Using just three green woodworking tools you will carve a spoon from a locally grown tree. This course covers axe skills and safe knife grips. Aimed at both complete beginners and those who’ve made spoons before and would like to hone their skills and designs. 

Spoon carving is a meditative search for perfection. You will spend the day carving a fresh piece of locally sourced wood in our outdoor workshop.

We work outdoors in all weathers, please come prepared.

Spoon Carving at Abney Park Cemetery

Natan Bram

We had a really great time at the spoon carving day with Graham. He was really friendly , very patient and helpful, and went with individual needs of the group. The hot drinks were a real bonus on a cold day.

Helena Norval

I found it difficult so good job I didn’t leave it till I’m 80 !! Great experience , great teacher - very patient 

Beth Ingram

Great course from Graham. Really brilliant teacher and nice to be outdoors. Thank you!

augusta mcguinness

I had such a great day with Graham and the other workshop attendees. Having never carved wood before I was a little bit apprehensive but everything was explained really clearly and everyone got the support they needed. I couldn't recommend the course more highly!

Khai Foo

Joanna  Marshall-Casson

A delightful day learning to carve a spoon from poplar wood.  Graham created a genuine and easy atmosphere where we learned new skills and each went home with a lovely spoon. It was a sunny spring day  but I'm sure it's fun in the cold too! Thank you.  

Edward Walker

ema Felix

I had a fantastic day at the wooden spoon carving workshop run by Graham at London Green Wood Carving. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, and Graham’s guidance throughout was great.  He’s clearly knowledgeable, passionate, and engaging. I left feeling inspired and would love to return for another workshop, maybe to try carving a bowl next time. It was also a pleasure meeting Evie, hoping to join one of her courses soon too!


Izzie Lawrence-Watkins

A day very well spent! Very knowledgeable and patient teacher - Thankyou ! Have recommended to friends and will definitely come back to learn more. 

Ben Manning

A wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday!  Graham was a fantastic teacher, giving us expert guidance, but with heaps of space given.  I'm now biased, but I think everyone should have a go at this.  Flowy, mindful process, and you get your very own spoon.  

Benedict Gardner

Annemiek  Smit

We had a great day! We’ve learned a lot of new things. Graham is a calm/funny and skilled teacher. Thanks so much! 

Max Beesley

Absolutely great. Loved it and came away with a great spoon!!

Iris Goldsztajn

Fantastic workshop, clear guidance and a great way to spend a Saturday.

MONICA HEERAN

I was really looking forward to this workshop and it didn't disappoint. A welcoming environment, everything was clearly explained and assistance always at hand. I learned so much, it was safe, fun, informative and rewarding. I highly recommend. Thanks! 

Hayley Sims 

Loved this session. I loved being outside in such a well equipped space and the tutor was so knowledgeable, calm and welcoming.  Looking forward to learning more!

Tom Mason

Great day. Graham was patient and friendly and a very good teacher. We all had a good time and ended up with very serviceable spoons 

brian ritchie

A great fun day. Graham went above and beyond his remit in helping me. A really calm attentive teacher. I can recommend this to anyone.regards Brian

Ella O'Donovan

Amazing! Small class size and instructor was lovely, had a great day.

Jenny Grand

I had a great day learning to carve a spoon!  Would highly recommend this course.  I'm hooked.  

Bethan Mobey

Really fun day, got loads of great tips for how to carve a spoon in great company and a lovely setting

Sarah  Tyndall

I had a great time at the Spoon Carving day. Graham is a really good tutor: clear and calm in his instructions and leaving a lot of time and space to practice the new skills. It’s one of those activities that is fully absorbing and relaxing.

Emma Cantlay

Really loved the spoon carving workshop !! Graham was such a great teacher, would highly recommend :)

Learn how to carve a spoon with an axe and a knife.

Abney Park, South Lodge

Please take note of the **location for the course you are booking**. We run these courses at both our workshops (at Abney Park in Stoke Newington and at Hackney City Farm). It will say on the booking page which venue that particular course is taking place at.

Spend some time together learning safe whittling skills. This workshop is for children and young people (aged 9-18) with an accompanying adult to learn whittling together.

