St Ives Charcoal kilns

Kilns in placeKilns in placeWe enjoy the work at the charcoal kilns. But the task is not without its challenges. Luckily we got a free run (no, not literally – we carried a fair weight up hill) to the site with the timber – no dodging horses.  However, once there our first task was to try and locate the elements of the kilns that had been ‘borrowed’ by den builders in the woods. 

We now know that it is fairly easy to reposition the kilns into place on the vents, but unfortunately one of the lids which has been used as a fire plate looks to be warped beyond use at present. We will have to experiment with how to unbend it!

We successfully chopped, split and sawed enough timber to fill one kiln and some timber ready for the other if we feel it is useable. The chimneys still need to be recovered from their current role in construction of the local den and gateways.