Woodworking Venues While Traveling to the UK and Scotland

[Roger Davis]

I will be traveling to the UK and Scotland July 24th thru August 10th and want to visit areas and sites of interest regarding anything woodworking. Plan to see William Morris Society Museum, lots of cathedrals and village churches, castles, etc.

Can anyone on the Creek recommend must see places especially for Arts and Crafts style furniture manufacturers and museums, small woodworking shops, etc? Any direct contacts would be appreciated.

Thanks, Roger in Texas

[stevo wis]

Roger,
Norhwest of London in High Wycombe is the Stewart Linford chair factory and museum which is excellent. The factory tour is free and i think $10 for the museum. Address is Kitchener Works, Kitchener Rd, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2SJ, United .
Further northwest in downtown Cheltenham spa is a free museum with tons of arts and crafts. I am told Kelmscott is good too.

If you go south to Sussex there is an living outdoor museum in Chichester and the the Edwards Barnley school in Petersfield are excellent. Down the street is Bedales school that has Barnsley library furnishing which is stunning. The school is a prep school and the librarian was very gracious when we were there.

Have a great trip. Also if you rent a car with a gps, entering the postal code in the address will get you anywhere.
Stevo





Kingdom

[Bob Rufener]

My wife and I went to Scotland a few years ago. Beautiful country. I don't know much about woodworking places of interest but Edinburgh is a beautiful city and the stone work is terrific. The Scotts were well known stone cutters and you can see it best here. While in Edinburgh, I would very much recommend seeing The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It involves military bands from around the world. A friend saw the show last year and said it was terrific. Takes place at Edinbourg Castle. Here is a web site if you are interested. http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/ Show runs from Aug 1 to the 23rd.

If you want to see the "heart" of Scotland, go to Culloden. This is where the English defeated the Scots in 1745 and was basically the end of the clans of Sotland holding domain over the highland area of Scotland. Over 1500 clansmen were slaughtered in this battle and this was when England took control of the country.

For a little local flavor, head to a few pubs and have a few pints. The people were friendly wherever we went. Lots and lots of castles-most in ruins. Enjoy the countryside. And if you want to take in the origin of a very funny Miller commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNHXFviVb8I go to Achtermuchty

[Stan Powers]

On a trip to Scotland a few years ago my wife and I walked into a church in Edinburgh and found the annual show of the Scottish Furniture Association. It was a great show with some very interesting pieces. I got a chance to talk to several of the makers and talk about the difference in woods and woodworking in the two countries.
Their website is here:
http://www.scottishfurnituremakers.org.uk/

Looks like you will not be there for the show but you may be able to find some shops in the areas you will be traveling through.

Scotland was a great place to visit - enjoy your trip


Stan

[John Cole]

If you are going up north it's worth stopping off in Yorkshire to see the home of "mouseman" furniture:

http://www.robertthompsons.co.uk/

It's still a small working shop and is interesting to see. It's an hour's visit - tops.

Enjoy

[Jim Matthews]

Adrian McCurdy is on that route,
and listed in the link posted by
Stan, above.

Meeting Mr. McCurdy, and seeing him work
is on my "Bucket List".

I've never seen the like of what he makes.

[Peter Kelly]

Skip the woodworking stuff and go to the distilleries! http://www.visitscotland.com/en-us/a.../distilleries/