charcoal workshop for children

charcoal is made by cutting willow and packing it tightly into a biscuit tin ready to load onto the bonfire. Apparently it works best alongside some toasted marshmallows.  There it will heat to a high temperature without going on fire which allows the wood to carbonise creating charcoal which artists have been drawing with for millennia.

Willow needs at least 24 hours to smoulder in the bonfire so children will use natural charcoal, made in exactly the same way for their own drawings. They can also bring some home for future creative adventures!