A t Westonbirt Arbor- etum, the Forestry Commission's land- mark woodland near Tetbury in the South Cotswolds, the celebration of wood goes far beyond the tens of thousands of trees growing there.

Throughout the summer there will be courses in timber-related skills, building up to the great annual Festival of the Tree over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

For many of these activities, the venue is the Great Oak Hall, one of the most remarkable timber-framed buildings put up in Britain in recent times. Looking medieval but crammed with mod cons, the hall holds up to 80 people for weddings, exhibitions conferences and craft workshops. It was built from sustainable oak using traditional techniques, right down to dowels and wedges instead of nails and bolts.

The craft season begins on May 22, when long-time Westonbirt favourite Norah Kennedy of Stroud returns with a day-course on making willow structures for your garden.

She is best known as a basket-maker who runs courses all over the West. Most of her pupils are women – but this is the one that brings in the men, with its opportunity to make four items to support garden plants, from wigwams to fans, trellises and small hurdles.

"Leave plenty of space in your car to take your creations home," says Norah. The May course is now almost full, but there is a second on August 25; call her on 01453 751010 for details.

Perhaps even more unusually, there will be four opportunities this year to spend a full six-day week making a Windsor chair using a pole lathe and traditional hand tools. The dates are May 25-30, July 20-25, September 21-26 and October 5-10. The cost is £250 for the week – call Paul Hayden on 01373 836051 for details.

Finally, and on a similar theme, Paul Hodgson of Stroud is running green woodwork weekends on July 11 and 12 and September 19 and 20. It's a hands-on course teaching traditional wood- working skills using a froe, axe, drawknife, shave horse and pole lathe. You'll need £95 to cover the weekend. Talk to Paul on 01453 753 452 or visit www.CotswoldWoodlandCrafts.co.uk

"The term green woodwork describes a traditional technique used in the making of wooden objects from unseasoned timber," he says. "In this instance, 'green' means recently felled and still wet.

"It's often a byproduct of the woodland management process, coppiced timber that's easier to cut, shape and turn, through techniques that have been used for hundreds of years. Today's craftsmen use tools and skills developed during the early industrialisation of chair making, as practised by the bodgers of the Chiltern beech forests.

"This is a simpler, cheaper, cleaner and safer way of making furniture than many modern methods. There's less reliance on machinery and greater opportunity for creativity and craftsmanship."

These various woodcraft activities at Westonbirt, together with a range of photography courses in the Great Oak Hall, lead up to the annual Festival of the Tree, which this year runs from the August 24-31.

The festival attraction that invariably captures the headlines is Sculptree, in which 12 world-class wood sculptors transform tree trunks into stunning art forms in a range of contrasting styles.

But another huge draw on the final weekend is a woodcraft exhibition, with more than 150 stands, demonstrations and master classes.

For more information, call the arboretum on 01666 880220 or visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt