Yule Discount Offer!

In celebration of Yule we've decided to run a 6 day sales event!

Any order, including custom orders, confirmed between now and midnight on the 30th November will automatically be given a 10% discount. If the value of the order is over £100, you'll receive a 20% discount.

So place you custom orders as soon as you can, or have a look through some of the things we already have in stock on our facebook page.

Terms and Conditions: Discounts will only be applied to confirmed orders. Orders are not confirmed until we have received payment. Discount will not be applied to postage charges. 

Looking ahead...be awesome this yule

We're off to Barley in the Pendle Valley, Lancs next weekend for the inaugural Northern Healing Arts Project Craft Fair. It's from 10-4, Sunday the 27th of October.
We've met so many amazingly talented crafters and makers this year I don't think we'll ever have to buy a commercially produced present EVER again. This got us to thinking...
Why is it that we (in general, as consumers) don't mind shelling out our hard earned money on "stuff and things" that aren't made in the UK, then imported and sold in shops that give little or nothing back to the immediate area (ok, I'm generalising MASSIVELY here, but you get the point right ;) ) and yet folk grumble about paying for hand made items from local crafters?
We'd rather get bits for our house from second hand or antique shops, buy our food from local markets and suppliers (places like the butchers in Wark or Bellingham, the street market in Hexham) than go to a big supermarket chain and so on.
This Yule we're definitely not going to be buying the kids' or our family's presents from toys'r'us or Argos - they will all be hand made, either by ourselves or some of our superbly skilled friends.
I know that I'm preaching to the choir here, since you're reading this, but we should start trying to get our friends, families, co-workers and so on to change their spending habits too.
So thinking ahead to Yuletide and into the coming years -
Buy Local, buy Handmade, be awesome.
See you at Barley!

A mad start to Autumn!

Well, where do we begin? Autumn is here and the fruit trees are bending low with bountiful harvest, waiting to be picked! The mushrooms are out and we've spent many an evening wondering about in the forest to see what we can find. The latest tally stands at a gallon of cider on to brew, 5kg of beef stew mushrooms
After the bike crash, resulting in a broken collar bone for Gordon, we've been working away carefully but continuously in the workshop - we've taken several commissions for very specific pieces and, having no doubt pestered our suppliers silly with specifications, we've received all the raw materials they are all well and truly underway! We are aiming to have all the orders completed by this time next week, so don't panic you'll have your horns for Samhain!
We've been up and down the country to trade events and craft fairs galore, met some wonderful people and even done some film work for a documentary on the "real Robyn Hoode" (more to come on that later!)
We've made some great friends in the Viking re-enactment groups and pushed forwards with our own little group of late Anglo-saxon to early Viking rabble! (again, more updates on this in the VERY near future)
Our upcoming events list is bulging with exciting fixtures. We're off to the inaugural Norther Healing Arts Project Halloween Fair, in Barley next weekend. so if you're in the Yorkshire/Lancashire part of the country come along and start your Yuletide shopping off right! Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/154554878046841/ for more details on that.
Straight after Barley we are heading to the wonderful Thirlings Farm at Bede's World, Jarrow, Newcastle. We'll be living on the farm as an anglo-saxon family for the whole of the half-term week with our excellent "Meet the Other Folk" overnight storytelling and music event on the night of Samhain, or Halloween...if you're not already booked to do something brilliant, head over to our events page and get yourself a ticket booked!


In summary, our summer has been manic for many good and one very painful reason! Wyld Fire is one year old this month and we're gearing up for a few changes for the years to come, but I can't tell you about them yet, it's top secret! Watch this space for developments!
See you at Samhain and until then, get out and forage your hearts out, Autumn is here and
ripe for the picking!

Drum Making Weekend

We've just added a Traditional Drum Making Weekend to our line up of events for September. The weekend will be hosted by Crystal Space in Silsden. For more info on the course check out our "Ancient Crafts" page.

Places are limited so please secure your spot with a deposit as soon as possible.

A long overdue update!

