Courses

Bow Making

Take a single piece of wood and transform it into a flat bow using historical designs, then shoot your own hand-crafted arrows on this 4 day course.

On this course you'll:

Find out about the history of the flat bow going back 11,000 years
Split the rounds of ash from a felled tree
Use wood axes, draw knives and spoke shaves to carve the wood
Learn how to use the tiller to create the arc of the bow
Prepare and construct the string from dacron
Harvest and make arrows from hazel branches
Get lots of target practice!

This course is physically demanding but, rest assured, walking away with your very own bow which will bend and reform over and over again is worth all the blood, sweat and tears!

This is a fully catered course and people can camp or stay in one of our glamping bell tents. Details here.

Feedback

Bows and arrows

My wife and I attended the Bow making course in September. I had previously enjoyed knife making at the Forge and the bow course was excellent, as expected. Jamie and Fergus are superb instructors, the number of participants (6) was just right and the tools and facilities were first rate. The four day duration meant that the process was not rushed as it requires plenty of patience to get the bow well balanced and well sprung. The course was completed by the production of strings and hazel arrows. I came away with sufficient skill to make an additional bow at home using a length of surplus ash from the course. The only tools required for that were carving axe, draw blade, spoke shave and a makeshift tiller.

Food and accommodation matched the quality of the course and the social aspect in the evenings added to a great experience.

Robin, Scotland
(Bow Making)