**Please note - Each ticket admits 1 Adult and 1 Child together**\
Each child must be accompanied by an adult who is willing to supervise and work with them at all times. 

Using locally grown green wood we'll practice safe carving knife grips and make wands, wooden knives, marshmallow forks and other small projects.

For families that want to start whittling at home, this is great introduction for both adults and children to learn how to work safely with knives. We recommend that parents join this course so that they can keep their child safe when whittling at home and be confident in their child's abilities to work with knives and wood.

To make our family courses accessible to as many people as possible we have launched a 'Pay it Forward' ticket. This enables you to book a space for your own family whilst making a donation to fund a space for a family on a low income.

*Wood can be used for all manors of things. Mostly, and certainly in that case of London Green Wood, beautiful wood is used to create an array of stunning objects. However, did you know that wet wood, unlike dry wood, could also conduct electricity? That’s what we call versatile!*

This workshop is for children (aged 8-12) with an accompanying adult to learn whittling together. Using locally grown green wood we'll practice safe carving knife grips and make staffs, wands or wooden knifes. 

For families that want to start whittling at home, this is great introduction for both adults and children to learn how to work safely with knives.

* Whittle away to your heart's delight
* Practice your skills and make your own projects at home
* Supervise your child to use a whittling knife at home.

You get to take away all your creations from the day, whatever they may be!

Places book up fast, so book now to ensure a spot!

Abney Park Cemetery

Hackney City Farm

Ruth

Great experience, definitely plan to go back. Lovely activity & lovely location.

Gemma

Fantastic. Lovely surroundings, and nice to do something calming and learn a new skill!

An inspiring afternoon workshop from which we not only took away our wooden creations but sound knowledge of types of wood and safe whittling tips. Getting to work on the  'shaving horse' with a two handled knife was an added bonus.  Great to be outdoors working with our hands - we loved it! Thank you.

Family Whittling Workshop 9yrs+

Kim Slade

It was fantastic! Jo showed us, in stages, what we needed to do and let us get on with it. My son, Harry, loved it because he was able to be really hands on with the tools and you also get to take your piece home with you at the end. I especially loved it and we are now looking forward to our next workshop together with Jo. Highly recommend London Green Wood CIC and Jo for her lovely calm and informative approach.

Grainne McNeill

Both 9 year old Dermot and his grandad loved the session and plan to book another one very soon!

5 stars!

Emily Poole

This was a great workshop, we both really enjoyed it. It was really good to go to a workshop for a parent and child to learn a new skill together. I was hoping for a hand carving course though so we could continue at home after the course, so a little more information about the content before would have been very useful.  We will probably try and book another one in the summer though, the venue was good as was the instruction. 

Vitor

Jessica Neil

We really enjoyed it.  Well organised and in a great location.  It's good to learn something new and have something to take home with you.  My daughter wants to go back and do more.

Jennifer Johnston 

My 10 year old son and I loved this workshop. He was given so much independence to use the tools himself and great guidance to use them safely. He learnt loads and felt really proud of what he achieved. 

Luíza Chandy

This was a great class. Our girls are 10 and 15 years old. and in our class they both got to use the axe, the saw and the shave horse, all taught really well and safely. We came home refreshed after our time outside without screens and enjoyed it so much that we will be booking again sometime next year. 

Alice Toomey

We had a wonderful day, and came away wanting more, so already planning our next session. Thanks so much!

Esther Oxford

My 13-year-old son and I really enjoyed this session at Hackney City Farm. We made a butter knife and a marshmallow toasting fork - sitting by a fire. Jo and her colleague are charming and precise teachers. I highly recommend. 

Julian Madams

The session was well structured and lasted two hours outside under the trees.  We used green wood that had been freshly cut that day. We learned various techniques on knife holding, types of wood, what part of the tree to use to make different utensils, what to do to preserve the wood if you need to pause the project for a while. We worked on a marshmellow stick and a butter spreader. We didn’t finish.
Ben was a great teacher; we had a lot of fun.

Maeve Barclay-Brown

We didn’t really know what to expect but everyone absolutely loved this, a big groan went up from kids and adults alike when the teacher said we only had a few minutes left. The teacher was lovely, endlessly patient and good-natured. We all want to do it again. 

