"Beautiful location. Excellent instructors" - Alan (Burford, Oxfordshire)

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Welcome to Cotswolds Rural Skills

The Cotswolds Rural Skills website is a one stop shop for training courses and competitions in a wide range of rural skills and crafts throughout the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. By working with local instructors, organisations, community groups and landowners we ensure that these courses are not only informative and practical but also make a noticeable and lasting contribution to the Cotswold landscape. So whether you want to try your hand at blacksmithing, stone carving, rebuild a 200 year old dry stone wall, or have a go at the ancient art of thatching, then one of these courses could be for you! Booking online is easy just click on the course you're interested in, register and pay.

Update: 1st July 2020

We are planning to re-start the Rural Skills programme with a limited number of courses only, from July 2020 onwards.

Our courses will also be restricted to 5 participants only with the instructor, and additional measures in response to Covid-19 will also apply.

These measures include, but are not limited to:

- Covid-19 specific risk assessments, pre-course briefing documents, and safety talks;

- Signage and cones to ensure that participants and instructors keep the required distance from each other;

- Hand sanitation facilities and cleaning stations.

Our courses will be reviewed and finalised on a monthly basis, until the programme is operating at full capacity.

We are prioritising course places for participants who retained their bookings to attend at the earliest manageable date. As our courses were postponed from April 2020 onwards, we are working through these courses in date order, to enable people to attend as soon as we can possibly arrange.

Many thanks for your patience while we set up and allocate course places.

Please email ruralskills@cotswoldsaonb.org.uk or info@cotswoldsaonb.org.uk with any queries.

Upcoming Courses

Pond Flora and Fauna Identification **NEW COURSE**

15th August 2020 - Manor Farm, Sopworth, Wiltshire

A fantastic one day course focusing on basic identification of pond wildlife, particularly plants and invertebrates associated with aquatic habitats, involving a combination of field identification and class-room learning

Stone Carving - Beginners **COURSE CANCELLED**

15th August 2020 - 16th August 2020 - Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd, Stroud GL6 7QW

A fantastic two day course learning the art of stone carving with expert stone carver Sebastian Rasch

Introduction to Scything **NEW LOCATION**

16th August 2020 - Lord of the Manor Hotel, Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire

Practical course that introduces the traditional skill of using a scythe. No prior experience required.

LANTRA Brushcutter/Trimmers - Maintenance and Operation **COURSE CANCELLED**

19th August 2020 - The Inn at Fossebridge, Fossebridge, Gloucestershire

A one day course for those with some experience of using strimmers and brushcutters

Dry Stone Walling - Beginners **COURSE FULL**

29th August 2020 - 30th August 2020 - Woodlands House, Cherington, Gloucestershire, GL8 8SL

Spend two days in the glorious Cotswolds landscape rebuilding a historic dry stone wall.

Green woodworking and Woodlands

30th August 2020 - Hill Farm Barn, Leckhampton Hill

Spend a day learning about the age old craft of green woodworking and its connection with our native woods!