Athelstane Forge

A very fun time, in 5 hours we made a bottle opener and fire poker from scratch. I think good value for money - we started at 10 and kept going right through the day and Sandy very kindly let us run on an extra 40 minutes so we could finish properly. Highly recommend! Quite a workout though so have a big breakfast!

It was a really fun half day and well worth the money! I'm not a very strong woman so I had to ask for a bunch of lighter tools (I wish I did it at very start) but Sandy was fab and readily provided everything. Maybe bring some snacks and water to take a wee break in the middle, it's tiring work but super fun!

Our class with Alex was entertaining and a lot of fun. He took the time to teach us all his techniques, shared lots of stories and metaphors and allowed us to create bracelets because we were not able to bring the fire poker. We definitely recommend this class to anyone who would like to try blacksmithing.

A great day out. Learned some new skills with a couple of nice class mates.

My husband had a fantastic time. He and Sandy hit it off and he came away with some new knowledge, a giant smile, and his own handmade hammer. Can’t say enough positive things about this class. Would definitely recommend

My two friends and I had a fantastic day at Athelstaneforge with Sandy. The time just flew by as we learned about the forging process. There was an excellent mix of instruction and hands on experience, and we would all recommend this option for a thoroughly enjoyable and very different day out.

I had a great time. The teacher is a working blacksmith who had ongoing projects in the workshop and who was happy to talk about the tools of the trade and answer any questions. Safety was clearly covered and very good instructions and individual support was given while making the two pieces on the beginners course. We were even shown how to safely use the blowtorch and bam bam the very large machine in the corner.

Great experience, good laugh and now have a true appreciation of the art of blacksmithery. We will be back X

A huge thanks to Sandy for our intro to Blacksmithing!
My son (12 years old) and I had a fantastic day learning how to heat, bend and fashion metal into beautiful and useful objects!
Sandy was quite simply a brilliant teacher and was particularly great with my son who has come away from the experience inspired and hungry for more!
We’ll be back and I couldn’t recommend the day highly enough!
Thanks again Sandy,
David and James

A great experience with lots of great guidance and assistance from our instructor. It was even better than I thought it would be and I would absolutely suggest it to anybody interested!

Amazing experience, Sandy is an amazing teacher and has a huge depth of knowledge. This is something I’ve been wanting to try for along time and he definitely didn’t disappoint. Manage to make a bottle open and a fire poker which will last a lifetime!

Sandy taught perfectly well, and there was no rush at all. The best thing, to be honest, was that he provided theoretical and practical demonstrations to make sure everything is clear. I am looking forward to attending more sessions.

Thank you for your time, Sandy.

Sandy was amazing and put so much planning into setting up the class for our group. We had seven people there for a stag/bachelor party, and he made sure that there were plenty of work stations, safety gear, and materials laid out for each person. He even provided snacks! What I was most impressed by was that Sandy tailored the class to the group. He scaled to a larger group--bringing in another instructor, Connor, to help out, plus setting up three anvils and two furnaces so someone could always be working their metal. He also picked a project for us that we could do in one session (we made bottle openers!). However, I know he can also do more in-depth workshops with slightly more complex projects for smaller groups. Both Sandy and Connor were really nice and fun, and we had a blast! None of us had any experience with blacksmithing, and it was so awesome to try out a new skill. Thank you Sandy!

I had a fantastic experience at Athelstane Forge making a hammer. Sandy's a great teacher loads of knowledge to share. Great workshop. Loved making the hammer from start to finish from using small hammer to start making the hole for the shaft to using the power hammer to making the hammer faces and using the sledge hammer for make the final hole for the shaft to fit in and making the hammer handle. Can't wait to go back and make something else

Sandy was great fun and obviously knew his stuff explained and demonstrated brilliantly. A fantastic experience.

Instructor Sandy very knowledgable and genuine nice guy, took time to explain everything well and make sure I knew what I was doing before letting me loose, made suggestions on how to improve techniques while making a bottle opener and fire poker, thoroughly enjoyed this first course and looking forward to the advanced course in three weeks

If you fancy a go at blacksmithing as I have for years then I can thoroughly recommend this course I went home buzzing from this course and I am a highly skilled multi trained engineer from heavy industry background for over 30 years

After thinking i had turned up at offices, I was lucky to bump into Sandy, who walked me to his unit. Brilliant set up. Sandy was a fantastic, patient teacher and an all round good guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My only complaint being, the time flew by too fast. I'll be back.

A lesson that is definitely worth it. Sandy was experienced and a great teacher, giving great feedback and advice. From using the different hammers to using the power hammer to create the different pieces, it was a great experience.
Would highly recommend.

The experience and the teacher (Sandy) were above and beyond what I expected.
Went with a friend for a day out and didn’t know what to expect but everything was really straightforward and well managed. I didn’t need to bring anything and everything was provided safety-wise and I felt safe throughout. Instructions were clear and easy to follow and it was a lot of fun with a bit of competition. Ultimately I’ll go back, it’s an expensive day out but it was the right choice and a good one. Would make a good gift.

Athelstaneforge was a brilliant experience! The venue was easy to find and plenty of parking (even for our campervan!)

Firstly, great communication before booking, I was able to book myself and my husband onto the Saturday experience quick and easily. We started at 10am and straight away (after a quick safety briefing!) we were into making our own bottle opener each. We were taught how to manipulate the hot metal to shape it to our needs for our project. Once the bottle opener was complete, we had a break (cookies were provided!) and then moved onto creating our own items. I chose a hanging basket bracket and my husband, a branding tool. Had never tried anything like this before and it was a lot of fun and super proud of what we made!

A great course. Sandy is an excellent teacher. Lots of hands on time and happy for you to make your own mistakes. I learned a heck of a lot about blacksmithing and just how skilled a job it is. Great fun and I would certainly recommend Sandy's course.

Fantastic lesson! The teach was amazing, allowed up to be hands on, make mistakes (but then he could fix them!) so got to learn how to use everything and make 2 of our very one-of a kind items.
Really great value for the time the teacher puts in, the length of the session and the amount of different tools, (including the power hammer!)
Would highly recommend.

Fantastic few hours spent learning how to shape a basic piece of metal into something useful. Sandy is a fantastic teacher, covering all aspects of safety, techniques and explaining just how metal “works”. He pitched the level of instruction perfectly and I could have happily spent a lot longer there just learning stuff. The day is run at your own pace and nothing was too much trouble for Sandy. I’d also recommend that you treat yourself to one of his fantastically tactile workshop hammers!

Amazing class, Sandy was such a good teacher and let me do so much. It was a wonderful fun day and I went home with some amazing pieces. Would highly recommend to anyone who likes to make useful beautiful things.