25 Sep 17'
"My wife paid for a two day course for me with an overnight stay in one of the shepherd huts and hand on heart it's the best birthday present I've ever had, I loved every minute of it.
The first day we covered safety (of course) and basic skills - we made some fire tools which, when I look at them now, I'm still surprised I actually made them - they are better than I can find in the shops.
On day 2 I wanted to make something I've had in mind for a while, a 2ft high piece of decorative steel that I could put up on my garage. Nigel was a constant source of ideas on how best to approach making it and came up with lots of short-cuts for me, even painting it for me at the end of the day as well! When I wanted to try and work it out for myself I had the freedom to do so, and when I needed help Nigel was there to guide me and assist.
I've always wanted to have a go a forging, and now that I have I wish I'd done it years ago - I'm already planning a return trip to develop my skills."