The Great Scottish weekend events
We've been running glorious events since 2017, starting with the Great Scottish Spoon Hoolie and now extending to a whole host of opportunities to explore traditional crafts and learn new skills. Our craft events are small-but-perfectly formed intimate affairs, where participants get to take part in a range of activities, eat locally-sourced food cooked over the fire using our own charcoal, and have loads of fun. We also invite the best trainers from wherever we can find them to share their craft.
Whether you’re an expert or a complete beginner, you'll learn new skills, hone existing ones, or gain the techniques you need to move on in your crafting journey.
And it all takes place on our woodland site in rural Stirlingshire, offering a real escape from the everyday stresses of life.
For regular workshops, click here.
Events for 2026
The Great Scottish Basket Cases
Join us for a weekend of weaving magic as we welcome guest trainers from across Scotland. We're sorting out an amazing line-up of top-quality basket makers, giving you the choice of booking sessions with the best weavers and trainers we can find. It all takes place on our woodland site in rural Stirlingshire, where you can hang out with like minded people, talk all things basket making, and relax in the great outdoors. Places at the event are limited, to create a small, intimate and friendly festival.
Saturday 16 - Sunday 17 May 2026
The Great Scottish Craft Hoolie
The Great Scottish Craft Hoolie brings together the best trainers and crafters from across the UK so that you can expand your crafting horizons. From green woodwork to screenprinting, and from jewellery to pottery, you’ll learn traditional skills in our wonderful woodland setting. Details will be coming early in 2026, so keep an eye here for updates. Now takes place over 3 days!
Friday 14 - Sunday 16 August 2026
FAQs
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We've changed our approach to ticketing for these events, so if you've booked before, you'll notice something different. We're charging a flat entry rate to the event, and then you'll pay for the workshops you want to attend. You can also purchase a camping spot (tent or van) plus catering. We hope this makes the costs more transparent. Bookings for workshop places will be available in the new year.
All tickets include free tea, coffee and snacks!
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No. Based on feedback from previous events, we’ve decided to make workshop booking separate. Trainers will set the fees and charge what they want for each workshop, and participants can choose how many - if any - workshops they attend.
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You can choose from fully catered, just lunch, or no food at all. We’re a registered food business and do our cooking over the campfire, using charcoal we make on site. We can cater for most dietary requirements, but please let us know in advance. If you don’t buy a catered ticket, you’ll need to bring all food and a means of cooking with you.
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We’ve been through different shapes and sizes, and 2026 events will be limited at 50 people. This means that you’ll get to meet and talk to all the other participants (if you want to), including the trainers. If you want a big event, this may not be for you!
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We have three composting toilets and a wood-powered shower, fed by rainwater. We’re fully off grid - no mains electricity or access to the water mains. However, we do collect rain water for the shower and we do have solar power, so you can charge your phone! We bring drinking water to site and it can be accessed through the taps in kitchen.
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Kids can come - if they’re under 12, they can come for free. However, the event is aimed mainly at adults, and kids under 12 can’t usually take part in the workshops (and if they can, they need to be supervised by an adult). Please get in touch and we can chat through options.
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We’re based in rural Stirlingshire, on the edge of a Forestry and Land Commission block of woodlands. Our site has some established oaks as well as a lot of regen birch. It’s small and compact, but we make the most of what we have!
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We’re a woodland site, so the paths are quite uneven under foot. This might not be suitable for those using mobility aids, so please get in touch and we can chat things through.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the our weekend events, please just get in touch.
The Great Scottish Spoon Hoolie
Our flagship spoon carving event! Join us for a weekend and learn everything you need to know about spoon carving - whether you're a complete beginner or wanting to hone your expert skills. Your weekend ticket includes access to 4 workshops with guest trainers, free camping, free tea and coffee, and access to all social activities. This year, we've focused on bringing the best female trainers to Scotland, to showcase the wonderful work women are doing in spoon world.
Meet our wonderful guest trainers
Rachel Bainton
Anna Barker
Mike Craig
Jane Gray-Wallis
Carolina Smoorenburg
Find out more about our trainers here.
We offer a fully-catered ticket, with locally-sourced ingredients cooked over the fire, using charcoal that we make on site. You can also camp for free on our site, boasting composting toilets and a wood-fired shower.
We’re committed to pay people for the time that’s needed to organise, set-up, and run the events. That means we don’t rely on volunteers for any part of the events, and we aim to pay everyone fairly for their contributions. We also need the events to contribute towards our running costs as a social enterprise, so we can continue to deliver our social aims.
The Great Scottish Spoon Hoolie: Pre-fest
Our guest trainers are offering opportunities to work with them in a more focused way.
The Great Scottish Coppice Gathering
Coppicing is one of the oldest methods of woodland management, practised in the UK for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, in the last century or so, estimates are that actively managed coppice woodland area has fallen by nearly 95%. But we're trying to change that by gathering together with people who want to make a difference.
For those camping, the weekend kicks off with Friday night social on our site on the Cardross Estate from 7pm. Otherwise, we start on Saturday morning at 10am, when we'll meet at Kirkton Wood near Aberfoyle, have a tour of the hazel coupes and then do some cutting. It's back to our site on Saturday evening for a meal and discussion. On Sunday, we'll have coppice-based crafts throughout the day for you to try your hand at. We'll also have discussions across the weekend.