Charcoal Making Weekend

Step Back In Time To The Woodlands of Our Past

15th & 16th August 2026

£220 per person.

Includes cooked breakfast rolls & evening wild game dinner.

(please bring your own packed lunch & snacks)

Suitable for children with parents

Please ask for child discount.

Arrival Day 1 - 0930

Depart Day 2 - 1600

Experience a unique weekend of fire, forest living, and hands-on heritage skills. Join us for an immersive woodland adventure where history, craftsmanship, and the great outdoors come together.

This is a practical, engaging experience for individuals, couples, families, and groups of all ages who love being outside and learning traditional skills in a relaxed, supportive environment.

A Living History of Charcoal

Humans have been making charcoal since Paleolithic times. Around 30,000 years ago it was used as a drawing pigment for cave paintings. Over the centuries, charcoal became essential for smelting copper and producing bronze tools (c. 2500–800 BC), and later for iron production.

In more modern history, charcoal powered industry and even found its way into everyday life through Henry Ford’s charcoal BBQ briquettes. Today, it plays a role in cutting-edge applications such as energy storage, carbon capture, and high-tech filtration systems.

Despite these changes, the fundamentals remain the same: wood, fire, time, and skilled hands.

Woodland Heritage in Shropshire

Charcoal making is deeply rooted in Shropshire’s history. The Clee Hills and the Ironbridge Gorge were once alive with woodland workers supplying charcoal to local industries. At Spirited Adventure, you’ll step into the world of the traditional collier — people who lived in the woods for weeks or months at a time, tending fires day and night to maintain a steady supply of charcoal.

This weekend invites you to experience that way of life, safely and comfortably, with expert guidance. Meet Chris from The Rustic Coppice Company, he's a woodland worker based in Hampshire. He's been in the forestry industry making charcoal for over 20 years, with a passion for top quality British charcoal. He has support from his young family who often spend long days and nights in the woods with him. For Chris it's very important to pass on these skills to the next generation of charcoal makers.

What You’ll Experience

Under the guidance of our experienced instructors, you will:

Live in the woods

Learn how to set up a simple woodland shelter

using tarps to stay warm and dry, and spend the night under the stars.

Master fire skills,

Build, ignite, and manage fires safely.

Use your fire to cook a wild-inspired feast, including campfire bread.

Use traditional woodland tools

Learn how to safely use axes and splitting mauls,

essential skills for historical charcoal burners.

Make real charcoal

Stack and load kilns using the wood you have processed.

Produce high-quality charcoal that you can take home with you.

Practice sustainable green woodworking

Cut green wood responsibly and carve camp tools such as

spatulas and feather sticks using bow saws and whittling knives.

Create artist’s charcoal

Make your own drawing charcoal from green Hazel

and Hawthorn twigs using traditional firing techniques.

 What we provide

All tools and equipment for the activities.

Tarps and shelters.

An evening wild game meat meal. Wood pigeon, vegetables and gravy.

Cooked breakfast rolls, bacon, egg & sausage.

*If you have dietary/allergy requirements let us know.

Hot & cold refreshments.

Composting Toilet.

Weather protected communal Fire pit, kitchen & instruction area. 

What you need to Bring

Outdoor clothing and footwear.

Work/garden gloves.

Sleeping kit. - Sleeping bag, pillow, & mat. 

Packed lunches for 2 meals plus any other snacks.

Torch & wash kit.

Anything else that you feel you need for a comfortable overnight stay in the woods.

A Weekend to Remember

This is more than a course — it’s a step back in time, a chance to slow down, reconnect with nature, and learn skills that humans have relied on for thousands of years.

Come for the fire, stay for the stories, and leave with practical skills, handmade charcoal, and memories forged in the woods.

If these dates don't suit let us know

We will plan more for you!

Bespoke Bookings and Details

All you need to do is contact Spirited Adventure

and we'll call you back and arrange your Adventure with you