About

Here in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), traditional skills such as dry stone walling, hedgelaying and woodland coppicing have played an important role in moulding the distinctive and unique landscape that we see around us today. Unfortunately, the significant change in land management practices over the past century has resulted in many of these features being left neglected and falling into disrepair.

The Cotswolds Rural Skills website aims to promote rural skills and crafts courses run in the Cotswolds by community groups, organisations, charities and colleges. This is in addition to those courses run by the Cotswolds Conservation Board. If you are interested in advertising your rural skills course on this website either complete the advertise your course here form or contact our Rural Skills Officer David Molloy.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board runs an annual programme of training courses aimed at teaching people the methods and techniques involved in traditional Cotswold skills and crafts. Now in our 8th year of running this programme, we are able to offer a wide range of enjoyable, practical courses from which trainees can leave with new found skills and the knowledge that they have helped to conserve one of the country's most important landscapes.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board is the organisation that exists to conserve and enhance the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Established in 2004, the Board is the only organisation to look after the AONB as a whole and is a statutory body created as a result of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW) 2000. For further information on the Cotswolds Conservation Board please visit our main website www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk.