The first time I went to British hardwoods was on the early nineties. They had a place in Crossflatts, or was it Bingley? I seem to remember it was near the canal. At that time they had a kiln and were kilning home grown hardwoods for sale, hence the name British Hardwoods I suppose. When I moved workshop to Ilkley I started visiting them again as they were now based in Cross Hills which was just up the road. However I felt that they were rather miss named as they only sold European and American hardwoods.

This has all changed now. They have expanded into an ajoining unit which means they can extend their operations. This includes a 40 foot kiln capable of drying 4,000 cubic feet of timber in six weeks, this is the container parked in a corner of the car park. To feed the kiln they need to plank 4,000 cubic feet of timber. This is done using a wood miser in the new unit, I have seen some interesting logs of oak and ash in the yard waiting to be planked.

I’m looking forward to the ash, it’s strange we have ash trees growing all around but it’s very difficult to find English ash boards. They have already kilned some nice Yew and English cherry as well as lots of Oak.

The additional space of the new unit has also allowed the company to add some new features. Visitors can now watch the action from a viewing gallery complete with sofa and coffee machine, a bit like a woody Waterstones! A workshop is also being equipped to offer woodworking courses a number of craftsmen have been approached to offer tuition.

If you haven’t visited British Hardwoods recently it may be worth dropping in to see what’s happening.