All about Crafty Camping

Guy Mallinson originally trained as a cabinetmaker and has years of experience in working with wood. He has brought his skills home to this very special woodland in west Dorset, where he and his team run courses in all types of practical woodcraft under the parachute canopy of the Woodland Workshop. See ‘Local Activities’ for more information on crafty courses, from carving a spoon to making a totem pole.

Higher Holditch Farm lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Dorset, close to the Jurassic Coast. The wood, formerly derelict, has been maintained by Guy and the team for the past three years. As Guy says, "a well-managed woodland is a perfect sustainable resource."

Green Woodworking

Green woodworking means both green as in 'unseasoned wood' and green as in environmentally preferable to the alternatives. It offers the opportunity to see the whole process from start to finish - from log to end product. Being unseasoned, it is soft and easy to work with hand tools and working this way offers a unique insight into the properties of wood. It also ensures anyone can do it!

The hand craft techniques and the types of wooden equipment we teach and use are both ancient, as well as being dust free and quiet. Guests have use of all the high quality tools required, sharpened prior to each course. Green wood is also affordable and readily available. The scale of the timber that is extracted for the good management of a woodland is too small for economical conversion into planks. The timber that we use would be otherwise destined for the log pile and has little or no commercial value apart from being cut into firewood. However, the species of tree that we use are the beautiful hardwoods that any other cabinetmaker would routinely use in fine furniture.

When using green wood the logs are cleft (split along the grain) rather than sawn and so we are working much more with the nature of the wood. As a result of this cleaving process, the grain runs along the length of the piece whereas a sawn piece of wood will usually have the grain running diagonally across it. This 'cross grain' is a weak point. This means that pieces made using green woodworking techniques are stronger than mass produced counterparts. What's more, because the wood is worked to shape before it dries, there isn't the tension build-up found in the drying of large sawn boards of dry timber. For this reason green woodwork has less tendency to split and crack as it is drying and we explain how to use the drying process to your advantage.

You'll find green woodworking processes relatively straightforward: the basic techniques can be picked up very quickly by everyone - even those with little or no experience, including children. This means that everyone - including complete beginners - goes away from one of our courses with a finished product to be proud of. Having said that, experienced cabinetmakers also gain a great deal of satisfaction and insight from learning about this specialist area of woodworking.

Getting there

Crafty Camping, Higher Holditch Farm, Holditch, Dorset TA20 4NL

On booking you will be sent an arrival pack for a DIY-check-in including map and instructions for settling in, as there may not necessarily be someone around during course times.

Please do not park in the yard at Higher Holditch Farm. The Woodland Workshop & Crafty Camping car park is 20 yards further up Holditch Lane from the entrance to Higher Holditch Farm. You will see a small totem pole with a carved Oscar the Owl at the entrance to the car park (there is no other signage). Having parked, go through the pedestrian gate on the left and follow the grass footpath down to the woods following the owls (please do not drive down the track across the meadow). You will see the tipi, craft workshop parachutes and Crafty Camping tents as you walk down into the woods.

By train

Southwest Trains run hourly services from Waterloo to Axminster. www.southwesttrains.co.uk

Local taxis from the station: Payne's Premier Travel 01297 35895 or try Mat on 07736642738, there are rarely taxis waiting at Axminster station and therefore pre-booking is essential.

By car

If you are using Sat Nav this will (probably) take you to the centre of the hamlet of Holditch, by Manor Farm. From here drive up hill and follow the lane sharp left around 2 cottages. Higher Holditch Farm is about 400 yards on the right hand side. Continue past the entrance to the farm and after 20 yards turn left into the Woodland Workshop car park.

From London/M3

M3, junction 8 onto the A303, exit the A303 onto the A358 (signposted Chard), straight over traffic lights continuing on the A358 signposted Axminster, after 3.5 miles at the end of the village of Tytherleigh turn left into broom lane, which becomes Holditch Lane. Continue through the small hamlet of Holditch, the lane bends sharply left and after about 200 yards you will find Higher Holditch Farm on your Right. If you get to a T junction with Headstock Road you have gone 200 yards too far.

From M5, heading South

Turn off the M5 at Junction 25 onto the A358, staying on the A358 until you come into Chard, then straight over the traffic lights continuing on the A358 signposted Axminster, after 3.5 miles at the end of the village of Tytherleigh turn left into broom lane, which becomes Holditch Lane. Continue through the small hamlet of Holditch, the lane bends sharply left and after about 200 yards you will find Higher Holditch Farm on your Right. If you get to a T junction with Headstock Road you have gone 200 yards too far.

From M5, heading North

Turn Off the M5 at Junction 29 onto the A30 past Exeter airport to Honiton, turning off onto the A35 signposted to Dorchester. Turn left off the A35 onto the B3261 signposted Axminster, at the roundabout turning left onto the A358, continue out of Axminster on the A358 towards Chard. After 1.5 miles turn right into a lane signposted to Waggs plot, go over the railway crossing and then take the 1st left lane, and then bear left until you reach a T junction where you turn right into Holditch. Continue through the small hamlet of Holditch, the lane bends sharply left and after about 200 yards you will find Higher Holditch Farm on your right. If you get to a T junction with Headstock Road you have gone 200 yards too far.

The scenic route from Bridport and Beaminster

(Small lanes although only about 10 miles; allow 20 mins from Beaminster.) From Bridport go north to Beaminster on the B3066, go through Beaminster and turn left at the mini roundabout to Broadwindsor on the B3163. Iin Broadwindsor turn left at the village shop onto the B3164 along the rim of the marshwoodvale (you can see the sea to your left on a clear day). At the crossroads go straight over, signposted to Thorncombe, on the B3165. At the next crossroads turn left, signposted Holditch. Keep bearing right at both of the next two junctions, past the red sign to Hewood and turning left into Holditch Lane towards Holditch. Higher Holditch Farm is on your left 200 yards after the left turn.