Firstly, sorry for the long gap between updates. It is now Gordon's mission to update the blog at least once a week. We will be bringing you another episode of "Going Wyld" very soon as well!
So, has spring finally sprung up here? Yes we know it's pretty much meant to be summer but, Kielder seems to be a few weeks behind the rest of the country. Our Daffodils have only been out for a week or two and the leaves on the trees are just beginning to unfurl. And at the time of writing this, there was a freak and unexpected hail storm...Strange weather north of the wall we can tell you!
It's the perfect time to enjoy Kielder as there are, as of yet, no Midge out and about, the daylight hours are getting longer and it's getting (slightly) warmer, so what are you all waiting for?


We've been busy for a couple of months with work in the woodlands pressing ahead apace. The workshop has had a buzz of urgency about it, with courses and craft items keeping us out of mischief.
We've also had the "first" big camp of the year at Thornborough and what a weekend that was. Plenty of new, proud blowing horn owners, many a person supping mead from their new drinking horn or mugs and we found a new partnership with Mark Barber of Howling Rook woodcrafts. We'll tell you more about him in due course!
We've been snapping away with pictures and videos so make sure to head over for a check on the Facebook page to see them!


Building work is pushing ahead in the woodland with the fire-pit set in and working beautifully. The log store is taking shape and the foot bridges over the wettest ground are beginning to work properly!
We've had a couple of work crews in the woods over the last couple of months and we'd like to say a massive thank you to all those folk who've been up to their knees in mud or getting snowed or rained on just to help us out!


In the workshop we've had a blowing horn making session and a leather bottle making day, tea leaf reading and candle rolling, finger weaving and folklore. We've produced some beautiful blowing horns and branched out into drinking horns and Gordon's new favourite thing - horn tankards. Again have a look on Facebook for pictures of these unusual and interesting items.


We've had our first two "Wyrd Times in the North" folklore events at Kielder castle. Stories, music and good company, in a castle? BRILLIANT times. We're pleased to tell you that the wonderful Nezzie Angel and her harp are to become a (fairly) regular fixture at our events. We can't wait for the next one - "An evening with those who should not be named" fairy tales, real fairy tales. Not the fluffy ones you were told before bed, delve into the world of the true wee folk.

We are in the process of updating the website with new courses and dates for summer and autumn. So keep your eyes pealed!

Also at the time of writing this, we were only seven "likes" away from giving a free place on one of our courses to one of you lovely folk, so tell your friends to drop by and give us a "like", you never know - it could be you in the woods with us!





Big news and brash clearing.

First off we need to tell you, there's been some very exciting news we are now listed on LILI (low impact living initiative) and Great British Bushcraft. We're really chuffed to be listed as a course provider with these brilliant companies. Check out our affiliates link to see what they're all about!

Once more into the beech...

Today dawned overcast, grey and cold. I sat with my morning coffee contemplating the pros and cons of heading out to the woods over going down to the workshop (which has a space heater), I looked out of the window and I realised it was snowing. Not "proper" snow, but little frozen flecks and another point to put into the "cons" column...

Kit Review: Mora Companion Knife



We list this knife in our “recommended kit list” as we feel it is one of the best “starter” knives on the market. It is easy to use and versatile enough that it covers everything from woodwork to skinning. As value for money bushcraft knives go it’s hard to pick fault with the Companion


All Quiet on the Woodland Front


Well it's been a quiet couple of months in the woodlands. The weather has made it all but impossible to get into the trees to do anything but walk! First it was a foot of snow covering the ground, turning buried branches into man traps. Next it was the high water from the melt and rain and now it's gale force winds stopping all but the lightest of felling and clearing work. We've found it frustrating but have really enjoyed the changing face of the woodlands over the festive period.
The centre piece making workshop was a huge success with all attendees going away with a beautiful, unique decoration for their home for christmas! 
So looking ahead into 2013 we've got a load of exciting developments coming your way! New courses, new venues, new events...all will be revealed, in good time mind you!