Blacksmithing Experience Day - 28th August 2025 Stroud
A Blacksmithing experience day on the 12th Feb in Stroud. Come get hands-on with this ancient craft, enjoy the day, and walk away with something handmade by YOU.
Blacksmith & Knife Making Experiences Near Bristol
I’m Mike, and my forge is about 45 minutes from Bristol, near Stroud in the Cotswolds. If you live in or around Bristol and you’re after something to do that isn’t the usual list, this is probably closer than you think. You spend the day at a real working forge making your own knife or hook from raw steel, and you take it home. No experience needed.
Small groups · Real working forge · You keep what you make
The most surprising day out 45 minutes from Bristol
Bristol is not short of things to do, but a full day at a working forge is a proper change from the usual list. You spend it heating steel and shaping it by hand, and you drive home about 45 minutes later with a knife or a hook you made yourself. Close enough for an easy day out, and different enough to be the one everyone remembers.
How easy is it to get here from Bristol?
It’s about a 45 minute drive from Bristol to the forge in Slad, near Stroud, up through some genuinely pretty countryside. There’s parking on site. It’s an easy run for a day out, and the drive itself is part of the pleasure once you’re off the motorway.
What you make, and what you take home
On a blacksmithing day your first project is a hook, which sounds humble but teaches you everything: drawing out, tapering, bending and twisting. After that it’s pokers, handles and pendants in mild steel. On a knife making day you forge a knife from high carbon steel, worked at 1,200 to 1,400 degrees in the gas forge. Whatever you make, it’s yours, you made it.
A full day, not a rushed slot
Sessions run 10:30am to 4:30pm with a maximum of six people, so it’s a proper day, not a 45 minute slot with twenty strangers. That makes it a great option for a birthday, a date that’s actually interesting, a father and son or mother and daughter day, or a small group who want to do something they’ve never done.
Gifts, dates and group days
It also makes a brilliant gift. If someone near Bristol is always watching Forged in Fire and saying they’d love a go, a voucher is the nudge that makes it happen. Vouchers are valid for a year.
Choose Your Experience: Blacksmithing or Knife Making
All levels welcome, no experience needed
Full day at the forge, 10:30am to 4:30pmBeginners welcome, no experience neededAbout 45 minutes from Bristol, parking on site
Both are full days at the forge near Stroud, an easy 45 minutes from Bristol. Small groups of up to six, all levels, and you take home what you make.
Blacksmithing Experience Day - 23rd Sept 2025 Stroud
A Blacksmithing experience day on the 12th Feb in Stroud. Come get hands-on with this ancient craft, enjoy the day, and walk away with something handmade by YOU.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a blacksmith experience near Bristol?
Yes. Soulful Iron is about 45 minutes from Bristol, near Stroud in the Cotswolds, running blacksmithing and knife making days for all levels.
How far is Soulful Iron from Bristol?
About 45 minutes by car. There’s parking on site.
Can I do a knife making course near Bristol?
Yes, knife making days are one of the main things I run. You forge a blade from 1084 high carbon steel and take it home.
Is it suitable for a couple or a group?
Yes, up to six people per session. Good for couples, families with over-11s, and small groups.
How do I book or buy a voucher?
Prices and booking are on the experience days page, and gift vouchers are valid for a year.
What's there to do near Bristol that's a bit different?
A day at the forge is about as different as it gets, and it’s an easy drive out of the city.
An easy day out from Bristol you'll actually remember
Small groups, all levels, and you take home what you made. Book your date, or send it as a gift.