Sylvankin Reviews 33

Peaceful off grid surroundings. Very knowledgeable and friendly people.

A group of us from The Historical Living Company have just spent the weekend at Sylvankin's 2-day axe making workshop, and we had a brilliant time! Frank and Alex expertly guided us through the processes of forging and tempering the axe heads and fitting the handles, so that by the end of the two days we each had made our own functional axes. The woodland location was lovely, with lunch being a very tasty chicken stew cooked over an open fire (vegetarian option available). I found the weekend highly enjoyable, the lads were friendly, encouraging and knowledgeable, and I highly recommend the course. Would love to do another one with them!

Where do I start, from the moment I arrived at the site entrance I knew I was going to have a great experience. Alex and Frank were very welcoming and I like their backwoods approach of simplicity. Every thing we were going to do was explained very clearly and most importantly the safety aspects to be observed (I spent 20+ years as a freelance HSE instructor). The guys explained and demonstrated every thing very clearly inspiring confidence in us/me when we did our own stuff. I leaned so much especially the forging with Frank so much so I am now considering buying a new forge. Over the years I have fitted many a shaft to hammers from tiny hammers to sledge hammers and all in between as well as all sizes of axes. The way Alex showed us made me understand why I always struggle getting them tight on the shafts.
To sum up my experience I loved it and well worth the cost, would recommend it to every one if you have the opportunity take it you will not be dissappointed.

Friendly instructors with a wealth of knowledge and a natural ability to pass that on to people of all ages and abilities.
The weekend was hard work but great fun and something i would highly recommend.

There were very helpful staffers that both allowed us to make a bow to the specification that I wanted but also taught around the subject giving a brilliant in depth experience. Will be returning if their arrow crafting course gets put up

I had a great time this weekend forging an axe, from start to finish the Sylvankin team were brilliant, a really friendly relaxed experience, a great change of pace which I needed. They made it easy to follow for anyone from semi competent to the complete beginner, the option to camp out on the Saturday night was also great completing a really enjoyable time despite the weather. I look forward to taking part in future activities, highly recommended.

Had a great time forging an axe head and then carving the handle for it to go on. Was well looked after by the guys running the course and excellent hearty stew for lunch. Highly recommended and came away having learned alot.

January 25 I booked a place on their bow making course and was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately on the day there was heavy snowfall and the police were advising that only essential journeys should be made! Because I live 20 miles away from the site I couldn't risk the journey . Because they said the course had gone ahead they could give no refund. I was offered a rescheduled place at a further cost. After some negotiation I was offered a place on an instructor course which I accepted. I am still waiting to hear back when this will be one year later.

The whole experience from start to finish was great at Sylvankin. Really personable and friendly.
Alex and Frank really looked after everyone and made sure we were all getting what was going on and answered loads of questions to keep us all on track.
the end bow for everyone looked class and everyone got to shoot a few arrows with them... all in all a great two days.
I even got to camp on site as part of it and enjoy the peaceful forest with no ones else around in the evening.
10/10 would do again.

Superb quality course. Incredible depth of knowledge from both Alex and Frank. Not only did I learn how to make an excellent flat bow but these two guys even gave me tips for how to disseminate these skills to a class of year tens. Considering they feed and water you, impart their knowledge and experience, as well as walking away with a decent bow, I’d say it is well worth the money. Hopefully catch you again gents.

I attended the Sylvankin axe-forging workshop last weekend and it was absolutely fantastic. Alex and Frank, who led the session, were incredible — knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely passionate about their craft. They created such a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, making the whole experience both accessible and inspiring.

Their guidance was spot-on throughout, balancing safety with the freedom to really get stuck into the process. I learned so much, had a great laugh, and came away with something I’m genuinely proud of. You can tell they care deeply about what they do, and that energy is infectious.

If you’ve ever been curious about blacksmithing, or just want a memorable day doing something completely different, I can’t recommend this workshop enough. Huge thanks to Alex and Frank for an unforgettable experience. I’ll definitely be back!

I booked this for my partner and was watching, it was an absolute amazing experiance to be apart of and even being a bystander, i learnt so much and enjoyed my time with the team. ❤️ would highly reccomened!

Came to celebrate my nieces graduation Plifford made it memorable & the food was amazing x

I payed for my fiancé to do the 2 day axe forging as a Christmas present and what a fantastic weekend we had, I wasn't part of the course but came along to accompany my partner, he had a blast Frank and Alex we're so friendly, accommodating and really knowledgeable and so easy to talk to, I was sat most of the day enjoying the warm fire, chatting with Frank and Alex and the other members of the group, I was made to feel very welcome by everyone, it was a lovely step back into nature it was so peaceful there, my partner truly enjoyed himself during both days he's had a really sense of achievement and is so proud of his creation, lots of ideas flowing around what he'd like to try next, I now need to buy a fire pit and a cast iron pot because that stew was the best, well definitely be back for another go plus to try some of the other activities to, thank you guys for a great weekend

Excellent weekend in the forest learning how to craft a flat bow, lead by extremely accomodating, paitent and, knowlegable hosts, willing to go above and beyond.

A magical time in the woodlands summoning bows from blocky bits of wood! Alex quietly magicked up a marvellous stew while we were all deeply focused on measuring and shaping our weapons, but was always on hand to guide and direct through the subtleties of his instruction. Good course, great teaching and I really enjoyed two days amongst the trees with an interesting set of people I would be unlikely to run into in any other part of my life. A really fab weekend all round - thank you so much!

Recently went on a 2-day bow making course, whilst choosing to camp on-site for the duration. Alex who ran the course provided well structured instruction of techniques to craft our bows, clearly from experience not textbooks, creating a great atmosphere in the workshop.
Frank led me from the main road to the site late on Friday evening, even though it was raining heavily he still gave a proper walk-around to show me the site. The woodland is perfect for back-to-basics camping, a no frills little patch of the wild close to home.
I’m already hunting down decent timber to craft my next bow, and plan to return to experience some more courses here, thanks guys!

I spent the weekend making a longbow. It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this and with good advice from Alex throughout the weekend I came away with a usable longbow with a respectable 44 pound draw weight.
It’s quite physically demanding but well worth the effort.
I would highly recommend this activity.

Had an amazing weekend bow crafting. Genuinely feel like I've come away with the skills to do it again in my own time, and had enough fun I'm definitely going to try!

Both Alex and Frank were so friendly, taking time to make sure we understand what we were doing and helping when needed.

They also go the extra mile, staying behind on Sunday in pitch black darkness to help jack up our car and fix a problem we had from bumping the woodland trail.

Can't forget the shout out for Alex's Stew, amazing lunch for both days.

Overall had a really enjoyable weekend, would definitely go back for the longbow workshop, or maybe a shield or axe.

What can I say, Alex and Frank were excellent tutors.
From the first minute to the last nothing was to much trouble to them.
Their knowledge was very easily passed on to us students.
We all had a good laugh at the same time as learning a very challenging skill. I personally will be very confident in bow making going forward.
Last but not least, the stew was excellent.

Thank you Alex and Frank 👍