As for the site itself it is lovely and they currently have two big roundhouses, very well decorated and painted, a small one that is under construction (part of the reason our group was there was to make a start on this) and one big old roundhouse that as an archaeological experiment is being allowed to collapse so that it is possible to see how a roundhouse actually falls down.  It looks a bit sad, what with its’ roof sagging badly at the back and all the poles now standing at very non-vertical angles.  I think a few more heavy rains or a good gale and there is going to be a loud crash and a a pile of timbers and thatch left there.

We got some interesting work done, mainly getting back into the flow of working on site (complete with wind rain and hot sunshine) and did some forging and some casting.  Casting some brass but we are currently playing with casting copper, it has such a lovely colour, less harsh than brass and seems to cast with far more ease than brass.  Casting in cuttlefish as always proved to be of interest to all the visitors with the usual lack of belief until they see it done. 

This is a good place to go and visit whether there is a reenactment on there or not, what with the roundhouses, the visitor centre about the peat digging and also the nature walks.  Some weekends there is a splendid chap there called Ivor, he makes fantastic baskets and chairs and all sorts of things out of wood and wicker.  He has been doing this for around 60 years so has plenty of practice and his work is outstanding. 

So, that is the first Iron Age show, indeed the first one for us this year, roll on 17th May for Rufford Abbey and the medieval era!