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Willow Weaving Workshops: Boat Tray 2025
Key details
When:
Date:
Time:
3rd May
09:30 - 12:30
3rd May
13:30 - 16:30
Where:
The Meadow Room, behind Blackthorpe Barn
Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
Pricing:
Ticket
per person £48
Each person attending requires a ticket
Bookings close on 29th April
Half-Day Woven Willow Boat-shaped Tray Workshops
Come and join Stuart Fidler and Emma Booth – the Coddiwomplers – for a fun, relaxed willow weaving workshop.
What will I do?
- Under the tuition of two experienced willow-weavers, you will learn to make a woven willow boat tray using traditional basketry techniques and a range of willow varieties.
- This project gives great scope for using the different bark colours to create stripes.
- Also known as a banana tray, it can be used for fruit, or as a decorative item.
Who is this workshop suitable for?
- People aged 16 and over
- Beginners; no experience necessary
- Some manual dexterity and strength is required for weaving the willow
Important information
Gallery
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how it works
01
Come to Blackthorpe Barn and park in one of the free car parks
02
Make your way to the Meadow Room, behind Roots Café
03
Enjoy making your boat tray and take it home, feeling proud at what you have achieved
04
Browse around the Garden Room shop or have a coffee at Roots Café
What to bring
- Wear comfortable clothing
- Secateurs, if you have some
What is provided
- All materials
- Tea, coffee and biscuits
Refund & cancellation policy
If you need to cancel a workshop
If you are unable to attend your booked workshop and notify us at least 7 full days in advance of the workshop date, we can offer a refund or a transfer to the same workshop on an alternative date, providing there are places available or a course is planned for the future.
If cancellation is within 7 full days of your workshop unfortunately we are unable to offer a refund. We do appreciate that sometimes unforeseen circumstances may mean that you can’t attend so we are happy for you to send along a friend to take your place. We will need their name and contact details prior to the workshop.
Our right to cancel a workshop
All our workshops have a minimum attendance level and may be cancelled if too few bookings are received. We reserve the right to cancel or postpone workshops at any time. Should we need to cancel a workshop, we will give you as much notice as possible of the cancellation. You will receive a full refund or, if you prefer, a transfer to an alternative available course, space permitting. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any liability for travel or other costs.
Where to find us
Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
SatNav: IP30 9HZ
There is plenty of free parking available.
Accessible parking is available near the entrance to the Café/Shop area.
Blackthorpe Barn is situated just south of Junction 45 of the A14, three miles east of Bury St Edmunds, in the village of Rougham.
Look out for the entrance gates to a long tree-lined avenue at the White House junction, with the Barn on the right of the avenue.
Blackthorpe Barn’s black and white signs direct visitors from local roads.
The Meadow Room can be found behind the old thatched Barn and behind Roots Café.
What3Words for the Meadow Room: hands.dunk.drums
Related Events
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Follow us on instagram
Since the Barn rethatch has been so popular, we’ve decided to share regular updates on our progress and answer some of your questions.
While you can see the transformation in person (but only from the ground), these posts are for those who can’t stop by regularly and for those who want to see it from a bird’s eye view. They also serve as a wonderful visual record of the project.
As you drive down the avenue towards Blackthorpe Barn, you’ll notice the piles of straw waiting to be transported to the Barn by digger. Progress is well underway and we’re looking forward to sharing the milestones with you!
To answer some of your questions:
Is it full of life?
Absolutely. The old thatch is a bustling habitat for spiders, beetles, moth larvae, and more. It’s its own little ecosystem!
Can we watch?
We’d love for you to see the progress! You and your children are more than welcome to observe from our designated safe zones.
Does the new thatch go on top of the old?
Yes! As long as the base layer is still in good condition, they don`t need to strip it back to the rafters. We remove the weathered surface and fix the new thatch directly into the sturdy old layer. It’s a bit like adding a fresh, protective coat over a solid foundation.
Keep your questions coming. We love to answer them!
#Rethatch #roughamestate #blackthorpebarn #restoringheritage
Before the first customer walks through the door, the Rougham Estate is already buzzing with the morning hustle, shared laughs, and a brew or two.
It’s the hidden energy, the morning prep, and the care poured into every single corner.
We love the buzz of a busy day and the team that brings it all to life. It’s what we do, and we love every second of it!
#roughamestate #blackthorpebarn #roughamestateshop #shopinburystedmunds
Our special for this week has a Mediterranean twist.
Get an early taste of summer with this dish of greek giant beans on toasted sourdough with cashew cream, tzatziki, pickled red onions and dill.
Only available this week at Roots Café so don’t miss out.
#Suffolkfood #BrunchSpecials #Eatlocal #Rootssuffolk #RoughamEstate
Sauna season has arrived back at Rougham Estate and is back for February & March.
The Roaming Sauna, led by Sophie, was recently featured by Muddy Stilettos as one of Suffolk’s local wellness experts.
Set against the peaceful backdrop of the Estate, this experience combines the deep heat of a wood-fired sauna with invigorating cold-water plunge tubs providing a powerful contrast therapy experience designed to:
- Boost circulation
- Ease tired muscles
- Clear the mind
- Leave you feeling completely reset
Whether you come with friends, family or simply for some quiet time to yourself, this offers a simple but powerful way to restore balance at this in-between seasonal moment.
You can find the sauna here on:
• 21st & 22nd February
• 7th & 8th March
• 14th & 15th March
• 21st & 22nd March
Book via link in bio or visit www.theroamingsauna.com
Tag someone who needs this or save this for your next reset!
#SuffolkWellness #VisitSuffolk #WoodFiredSauna #ThingsToDoInSuffolk ContrastTherapy
Happy Valentines Day! ❤️
There’s loads we love on the Estate but with new stock arriving all the time in the Rougham Estate Shop, we went to find out what new items are our team’s favourite.
What’s yours?
#roughamestate #valentinesday #lifestyle
This Valentine’s Day, share the love with our specials - only available this weekend, on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th Feb.
We have:
🍰 Waffle, strawberries, raspberries, Chantilly cream, Nutella sauce, white chocolate and vanilla sauce, and sprinkled with chocolate soil.
☕️Marimba vanilla ruby mocha.
🍷 Prosecco, elderflower cordial, raspberry syrup with mint - if you’re after something with a kick.
Don’t miss out.
#RootsCafe #RoughamEstate #valentinesday
Have you noticed that there are some new dishes on our menu at Roots Café? The newcomer for breakfast time is the Breakfast Bun; perfect for smaller appetites when a full fry-up is too much, or perhaps as a mid-morning snack to keep you going.
It includes grilled sausage meat, black treacle bacon, a fried egg, roasted beef tomato and marinara mayo all nestled inside a toasted brioche bun.
Available all day from 9am. Why not order it the next time you’re here!
Don’t forget our 10% off promotion for your second visit is still running until the end of February.
We’re just off the A14, J45, east of Bury St Edmunds - the perfect breakfast pit-stop.
#suffolkfood #suffolklife #roughamestate
It’s been just over a week since the master thatchers @dodsonbrosthatchers arrived at the Estate to start work on our much loved Blackthorpe Barn.
Watching this ancient craft unfold is a rare privilege for the Estate so we wanted to share the journey so far with you, as it’s not every day you get to see a piece of history being preserved quite like this.
If there is anything you’d like to know about the thatching leave a comment and we’ll try and include the answer in our next update post.
#thatching #roughamestate #blackthorpebarn
Tag us @RoughamEstate
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