What Our Past Students Say
Below you will find some feeback provided by past participants. These are taken from our all-five-star Google reviews which can be viewed on google, here: Quinnell School of Blacksmithing - Google Reviews
DEBBIE
★★★★★ - This was an absolutely brilliant way to spend my 40th birthday, much better than a spa weekend! Everyone, from Tom Quinnell and his family, to the course instructors, was welcoming, friendly and genuinely enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge and passion of blacksmithing. I was particularly taken by the fact that even the guys from the workshop came over to say hello and see what we were up to at one point - little things that made me feel like our presence was really appreciated and they were actually interested in us as individuals. That isn't always the way with taster and experience courses.
The course itself was completely hands-on and you walked away at the end with some fabulous bits and a real sense of achievement. Max and Giles who led our course were excellent. Thorough, diligent, patient and completely non judgemental. For the first time in a long time I felt my soul sing in a way that it only does when you stumble on something truly special. My only complaint is that the course had to finish - I could have stayed by that anvil indefinitely! - June 2024
Simon
★★★★★ - Excellent 2 day intro to Blacksmithing. First class equipment, very generous on the tools, materials and time. Friendly and supportive trainers who really knew their stuff. Recommended. - April 2024
Becky
★★★★★ - I really recommend the two day beginners course. It's strenuous physical work and at times quite challenging, but my teenage son and I attended it together and absolutely loved it. When I asked my son for a comment for this review, his words were "It was absolutely awesome!". The tutors are fantastic, the setting beautiful and the gentle warmth at the family run forge made us all feel completely at home. If you want to try something new, try it! It's an incredible experience and makes a great present for family or friends. Our course was a present from all our family and it was one of the best I've ever received. We plan to return as soon as we can. - March 2024
Mark
★★★★★ - “I attended the Oberon 2-day blacksmith course as a complete novice. It was a brilliant couple of days, the instruction and guidance from Tom and Giles was first class and the pace of the course was perfect. It is reasonably physical in that you are on your feet most of the day and obviously involves a fair bit of bashing bits of metal with a hammer, but you will be fine if you’re reasonably fit. It is certainly a great experience and I would thoroughly recommend this or any of the other courses at the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing to anyone who is interested in trying their hand at a traditional craft or trying something different.” - October 2023
Ben
★★★★★ - “These courses are blazing amazing! Having done the one day blacksmithing experience with Max Anderson I was hooked so followed it up with the two day Oberon course. I can't rate these courses more highly, simply fantastic. From simple beginnings, learning the basics through to intricate technical work by the end. I was really chuffed with the pieces I produced and proudly showed them off to family and friends who were suitably impressed by what I'd been able to achieve in only a short time. This was possible through the excellent tutoring of Max, and then Giles and Tom whose knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the craft had the whole class wanting more! Thanks for an amazing experience guys, I'll be back for more!” - June 2023
Nick
★★★★★ - “Such great fun. Really enjoyed the course, met some nice folks. Learnt a lot, and made a few things that I thought I could never do. A fantastic team at the Fire and Iron School. Anyone interested in learning to use a forge and to work steel this is a great place to start. Thank you all. Now I just have to let my muscles recover, so that I can move my arms 😉” - March 2023
Billie
★★★★★ - “What an amazing weekend, I cannot express how much I loved it and would be blacksmithing today if I had the chance. Giles and Max were brilliant, just the right mix of leaving us to get on with it and being there to help when needed. I would never have thought I would come away with something that I would be so proud of, watching the birds (and squirrels) using my bird feeder has been amazing. It is an incredibly empowering experience, if possible, I have a greater appreciation and love of the craft. Thank you all again for such a wonderful weekend, I wear my blisters with pride.” - August 2022
Chris
★★★★★ - “This was an amazing course and introduction to blacksmithing. The demonstrations were well done and thorough. Each project was great on it's own but I learned something new with each one that made me interested in what I could make with that skill. Excited to see what I can do with what I learned here!” - July 2022
Peter
★★★★★ - “Attended a beginners blacksmithing course, and had the best weekend. Max and Giles were fantastic tutors, showing not only an encyclopaedic knowledge of their craft, but a contagious enthusiasm that transferred to the whole class. Learnt and made lots across the weekend, and will definitely be coming back for more!” - July 2022
Jim
★★★★★ - “I can’t imagine how a course could be any better. All aspects were perfect. When I show people what I achieved, frankly, people can’t believe it. Peat and Eamonn were simply top drawer and the most amazing hosts.”
Helen
★★★★★ - “I was a complete novice with no real idea of what to expect when I arrived. A fantastic experience and a real sense of achievement was gained on this course. I had a very enjoyable, and somewhat challenging weekend but left with three finished pieces of which I am very proud.
The relaxed and friendly atmosphere created by Richard and Pauline Quinnell, who were charming hosts and a joy to spend time chatting with at the lunch breaks, together with Pete's expertise and Eammon's patience and skill combined to enhance the experience no end. Excellent clear instruction and demonstration and a really inclusive approach meant that we all received the level of assistance and encouragement that we needed, when we needed it. A special setting and to top it off a tour of the gallery from Adam at lunchtime on Saturday was an unexpected pleasure. I have already recommended the course to friends and family. Fabulous!”
Ian
★★★★★ - “A great introduction to forging with brilliant instructors made for a really fun weekend. This was a gift from my family and I really enjoyed it, can't wait to do it again!”
Hilary
★★★★★ - “I bought this course for my husband as a special birthday gift so although I did not participate (he will do his own review) I can say how much he enjoyed the whole experience. “Fantastic tuition in a beautiful setting with a great group.” He found it interesting, fun, rewarding and satisfying. From my point of view the booking experience was efficient, friendly and helpful. If you are looking for an unusual and very special gift for someone I can heartily recommend this course.”
Ian
★★★★★ - “Excellent value for money. I would recommend this course to anyone with the slightest interest in working with metal. I can't believe that I learned so much and produced three finished pieces of work to take home at the end. The forge/workshop is very well equipped with plenty of tools and workstations for the number of students. Peat and Eamonn were fantastic teachers, giving advice and practical help in a friendly and professional way.
Attention to detail means that the whole setup is professional. This makes joining and preparing for the course easy. An example of this is that for health and safety reasons students need to have a pair of steel toe capped boots. Richard (Quinnell) suggests buying boots from Toolstation. I followed his advice and found that the pair he recommended were cheaper than a pair I'd seen at Shoezone, and on first wearing were more comfortable than an expensive pair of walking boots I've just purchased.”
Jon
★★★★★ - “Brilliant course, you get stuck in and start making things within the first hour which I didn’t expect and by the end of the weekend I had produced some very useful items.
I’m thinking about going back or doing another course with them sometime as I enjoyed it so much.”
Vojtech
★★★★★ - “I really enjoyed this course. Everything is very well explained. Real blacksmith hands-on forging. You will end up with several pieces that you forged yourself. I would very much recommend to partake in this. It is wonderful experience.”
Sam
★★★★★ - “Would highly recommend this course. The guys were friendly and welcoming. After a health and safety run through it was straight onto the forge. Being a small group meant if anyone needed extra help the tutor was able to spend time explaining the best way to approach the problem. Came away with 4 pieces which was more than I thought I could make. Even though the Saturday was a long day I could have carried on for longer and the time flew by. Really enjoyed the whole weekend and planning another visit as I have loads of ideas for more projects. We stayed in leatherhead and were only a 5 min drive from the site which was easy to find.”