Noah Schenato

Sorry, We missed the lesson because of external event !!!

Vanesa van Vlerken

We had a lovely time whittling. The place is lovely and the person teaching as was super nice. I wish they had a regular weekend course for kids. 

Agi Tsang 

We really enjoyed the class and hope to be back regularly from spring.  The class was well organised, the leading lady ( bad memory to names 🤦‍♀️ Sorry) was very friendly, knowledgable and with positive attitude and approach to kids. We were lucky to have a small class of only 2 families. Thoroughly enjoyable experience.🙏 

Matthew Godfrey

Zach King

Esther was fantastic - really patient and helpful when there was something the kids were finding tricky. Zach was teaching his sister how to whittle yesterday and they were busy with it most of the day!! Thank you - would recommend

Madeleine  Bowyer

Great day out so nice to be whittling in nature in the middle of Hackney what a brilliant group very welcoming and felt safe at all times. Very much look forward to doing another workshop soon. 

john wagener

Me and my daughter really loved the class. thank you so much . we both learnt a lot and the tuition was very relaxed and we got to know the rest of the group a bit as well which was fun. well done. 

I think setting up the seats beforehand would have given us a bit more time to whittle  - then would be 5 stars

Laura Redman

This was a great workshop.  It really inspired my daughter and was fun to do together.  Wish there were more things for kids and families!

Janice Macaulay

Great tutor who gave us a wonderful introduction to whittling. It definitely made me want to do some more courses with them. Lovely location as well. 

ELEANOR RENNIE

We learned so much in our whittling session. I feel confident that we can embark on some home whittling now, having been inspired by what we can create and also how to make safely. Thankyou so much!

Robert Webster-Shaw

Really nice couple of hours, we both learnt some new skills from the very nice teachers. Most importantly my son has gained some safety techniques when using the knife. Very much recommend

Sarah Sim

Kate  Mayer

This was a great family activity, really well organised and paced. Lovely to do something that we all enjoyed equally, and it has inspired my son to keep whittling since the class too!

Weiwei Yang

My husband and I attended one of their Saturday family workshops at Hackney with our two children as absolutely beginners, and it went very well! Dave was very patient and kindly helped everyone working on their chosen project, and we also had the chance to interact with other families. Great experience!

Valentina Mengarelli

My 9 year old son and I attended a 2 hour whittling workshop with Dave and Oliver. We really enjoyed it and have booked to go again. Dave and Oliver were extremely welcoming, friendly, patient and gave a lot of attention to all participants. We both learned a lot and have been practising at home feeling safer and more knowledgeable. Thanks so much. See you again in July.

Cathy Feng

It's a wonderful experience for my son. He enjoyed the course and learn a lot from it. I would highly recommend this course to anyone. 

Conor Doyle

I am 10 years old and I came to the whittling workshop with my Dad. It was brilliant. The staff were really helpful and friendly. Great facilities. Thank you for a really enjoyable afternoon. 

Sarah  Howe

Such an amazing experience.  Lovely instructors, so patient, and they tailored their advice according to the individuals in the group.  Never thought I would find it as enjoyable and relaxing as I did.  An activity to be enjoyed by parents and children together.  Less than 24 hours later, we’ve already ordered a couple of scout knives and can’t wait to get started at home.  Huge thank you to our instructors!

Jana Eggink

Great experience,. Friendly and very patient instructors, having tow of them for only 4 kids was amazing. Thank all!

Elizabeth Kewell

Very good class, great teachers and lovely setting 

Naszra  Poese

Highly recommend Family Whittling Workshop, we had a amazing time.

Tanis Taylor

Wonderful, Dave protected our container through wind and rain and as a teacher engaged with every kid and adult on their level. My precautious kid got to ask every single one of her pedantic questions (which made her feel emboldened and safe) and I got to ask him for a bandaid in private when I cut myself by acting impulsively and not listening to what he wear saying. Next time I will bring my teenager because this stuff is too good for just the small kids!! There was a  corporate group next to us working who said (overheard) they had never in their life felt so ‘locked in’. 

