Willow is a fabulous material with which to create a chic wreath or indeed a very gaudy one!
At the workshops, Guy will demonstrate how to create and decorate a beautiful wreath, using willow grown here in Gravenhurst, Beds, and lots of natural and some artificial materials.
Making wreaths for Christmas – have fun producing something very decorative
