Swordfest 2023 Cornwall

SWORDFEST 2023 CORNWALL TAKES PLACE DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AUGUST 2023. THIS IS AN INVITATION-ONLY EVENT THAT SEES CRAFTSMEN AND WOMEN FROM ACROSS THE WORLD MAKING ALL SORTS OF WARES, INCLUDING SWORDS…

At the best of times, Cornwall’s westernmost reaches are quiet and relaxing. However, during the last week in August 2023, there’s a hive of activity on a farm just off the B3306 between Pendeen and Morvah on the north coast above Penzance.

This hive of activity includes all sorts of traditional crafts used in the making of ancient and historic weapons including forging iron and casting bronze. There’s also traditional pottery, willow and wool weaving, woodturning and much more besides. Welcome to Swordfest 2023!

Now, right off the bat, it’s worth noting that Swordfest 2023 is an invitation-only event. You can’t just rock up and join in. That’s the main reason as to why the organisers don’t publish the dates but you can email the team and apply to go along. More on that a little later…

But the festival, which is across fields at Higher Keigwin Farm, has a mix of invited locals who have discovered the event over the years (and who now bring their children) to learn about craftsmanship from days gone by.

TV bladesmith Rod Hughes is the main organiser of the annual festival. He tells Proper Cornwall: “If you pass Morvah during the late summer and see banners with gold swords, do not be concerned. Every year, around this time, a group of ancient world enthusiasts called the ‘Dwarves of Zennor’ gather in Cornwall to meet, make and have fun.”

Hughes says that the event, originally started by ‘Cornish bronze wizard’ Neil Burridge on Dartmoor before moving to Cornwall, has been going for two decades. He says it is ‘a gathering of craftsmen and women from around the world’ who make ‘things in traditional ways, sharing knowledge and giving local people the opportunity to experience and try ancient crafts, such as forging iron, bronze casting, ceramics, woodturning, leather, bone, weaving willow and wool’.

“These days the ‘Dwarves’ travel from as far afield as Seattle, California, Sweden, Germany and all over the UK,” says Hughes, “but the majority of participants are local and flock to a damp field to try their hand at ancient crafts and have fun. This year the ‘Dwarves’ have tempted the Cornish Blacksmiths Collective to join them and show off their skills.”

“The ‘Dwarves’ know how to have a good time,” continues Hughes, “and the week will be dotted with storytelling, Beowulf with puppets, local music and the epic that is ‘Pirate Night’.” He says that last year, at the pinnacle of ‘Pirate Night’, the moon and the bright herringbone sky was challenged by the glow from the potter’s Ráku firing ‘where participants got to see the streaks of compounds and organics applied by feather and brush earlier, turn into dramatic ceramic masterpieces’.

Swordfest 2023 lasts for 10 days in lush green fields close to Zennor. The craftsmen and women say they ‘make amazing things’ over the week as they socialise and live in tents. There’s a constantly running forge and furnace on the site so that metal and sword fans ‘get their fix’ but actually there’s so much more in the way of ancient craftwork during the festival. Expect works in glass, wood, bone and textiles to make an appearance throughout proceedings.

As before, this an invitation-only event but anyone who wants to bring the kids or their friends to what the organisers call ‘an alternative world’ can apply to go along via email. There will be opportunities for visitors to try their hand at various crafts, plus you can actually stay with the group as there are both camping and day passes available for locals. All you need to do is contact Rod Hughes via his website: here. Or search for ‘The Dwarves of Zennor’ page on Facebook and message the team there.