Inga Simaite-Islam

My son and me had fantastic time together and learn something useful. He love it even with a little bit of the rain. We will be coming again

Kate Rogers

My daughter and I had a great time! 
We had plenty of time to create two pieces each and the instructor encouraged us to be creative whilst providing good grounding in using the tools safely.  
It was really fascinating and I hope to be able to visit again. Thank you! 

Thank you for lovely time and provided guidance. It's a great experience to teach me and my son to slow down and be patient

Charlotte Story

Great session, daughter really enjoyed it and got stuck in. A relaxing way to spend a couple of hours in good company. Will come again.

Guy Rawlings

A very rewarding and enjoyable time spent Wittling with my son. Weather held out so made a difference. A very nice instructor gave solid  brief on health and safety and tool handling. Regular encouragement and if required guidance. Highly recommended, looking forward to coming back one day. 

Stephen Fay

Georgia was a marvellous teacher - the perfect mix of inspiration and calm. Thanks so much.

Claudia Galetta

My daughter was over the moon with this experience.  She had a great time. 

Family Whittling Workshop - 8-12 yrs

Question 1

Child's name

Question 2

Child's age

Question 3

Accompanying adult name

Spend a few hours in our beautiful outdoor workshop making your own spatula from locally grown wood. Suitable for complete beginners.

We will take you through the steps to create a beautiful and useful kitchen utensil. You will be using a drawknife and a shavehorse to go from freshly split wood to a handcrafted spatula.

This is a great taster course for anyone who's considering our longer courses. 

This is a seated course, we will be working on shave horses, so it's suitable for people who are unable to stand for long periods of time. 


Make a spatula at Abney Park Cemetery

Lynne  Eva

Had a brilliant afternoon learning to carve a spatula.  Excellent tutor and I came away with 3 unique cherry wood spatulas.

Ruth Bonazza

Thank you for the relaxing afternoon of spatula making. A really knowledgeable and patient teacher! Perfect for myself as a beginner and now I have two lovely spatulas to remember the day!

Christopher Darby

Really enjoyed this! Graham was a great instructor. Would love to do again!

A lovely way to spend an afternoon, working under Graham's excellent guidance.  Would recommend this to anybody even vaguely interested!

Kate Frew

Absolutely loved it. Made 2 spatulas, very happy with them and learnt a lot. Would defo come back for another course! 

Constance Littlehailes

Really enjoyed this! Graham was ace, friendly, clear in his instructions and attentive. I finished the session with two fresh new spatulas and a sense of achievement.

Rachel Parr

A chilled morning under the awning making spatulas. Great instruction from Ed talking us through the stages, a mug of tea, a chance to chat with others and 2 spatulas made. Many thanks we’ll be back! 

Amara Thornton

Concessionary rates available. 10% discount on courses scheduled on weekdays

Please take note of the **location for the course you are booking**. We run these courses at both our workshops (at Abney Park in Stoke Newington and at Hackney City Farm). It will say on the booking page which venue that particular course is taking place at.

Learn safe whittling skills with locally grown wood. This workshop is for children aged 6-8years to gain some skills and confidence working with whittling knives.

**Each ticket admits 1 Adult and 1 Child together**\
Each child must be accompanied by an adult who is willing to supervise and work with them at all times

Using locally grown green wood we'll practice safe carving knife grips and make wands or wooden knives.

For families that want to start whittling at home, this is great introduction for both adults and children to learn how to work safely with knives. We recommend that parents join this course so that they can keep their child safe when whittling at home and be confident in their child's abilities to work with knives and wood.

To make our family courses accessible to as many people as possible we have launched a 'Pay it Forward' ticket. This enables you to book a space for your own family whilst making a donation to fund a space for a family on a low income.

Family Whittling 6-8yrs

Anna Wynn-higgins

My 7 year old had a fantastic time in family whittling!

Michelle Woolfenden

We loved the whittling workshop! Thank you. It was pitched just perfectly for my 7 yr old daughter, but also fun for me as the adult as I was able to make something too. Jo the teacher was friendly and really good with advice and safety information, as well as telling us about the wood we were using. We tried about 3 different techniques and made a couple of lovely marshmallow sticks. We are inspired to buy our own knives and continue whittling! Thank you. 