If you are getting to Crafty Camping by train, bus or any other non-car means you can think of be sure to take a photo and enter our Go Greenly competition to win a 4 night stay at The Wagon or The Ark.

Things to do

2012 Course dates for The Woodland Workshop

Please be aware that on course days, the communal kitchen will be taken up with catering to those on the course and unavailable to campers. The camping areas themselves are cordoned off and will remain private.

April 23 - 27 Chair making

May 3 & 4 Bowl carving

May 10 & 11 pole lathe turning

May 26 - Jun 10 - Dorset Arts Weeks, Woodland Workshop. People will be coming and going and relaxing by the pond from 10am - 5pm on these days.

June 11 & 12 Bowl carving

June 18-22 Chair making

June 28 & 29 pole lathe turning

Sept 6 & 7 Totem pole carving

Sept 10 - 14 Chair making

Sept 20 & 21 Pole lathe turning

Sept 27 & 28 Bowl carving

Oct 4 & 5 Spoon carving

More information is available here.

Also in 2012, if you hadn't noticed, the Olympics is coming! Weymouth, just an hour from Crafty Camping, is hosting the Paralympic and Olympic sailing events from 29th August to 9th September and 27th July to 12th August respectively.

Eating & drinking

Eating & Drinking at Crafty Camping

With just a few provisions in your haversack, you can eat like kings at Crafty Camping.

There's a generous cupboardful of Clipper Teas and Dorset Cereals for you to help yourselves - great for breakfast, or pop into the Woodland Kitchen at any time of day for a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate. All you need bring is a pint of milk.

Each space has a fire pit and barbecue for outdoor cooking experiments, and the Woodland Kitchen's local charcoal fueled clay pizza oven can't be beaten. Mmm, fresh pizza...

You can fish for dinner (if you have a rod and license) in the lake, which is stocked with rainbow trout. Bring a lemon and some fresh herbs, and tether a bottle of white in the water to chill while you rustle up a fireside feast. There is no shop on site, but you can pick up the aforementioned provisions at the local Thorncombe Village Shop, just 2 miles away, which sells local produce, with a small deli counter.

Tatworth Spar and Post office, 2.7 miles away, open 7 days a week: 7am - 9pm (8am-9pm Sundays).

The River Cottage Canteen & Deli in Axminster is popular, and there are various supermarkets in Chard, Axminster, Lyme Regis and Bridport. Bridport also has an excellent street market every Wednesday and Saturday.

Pubs & restaurants

George Inn, Chardstock, 3 miles

Old Inn at Hawkchurch, 3 miles by road, 1.5 mile walk across fields

The Bull Hotel, Bridport

These famous restaurants almost always have to be pre-booked:

Hix Oyster & Fish House, Lyme Regis 01297 446910 Famous for its excellent British seafood, this small yet very well-known restaurant overlooks Lyme Regis harbour and is a must for the local Dorset crab.

River Cottage Canteen, Axminster 01297 631862 Showcasing the best of the South West, all food and drink served is local and organic, reflecting founder Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's commitment to seriously good, honest food.

Wild Garlic (Mat Follas, winner of ‘Masterchef’) Beaminster 01308 861 446 Local, seasonal and foraged produce are at the wild heart of this restaurant, which has been rewarded with a bushel of awards.

All about Crafty Camping

Guy Mallinson originally trained as a cabinetmaker and has years of experience in working with wood. He has brought his skills home to this very special woodland in west Dorset, where he and his team run courses in all types of practical woodcraft under the parachute canopy of the Woodland Workshop. See ‘Local Activities’ for more information on crafty courses, from carving a spoon to making a totem pole.

Higher Holditch Farm lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Dorset, close to the Jurassic Coast. The wood, formerly derelict, has been maintained by Guy and the team for the past three years. As Guy says, "a well-managed woodland is a perfect sustainable resource."

Green Woodworking

Green woodworking means both green as in 'unseasoned wood' and green as in environmentally preferable to the alternatives. It offers the opportunity to see the whole process from start to finish - from log to end product. Being unseasoned, it is soft and easy to work with hand tools and working this way offers a unique insight into the properties of wood. It also ensures anyone can do it!

The hand craft techniques and the types of wooden equipment we teach and use are both ancient, as well as being dust free and quiet. Guests have use of all the high quality tools required, sharpened prior to each course. Green wood is also affordable and readily available. The scale of the timber that is extracted for the good management of a woodland is too small for economical conversion into planks. The timber that we use would be otherwise destined for the log pile and has little or no commercial value apart from being cut into firewood. However, the species of tree that we use are the beautiful hardwoods that any other cabinetmaker would routinely use in fine furniture.

When using green wood the logs are cleft (split along the grain) rather than sawn and so we are working much more with the nature of the wood. As a result of this cleaving process, the grain runs along the length of the piece whereas a sawn piece of wood will usually have the grain running diagonally across it. This 'cross grain' is a weak point. This means that pieces made using green woodworking techniques are stronger than mass produced counterparts. What's more, because the wood is worked to shape before it dries, there isn't the tension build-up found in the drying of large sawn boards of dry timber. For this reason green woodwork has less tendency to split and crack as it is drying and we explain how to use the drying process to your advantage.

You'll find green woodworking processes relatively straightforward: the basic techniques can be picked up very quickly by everyone - even those with little or no experience, including children. This means that everyone - including complete beginners - goes away from one of our courses with a finished product to be proud of. Having said that, experienced cabinetmakers also gain a great deal of satisfaction and insight from learning about this specialist area of woodworking.