Candles the old fashioned way.

On a recent holiday to the North Yorkshire Dales we stumbled upon the White Rose Candles shop.

It was actually on the list of things to do near Leyburn but to be honest it wasn’t top of our list. Don’t get me wrong I do like a nice candle but it wasn’t on my son’s list of things to do.

On a trip out one day we saw the sign and thought we’d pop in anyway as it was really close to our cottage in West Witton, the Old Reading Room was rather special if you’re looking for cottages!

Just off the road was this lovely little shop, I imagine it’s been there forever. Once the bus tour crowds went, we ventured in to find the loveliest little shop where they make all the candles onsite through traditional methods.

No factory manufacturing, instead they used pots and pans on a tiny stove, a wall of wicks and an old bin that housed the hot wax, although they did tell me that it was a thermostatically controlled bin!

I’d never thought about how tall candles are made really, they’re in groups of four with the wicks joining them all together then cut at the end. The little video shows them being dipped. They need around 25 dips each and the wax hardens almost instantly when the candle comes out of the bin.

I love to see traditional crafts and it was like an episode of How it’s Made so even my son was interested.

We need people to kept traditional crafts alive and pass on the skills to younger generations.

There are workshops up and down the country, maybe they just need more promotion. One place to get a little taster is the Festival of Thrift this weekend, there are crafts and skills workshops you can do to learn some traditional crafts and art forms. Have a look at the workshops list here and see if anything takes your fancy, from food to hat making, willow weaving to upcycling.

If you do visit White Rose Candles then don’t miss the hidden waterfall to the left! A beautiful little surprise to end the trip.