Lesley Smith

Excellent. Both myself and my Grandson really enjoyed it. We are looking forward to the next workshop.
Highly recommended.

My 7 year old son loved this class. He learnt loads about different woods,  created two things by himself, using the tools independently and really enjoyed the hour. 

Jon Chin

The course was great - we learned a lot and my 8yo really enjoyed it. Richard the teacher was friendly, helpful, and informative, and the workshop was extremely satisfying!

James

A fun morning with lovely teachers - despite the snow!

Alex Villa

Caroline Quiec

Great little workshop, both my daughter and I had a great time, I appreciated the focus on safety with knives at all time. We’ll definitely come back. 

Eileen Quick

Lovely teachers
My grandson  loved the session
Thanks so much

Maurice Ballard

My 7 year- old son and I had a great time at London Green wood.  It was our first experience of whittling, and I couldn't believe how quickly time flew by.  We really lost ourselves in what we were trying to do.  It's not as easy as it looks, more practice is needed I think.  

Siobhan Watt

Me and my 7 year old really enjoyed this family workshop, set in a lovely quiet woodland inside Hackney city farm. Our teachers were very friendly and knowledgeable and we came away with a really good understanding of how to whittle safely! Looking forward to developing our skills in the future! 

Peyo Alvarez

Lovely introduction for young kids and their parents. Great way to build skills and to develop their creativity.

Kate Aldridge

My 6y old kid and I both loved the family whittling session. The tutor was really friendly, encouraging, calm and child focused. We both had a very peaceful and engaging time and learnt lots of skills to take home with us. 

Clementine Mason

Such a lovely class to introduce kids and parents to whittling and knife safety. We’re hooked! 

Erika Martin

My 6 year old son and I had the most lovely time together. Our instructor was so nice and calm, the setting was gorgeous, and the coffee was good. It was a great introduction to basic whittling techniques, and we are both inspired to learn more - my son has asked for a knife and we are planning on returning for another session. Thank you. 

Sarah  Halford 

A really lovely hour spent learning a new skill with my daughter,  great set up , friendly and patient and allowed space for exploring working with the knife provided in a safe way . Looking forward to our next workshop :)
Fully recommend -

Raluca Cenusa

We both loved the class. My son had some whittling practice from forest school but learned some new techniques and most importantly had a lot of fun! The teachers were lovely and supportive, the venue is beautiful and calm. We’ll definitely come back!

nalayini  Gajan

Both by boys loved their session! It was run by Dave and even I got super into it! Thank you Dave! 

Maya Gur

The activity is great but some of the staff wasn’t really nice or understood how to engage children. Shame. 

This course is designed to give participants an introduction to green woodworking; using hand tools on unseasoned wood straight from the log.

This is a four day course, taught outdoors at our Hackney City Farm workshop. Course dates are either over a long weekend Thursday-Sunday, or weekly on Fridays. Please check the dates before booking.

This is our most in-depth course and can be adapted to all levels of experience. The aim is for you to become safe and confident with an axe and a knife. You will have a go with specific green woodwork equipment: shave horses and pole lathes. 

Suitable for all including complete beginners, those who have carpentry experience but are new to green woodwork, and those who have done a little green woodwork and would like to learn more. 

We will work with locally sourced wood, making a series of practice projects, such as spoons and spatulas. You will learn how to select and prepare wood, safe and confident axe techniques, knife grips from the Swedish tradition of spoon carving, how to use a shave horse and draw knife, pole-lathe turning and the basics of tool sharpening.

This course is also an induction to the workshop for new members of our coop. You will receive instructions on how to apply to become a member of London Greenwood after the course. Find out more about membership of our workshop here: https://londongreenwood.com/membership/

Included in the price of the course is your own Mora 120 knife to keep.

Limited low income and unwaged discounts are available for this course for those who would otherwise be unable to attend.








*It is well known that trees are capable of living for thousands of years. What is less known however is that trees never actually die of old age. Instead, it is usually insects, diseases and people that cause a tree to die*