Wood Fair

The sun shone on the third National Forest Wood Fair and 3,000 people enjoyed one of the best days of the summer, in a beautiful setting under blue skies and billowing clouds.

Below the craggy summit of Leicestershire’s Beacon Hill Country Park, the field was packed with around 80 stands and exhibitors. If you wanted to see ancient woodcraft skills or the very latest in timber technology this was the place for you. Whole tree trunks were turned to logs in a matter of seconds, while elsewhere on site a chair leg was being ‘turned’ with dextrous care and precision on a pole lathe. You could watch the finest chisels being used to shape a decorative chair back or marvel at the skill of a chainsaw sculptor enticing a dragon to emerge from a stump of yew.

The Wild Man of the Woods left his audience open-mouthed, captivated and enthused by his stories of the natural world and how we can all do our bit to look after the environment: "Listen to the man with the hedge in his hair!"

A scent of pine wafted from the Potions Club stand as customers made their own bath salts to take home, vigorously pummelling sea salt and pine needles together until the fragrance was released.

Silent, the timber-hauling heavy horse, may have been quiet, but he certainly drew a crowd. The massive Clydesdale was a great attraction as he walked about the field, with his harness jingling and the dull thud of his enormous hooves.

Delicious locally sourced food – breads, bison burgers, and make-your-own-pizzas – were a real treat and the food stands were busy all day.

"This is a brilliant day," commented one visitor from Markfield. "It’s wonderful to see so many wonderful things made from wood. We seem to have forgotten about using it. We think about clever modern technologies, but the skills of the past were really something, and it is great to see so many of them used again today."

There were plenty of activities for youngsters. They could don a special leather gauntlet and feel the weight of an owl perched on their hand, they could try some bushcraft skills; many splashed about in an improvised pond, paddling a coracle from one side to the other, and some made beautiful tree decorations or modelled clay figures of creatures that might live in the woods.

Hugh Williams for the National Forest Company said: "We were delighted to see so many people at The National Forest Wood Fair. They were all very keen to have a good day out, to try lots of the activities on offer and buy woodland products – indeed the number of people carrying away home and garden furniture showed that there was plenty to buy. Many also found out more about The National Forest – why it is here, what happens to the trees and how they as individuals can get involved."

Ernie White, Lead Member for Community Services at Leicestershire County Council said: "The Wood Fair highlights the value and beauty of timber and demonstrates the importance of sustainable woodland management, both locally and globally. It has become a major event at Beacon Hill Country Park and the County Council is delighted to stage the Wood Fair in partnership with the National Forest Company."

N.B. Diary date for next year, National Forest Wood Fair Bank Holiday Monday 25 August