Christmas Wreath Making: Workshop & Fireside in Ancient Woodland

A family-run woodland workshop: using natural materials to decorate a wreath by the fire, then warm up with hot chocolate & mince pies. CHRISTMAS WREATH MAKING: A FAMILY-RUN WORKSHOP IN ANCIENT WOODLAND The light's fading early now. We're opening the woodland for an afternoon outside, built around wellbeing: walking among the trees, making something with your hands while the fire's going. Run by our family from our own patch of ancient woodland, this is a small, personal event. Good company, a fire, and time beneath the trees. We provide foliage for your wreath, using natural and sustainable materials as much as possible. We make the bases ourselves by hand before you arrive, so once you're here, you can focus on the good part: design, decorate and making your unique wreath. The woodland walk, fresh air, the fire pit, and a couple of unhurried hours outdoors — that's as much a part of the day as the wreath you take home. Once the last ribbon's tied, we'll have hot chocolate and mince pies waiting by the fire, so there's nowhere to rush off to. Your wreath is made from real, foraged materials, so it'll last around 2-3 weeks before it softens and fades. That's just what a natural wreath does, and it's part of the appeal. We keep sessions to 10 people, so everyone gets shown things properly, and the woods still feel like yours for the afternoon. The Details • Group size: 10 participants per session • Duration: 2.5 hours • Start time: 12 pm What's Included • A handmade natural wreath base, yours to keep. Bring it back each year and refresh it with new foraged trimmings • Everything else you need to decorate your wreath, some foraged on-site, some brought in • Ribbon and finishing touches • Hot chocolate, marshmallows and mince pies by the fire • If there's enough time, we offer a short guided nature walk after the wreath making Good For: A parent and child, two friends catching up, a small group of 2–3. Built for doing together, not alone. Age suitability: Ages 12+. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. FIND US The woodland sits just outside Woodchurch, very close to the Rare Breeds Centre, easy to reach from across the local area: • Woodchurch: 5 minutes • Tenterden: around 10 minutes • Rye: around 15–20 minutes Google Maps: Southroad Road, Woodchurch, Ashford TN26 3RJ what3words: ///puff.hobbyists.purchaser Sat nav can be unreliable for the final stretch, so we'd recommend using what3words to find the exact entrance rather than relying on a postcode alone. From Woodchurch, head east on the B2067. You'll pass the entrance to the Rare Breeds Centre on your left — keep going for about 230m and pull into the lay-by on your right, in front of the metal gate. On the day, look out for the Walls in the Woods sign by the gate — that's the marker that you've arrived. WHAT TO EXPECT This is a genuine, working ancient woodland — not a visitor centre. Here's what to know before you come. • Stick to the paths: This is ancient woodland, and the ground beneath it is part of what makes it so valuable. Please stay on the marked pathways throughout your visit. • It's a home, not just a venue: This woodland is home to badgers, birds and all sorts of other wildlife. Please be respectful of the space they live in, and keep noise to a minimum where you can. • Toilets: There's a compost toilet on site — no flushing plumbing here, but it does the job. • No running water: There's no running water on site, so bring what you need with you. • Terrain & footwear: Paths can be uneven, so you'll need to be comfortable walking around the woodland. We'd suggest wearing boots or sturdy shoes rather than trainers. • Weather: As an outdoor experience, the workshop is weather-dependent and may need to be cancelled or rescheduled in the event of adverse weather conditions. We will monitor the forecast and notify all participants as soon as possible if any chnages are needed. Your safety and enjoyment are our priority. • Dress: This is an outdoor events so warm clothes are advised. We recommend wearing several layers, a warm coat, hat scarf, gloves and strudy footwear. • Dogs: We're not able to allow dogs on site, largely due to active badger setts across the woodland. • Mobile signal: Signal is typically very poor here — a nice excuse to properly switch off for a few hours, but worth telling anyone expecting to be reachable. • Parking: Parking on site is limited. • Children: All minors under the age of 12 may not attend as the class and equipment will not be suitable for their needs. Under 18s must be accompanied by a paying adult. • What to bring: Boots or sturdy shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, and a bottle of water. We'll provide hot drinks and sweet snacks - so you might want to bring some savoury snacks and cold drinks. • Photos: Feel free to take photos and share your visit — just make sure to tag us at @WallsInTheWoods so we can see it too. Still have questions? Get in touch, and we'll help however we can. OUR STORY Walls in the Woods is a family business — run by Rachel and Lee, Mark and Erin, their two kids (Ellis and Eden). What started as buying a patch of woodland turned into a proper family adventure, and now we're sharing it with others. The woodland itself covers 25 acres of ancient, semi-natural habitat, with three distinct zones ranging from old-growth oak to seasonal ponds. Come spring, the floor turns blue with native bluebells, and the mix of undisturbed ground and ancient trees supports a wide range of wildlife. We were lucky to find a piece of land like this — it's classified as ancient woodland, meaning there's been continuous woodland cover here since at least the 1600s. That matters more than it sounds: the UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, and ancient woodland now covers just 2.5% of the UK's land area. What's left needs looking after. We see ourselves as guardians of this place, and we're committed to improving its habitat over time. WHY WE DO THIS Every experience we run is designed to work with the woodland, not against it. The income it generates goes towards its upkeep and towards increasing the wildlife here, not because we have to say that, but because this is ancient woodland, and it isn't ours to use up. We're guardians of it for as long as we're here, and we'd rather grow slowly and get it right than rush and get it wrong. That means testing every new idea against one simple question: does this help the woodland, or does it just help us? If it's not the first one, we don't do it.