Iron Age open days

Submitted by PaulM on Tuesday, 03 May 2005 Page Views: 1493

A Major Forest tourist attraction which will aim to give people a flavour of life 2,000 years ago opened its doors for the first time. The Cinderbury Iron Age experience at Clearwell welcomed its first visitors at the weekend, giving them a chance to see history in action.

The main attraction at the Stock Wood site is a nine-metre-high roundhouse made of wattle and daub with a dry stone wall and a roof of bracken, reeds and turf.

The project is not yet finished, although building work has been under way for the past two months.

But architect and archaeology expert Jasper Blake, who owns the site, decided to open it to give people a glimpse of work in progress.

"We are really pleased with the level of interest shown by both locals and tourists to the area and we hope to see many more over the years," he said.

"We are still looking for more volunteers and we have yet to find a potter to add to the traditional craftspeople who will be working at Cinderbury."

More entertainment will take place during the next bank holiday weekend.

Visitors are invited for a day visit or even to pitch a tent at the site to take part in a range of activities. As well joining in with building work, people can also enjoy storytellers, Iron Age activities and a hog roast.

The site opens from 10am to 4pm at weekends and entrance costs £2.50. Children under 10 go free.

A grand opening is planned for July when people will be able book in for a residential weekend or week. Iron Age enthusiasts will be able to cook their own food, sleep in the Celtic-style round homes and practise traditional crafts.

For further information contact Cinderbury on 0870 609 3219 or log on to www.cinderbury.co.uk .

Source: This Is Gloucestershire 3 may 2005

Contributor Bio for PaulM: Based in Macclesfield, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Hordron Edge. Occupation: Something in waste and recycling.

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