The day will start at 9:00 with a brief safety chat after which you will prepare and light the fire using a flint and steel.  David will then show you around the forge and the tools and equipment that you’ll be using.  On a typical experience day you will start off making a hand forged square rose head nail.  Look carefully at a wooden beam in any old building and you’ll be sure to see this type of nail.  The great thing about making a nail is it will allow you to quickly become familiar with the old anvils, how hard/soft to hit the metal and to become familiar with the forge environment.  Then you'll make other period items, depending on your experience some items can take longer than you think, and remember it is quite physical work so it’s important to pace yourself.

 

Throughout the day there will be plenty of fresh coffee, tea, hot chocolate, snacks and water or juice.  The only thing we can't provide is lunch so you'll need to bring your own, however you are more than welcome to cook your lunch over the forge as we would have done 400 years ago. .

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Although there are no age restrictions, I would recommend a minimum age of 16 purely due to the heavy work involved.