We are delighted to welcome back Dan Bendel for this full day workshop where you will learn how to whittle a sculptural figure or head with a knife from a single piece of wood.
Dan will show you the basics of whittling with a sharp whittling knife. He will show you the techniques to help you make a whittled figure or Head and enough skills to continue whittling at home.
Format for the day:
First an introduction to the basics and safety. Then everyone will have a go at  the main whittling cuts on scrap pieces of wood. Which include Parring cut, notch cut and the Hinge cut. Dan will demonstrate these techniques.
Once everyone’s had a try we will look at the different woods and approaches to visualising a 3D whittling/carving, using Paper, Plasticine and other woodcarving at inspiration.
Then you will make and whittle your carving or sculpture. Dan will be there to guide you through the process every step of the way with lots of demos along the way.
Dan will have some pre-made templates as well, including animals and figures.

All materials will be provided but feel free to bring your own piece if wood if you have a specific one you would like to work with. We recommend participants to wear sturdy boots and rough clothes.

Tea & coffee will be provided but please bring a packed lunch.

Free parking is available at the barn.

The primary purpose of this event is to raise money for WMBT and to support conservation, management, maintenance and improvement of the WMBT site.

Come and learn how to graft apple trees on this course under the tuition of Tim Andrews, owner of Orchard Revival.

About your tutor:
Tim is a commercial cider maker and orchard specialist. He has over 20 years teaching experience and has featured on Gardeners World and Countryfile for his work on orchards.

Grafting is the process of propagating new trees. You take the scion wood which is a shoot from the apple tree that you wish to propagate, and then fuse it to a rootstock. The rootstock is the stem of another tree which has been selected for control of size of the new tree. This way you can clone fruit varieties, guaranteeing that you end up with the same apple as on the original tree. 

You will learn why we graft, how to graft and put these skills into practice by forming at least three grafts that you can take away at the end of the day.

Tim will provide a range of root stocks, both apple and pear, for grafting. If you have a favourite that you wish to propagate, then bring your own wood to graft. 

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided throughout the workshop.  

What to bring:
Please bring your own lunch and make sure you wear suitable clothing to keep you warm and comfortable (and that may get a little messy) whilst working in the main barn.
Knives, secateurs and scion wood will be supplied as part of the workshop, but you are very welcome to bring your own equipment and scions should you wish.

The primary purpose of this event is to raise money for WMBT and to support conservation, management, maintenance and improvement of the WMBT site.