Deer Butchery, Cookery & Bark Tanning Course (18+ only )

3 Day Deer Butchey, Cooking & Sheepskin Tanning Course

Join us for a three day Viking age Butchery, cooking and hide tanning course at The Ancient Technology Centre, Dorset. Overnight stay in the Longhouse is included - Just bring your own

Day 1 - Lunch and Dinner will be provided

Day 2 - Breakfast, lunch and Dinner

Day 3 - Breakfast and late lunch

We will also supply all you with tea, coffee and an unhealthy amount of jellybeans.

Food will be a mixture of historical and modern, all cooked over an open fire with tutorage from Craig aka The Saxon Forager.

You will be expected to help prepare food and wash up in between hide tanning.

Day 1:

You'll get hands on with skinning and butchering a deer and then create some tasty food, using replica Viking and Saxon cookware and knives.

You’ll also learn about some of the surprising historical uses for various parts of the animal, the best ways to cook each part and how to make sausages like a Viking!

Come along and learn to Eat like a Viking!

Day 2 & 3:

Explore the historical tradition of bark tanning your own sheepskins. During this course you will learn all about historical tanning and leatherworking, from a team of historical craftspeople in a stunning Viking settlement. This course is suitable for beginners or those with previous tanning experience.

We will have plenty time to enjoy the following:

-learning ancient tanning methods practiced in early medieval Europe

-learning about which barks to harvest for tanning

-producing beautifully tanned hides which you can use to make rugs or bedrolls for historical reenactment

-evenings around the fire in the longhouse

The hides will be supplied already skinned and fleshed, so the muckiest part is dealt with (we have the deer skins harvested from the butchery course so if anybody wants to learn this process there is plenty of opportunity too)

Over two days you will learn how to correctly tan, oil, and soften your hide into a fully finished hide to take home.

The goal of this course is to learn the historical tradition of bark tanning that was practised by early medieval cultures across europe, and gain the skills and confidence to continue with hide tanning projects in the future.

Over the 3 days we will also fit in as many extras as we can from fish skin tanning to fire lighting and nature tinders, cordage, and food preservation.

The Butchery and cooking is hosted by Craig Brooks (Saxon Forager) and the tanning is hosted by Hamish Lamley from Pictavia Leather.