Well if it’s spring, one of the first items on the agenda is making charcoal again.

The process is relatively simple, it’s certainly age-old (and some of the old hands will insist there is some dark magic to the art that is down to years’ of charcoal production!). This involves ways of laying the wood out within the kiln, and ways of lighting the fire and keeping it going over a two day period.

There’s also an element of chance to the overall success of the burn as well. Too hot and all you get is ash, too cool and the wood doesn’t carbonise correctly. You don’t know how successful it has been until the whole thing has cooled down a week later.

And did we say it’s a dark art? It’s certainly a black art when it comes to the emptying of the kiln after the burn, as there’s no other way to get all the charcoal out of the bottom than to get in and pass it out!

We do a number of burns over the year and the produce is sold around the local shops – there’s normally a supply at the Skirrid Mountain Garage.

We have now also started producing bio-char. Great for all those gardeners out there.

Everything sustainably produced – and zero carbon footprint.