Green woodworking courses in the UK
Every green woodworking course we can find in the UK, from 27 makers and schools. You book with the maker directly, and nobody pays to be listed.
What is green woodworking?
Green woodworking works with freshly felled, unseasoned timber, which cuts far more easily than the dried stuff. It is hand tools, often outdoors, using a shave horse and a drawknife. Chairs, stools, spoons and rakes all come out of this tradition, and it predates sawmills and kiln drying entirely.
Where to learn green woodworking
Every region we hold a green woodworking course for. Where there are enough for a page of their own it goes straight there, otherwise to everything woodwork in that region.
All 45 green woodworking courses
We hold 45 courses in green woodworking, taught by 27 makers and schools. South East England has the most, at 10. The middle price is £175, much what we see across all woodwork, and most cost between £80 and £330.
Listed with what the provider charges. Every link goes straight to their own booking page. In turn, one course from each maker, the maker with most courses first, so no one school fills the top of the list. Nobody can pay to move up.
What a green woodworking course costs
Taken from the 37 courses here that publish a price, checked August and October 2026. The cheapest lasts a day and the dearest 4 days, so read it as a spread rather than a going rate.
- Cheapest£70
- Middle£175
- Dearest£440
Who teaches green woodworking
27 makers and schools, most courses first.
Questions people ask about green woodworking
What does a green woodworking course cost?
37 of the 45 green woodworking courses we hold publish a price. The middle one is £175, and most sit between £80 and £330. Prices were checked in August and October 2026 and the provider sets them, not us.
Where can you learn green woodworking in the UK?
8 regions have green woodworking courses, most of them in South East England (10), Scotland (9) and South West England (7). 4 of those have a page of their own for this craft.
How long is a green woodworking course?
21 of the 45 state a length, most often 1 day (7), 2 days (7) and weekend (3). The other 24 do not say, so check the provider's page.
Do you need any experience to start green woodworking?
Most of these are taught as a first go. 10 of the 45 state a level, and 7 say plainly that they suit beginners and improvers together. Where a course says nothing, ask the provider before you book, because a hand craft can assume you bring some tool control with you.
How do I book a green woodworking course?
You book with the maker, not with us. All 45 courses here link straight to the provider's own page. Woodwork UK takes no booking, adds no fee and is not paid for the link, and all 27 makers and schools set their own dates, prices and places.
Getting started with green woodworking
Do you need to be strong for green woodworking?
Less than it looks. The point of working unseasoned timber is that it is soft, so a drawknife takes a shaving off a green log with a fraction of the effort the dry version would need. A shave horse holds the work with your foot, which does most of the gripping for you. It is physical in the way gardening is physical rather than in the way lifting is.
Is green woodworking done outdoors?
Usually, and often in a wood. Shavings go everywhere, the timber arrives as logs, and a lot of courses run under a tarpaulin or in a barn rather than in a workshop. Dress for standing outside in whatever the weather does, because you will be.
What can you make on a green woodworking course?
Stools, chairs, spoons, bowls, rakes, gate hurdles and tool handles are the traditional list, and most beginner courses build a stool or a chair component because it teaches the whole process in a day or two. The tradition predates sawmills and kiln drying entirely, so almost everything is shaped along the grain rather than cut across it.
Where can I learn green woodworking for free?
It is the most asked question in woodworking, and the honest answer is a men's shed or a community workshop rather than a course. We list 933 of them across the UK, and most charge a small subscription or a few pounds a session rather than a course fee. Find one near you. They are not classes and nobody teaches to a syllabus, but the tools are there, and somebody will almost always show you.
Other kinds of woodwork
Most people arrive knowing they want to make something rather than knowing the name of the craft. These are the other ten.