Festival Archive

The Forestry Commission originally ran a series of Open Days as early as 1977, but the Forest Festival as we know it today was launched on 16 &17 July 1994. The event was one of the earliest partnerships between the Forestry Commission and the fledgling community group, Friends of Chopwell Wood, and its aim was to promote woodlands and the timber industry. Initially know as the ‘Working Woodland Weekend’, the event was split into two distinct halves, with a Trade Fair on one day and the public ‘Forest Festival’ on the second day.

Throughout the 1990s, the event attracted more of a mix of less ‘timber-oriented’ exhibitors. In 1995, this included unicycle racing and Cumberland wrestling! In 1998, one of the highlights was a seven-metre high tree top trail that snaked its way through the canopy allowing visitors a unique bird’s eye view of the entertainment.

By the end of the nineties, the Festival had become firmly established in the calendar, was regularly attracting press coverage and over 6000 visitors. In 1999, the Festival underwent a face-lift and moved on to a new two-kilometre circuit. The new millennium brought even more new alien attractions to the forest environment, including giant slinkies, yurts, tai-chi, an African Drum workshop and a giant stone built Newcastle Brown Ale bottle!

In recent years, the Festival has grown from strength to strength to become one of England’s premier woodland events, attracting exhibitors from as far afield as Wales and Devon. The 2002 Festival was a particularly memorable event, not only for the gloriously hot weather, but also for the first appearance of the South and West Axe Team who demonstrated the spectacle of axe racing. In 2003, Team Xylodom from Scotland were the main attraction, competing in an axe throwing competition, while in 2004 the South and West Axe Team returned for a spectacular demonstration of precision chainsawing.

Last year’s event had a ‘healthy living’ theme. Visitors had the opportunity to try therapies such as Indian head massage and aromatherapy, while the more energetic tried their hand at climbing a ten metre high climbing wall. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the breath-taking display from the Seven Stanes Mountain Bike Display Team, and rounded off a memorable weekend in the Tyneside beauty spot.